What’s new this month in travel, accessories, art and more | Canada Voices

A roundup of November’s most noteable updates from the Style desk

WATCHES

Citizen celebrates its 100th with a retrospective coffee-table book and a clutch of new watches

For a 10th anniversary, it’s traditionally recommended that a couple exchange a gift made from aluminum or tin. For a 60th, anything in diamonds will do. There is no official material designated for a 100th anniversary, but for Japanese watchmaker Citizen, it might as well be titanium. Super Titanium, the brand’s proprietary alloy, to be precise.

Titanium, the ultralight material used in spacecraft and Formula 1 cars, has become the “it” metal for a wide range of luxury watches in recent years, but at Citizen, it’s nothing new. In 1970, Citizen released the X-8 Chronometer, the world’s first watch with a titanium case, and the first of many titanium watches in the brand’s lineup. It’s just one of many notable firsts in the company’s century-long history.

Citizen was founded in 1924 by Japanese clock and watch dealer Kamekichi Yamazaki with the goal of making affordable, reliable and stylish watches for the masses. Citizen has spent the past 10 decades working toward that goal, from the modest and reliable Citizen F wristwatches of the 1930s and ‘40s to modern bestsellers such as the oversized Ecozilla diver’s watch. Along the way, Citizen pioneered ultra-thin watches (the 1962 Diamond Flake, the world’s thinnest three-hand watch), light-powered models (the 1976 Crystron Solar Cell, the first sun-harnessing watch with an analog display) and precision timepieces (the 2018 Calibre 0100, the most accurate watch ever made).

These and many other accomplishments are summed up in Citizen: The Essence of Time, a lushly illustrated retrospective coffee-table book from Assouline. A selection of new and archival watches released in time for the anniversary, however, illustrate the brand’s journey just as well, including a limited-edition reproduction of Citizen’s first pocket watch and the Satellite Wave X, which combines a light-powered Eco-Drive movement with a GPS timekeeping system in a case made, naturally, of Super Titanium.

For more, visit citizenwatch.com.

TRAVEL

Inner Iceland’s supernatural beauty takes centre stage at the Blue Lagoon’s latest destination

In the middle of Iceland’s Highlands is the geothermal valley Hveradalir, where small pools of water bubble and steam. Until very recently, only the most intrepid campers or visitors up for a very long day trip from the capital, Reykjavik, could get to this part of the country. That changed with the opening of Highland Base, a new resort from Blue Lagoon.

Surrounded by the Kerlingarfjöll mountain range with views of two glaciers, Highland Base is a retreat for travellers who want to pitch a tent and adventurers who like to pair their hikes with a dip in private outdoor hot tubs overlooking the expansive terrain. The site was once home to a ski school, where young Icelanders would come to learn the sport during summer breaks from school. Receding snow levels meant the school had to close, but Blue Lagoon preserved that history and incorporated its accommodations into the new property, which includes a main hotel and individual lodges offering an added layer of privacy. Their walls are dotted with vintage shots of all-terrain vehicles navigating the unpaved gravel road that continues to be the only way to access this part of the country.

Blue Lagoon has created accommodations that reflect the hotel’s surroundings. Wood exteriors and muted greys and greens in the interior mimic the natural environment. Oversized picture windows have benches underneath them, perfect for reading or catching the Northern Lights when they appear. Three pools shaped into the terrain are filled with geothermal waters from nearby Hveradalir hot springs. Hikers of all levels will find trails to suit their curiosity (e-biking is also an option) while in the winter, skiing and snowmobiling are available.

For more, visit highlandbase.is.

ENTERTAINING

Australia’s Non is disrupting dinner pairings with its alternatives to de-alcoholized bottles

Zero-proofing your way through happy hour is no problem these days, thanks to the abundance of tasty alcohol-free cocktails. What comes after, though, is much, much harder, especially figuring out what to drink with dinner. Whether they’re too sweet or lacking in weight, vibrancy and complexity, few non-alcoholic wines can stand up to a rich meal, especially one with multiple courses.

Non, a new liquid from Australia, aims to fill this gap with its line of “wine alternatives,” all of which have the depth of flavour and bright acidity to make temperance pairings with decadent meals a reality. The secret to its success is at least partly owing to the fact that the label’s founder didn’t set out to make non-alcoholic wine in the first place. “Non-alcoholic wine, or de-alcoholized wine, is wine that has had alcohol removed,” says founder Aaron Trotman. “Non isn’t trying to mimic any particular wine style. It’s an alternative with its own identity. It’s about balance and flavour, not faking something.”

