A gala evening with the allure of the olden, golden days took place yesterday in Geneva on the occasion of the International Salon of luxury timepieces. The host of the evening, the brand IWC Schaffhausen, inaugurated its new line of watches with a unique event gathering together big stars, music and photography. The nostalgic tone of the evening was set with décor that evoked the cinema of the '50s and movie stars and star athletes all took their turn walking down the red carpet - "friends of the brand" and not just mere sponsors. The evening was also an opportunity to give the worldwide preview of








The evening's dinner was set in an equally magnificent manner: in a large space, a kind of two-dimensional Portofino was created, both theatrical and exciting, and the dinner was based on sunny, Mediterranean cuisine. It felt almost like a late summer evening, at the end of a glamorous Italian holiday. The dinner was convivial and lively, a welcome relief from the formal manner often found in these kinds of socialite and luxury filled evenings. Stars like Cate Blanchett, Jean Reno, Boris Becker, Kevin Spacey, Zinédine Zidane, Ronan Keating acted as though they were "running into