Despite that mission statement, if someone handed you a glass of Non1 Salted Raspberry & Chamomile with no explanation, it’d be easy to assume it was simply a fresh and dry sparkling rosé with a maritime influence and some lovely fruit notes. The process Trotman developed to achieve this is proprietary, but we know the lively acidity comes from verjus (juice from underripe grapes) and the complexity is the result of playing with natural ingredients including tea, herbs, fruits and spices to strike the perfect balance. The first three NON expressions took two years of testing and tweaking, but Trotman is now at a point where he can launch at least one new addition to the line per year.

At present, besides the aforementioned Non1, two other expressions are available in Canada: Non3, a light sparkler with cinnamon and yuzu and Non7, a darker, complex and full-bodied stewed cherry-coffee drink. All three are offered in a kit or individually through Acquired Taste (acquiredtaste.ca).

For more, visit non.world.

ART

Joyce Wieland’s multifaceted portfolio will soon make stops in Montreal and Toronto

A lushly hued political commentary done in oil on canvas. A 16-mm film titled Rat Life and Diet in North America. A topical scope encompassing feminism, ecological concerns, race and civil rights. These are merely a few elements in the curriculum vitae of the iconoclastic Canadian artist Joyce Wieland.

“Her work really stands the test of time,” says Anne Grace, curator of modern art at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, about Wieland, who died in 1998. The influential innovator, known for her multidisciplinary practice that included textile work, painting and film is the subject of an upcoming exhibition called Heart On, which will open at the MMFA in February.

Curated by Grace and Georgiana Uhlyarik, the Fredrik S. Eaton Curator of Canadian Art at the Art Gallery of Ontario, the show will reveal the expansive purview of Wieland’s work over the course of her 30-year career. “[The show] is a true collaboration between the two institutions,” says Grace, adding that both teams involved in the process of putting the far-reaching show together were “very aware of the fact that presenting Wieland is different in Montreal from Toronto, because she’s much less known in Montreal – although certainly is beloved by artists.”

Despite the lack of cross-Canadian recognition during her lifetime, Wieland’s oeuvre is marked by impressive feats including being the first living woman to have retrospectives mounted at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa and the AGO. Such accolades, Grace says, certainly resonated with her personally. “I did my university undergrad in Toronto in the 1980s,” she says. “At that time, Joyce Wieland was the Canadian woman artist.” She says that the show will tap into the pan-generational appeal of Wieland’s work. “She really was prescient as an artist,” Grace says. “Both in terms of the materials she chose to work with, as well as the themes that she dealt with.”

Heart On opens Feb. 8, 2025. For more, visit mbam.qc.ca.

JEWELLERY

For its new high jewellery collection, Van Cleef & Arpels sets sail on a treasure hunt

Earlier this fall, a treasure chest appeared on the doorsteps of jewellery-world insiders. Inside, a kaleidoscope presented an under-the-sea view in a soft palette of rainbow hues, and a scroll, illustrated by French comic book artist and author David B. with a tropical scene of birds and greenery, invited the lucky recipient to Miami, where Van Cleef & Arpels would unveil its latest high jewellery collection, Treasure Island.

The black-tie affair would take place in mid-November at the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, a lushly landscaped Italianate villa that anchors the shoreline of Coconut Grove. The jewellery pieces promised to play on recurring themes from the French house’s almost-130-year history – notably nautical elements and literary inspirations – by distilling Robert Louis Stevenson’s adventure saga into bejewelled wonders. “Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island is a book laden with universal resonance and a powerful collective imagination,” noted Van Cleef & Arpels’ former president and CEO Nicolas Bos, who is now the Group CEO of house owner Richemont, in the announcement of the collection. “It has left its mark on millions of readers and influenced various artistic disciplines, including painting, poetry and the decorative arts.”

The prelude to the jewellery collection’s story is Van Cleef’s embrace of vibrant colour in the stones it often selects for its pieces. The tale itself unfolds in three chapters. The first grouping focuses on maritime navigation and includes a schooner clip with sails that fan out in a sea of diamonds as well as a necklace that appears knotted together in yellow and white gold rope. The second chapter incorporates the flotsam and jetsam of the seaside into blockbuster bijoux including the Coquillage Mystérieux, a scallop shell clip inlaid with rubies, emerald and a cultured white pearl. The tale ends with the bounty of a treasure chest, pre-Columbian style coin bracelets and intricate jawbreaker rings that capture the exuberance of discovery.

For more, visit vancleefarpels.com.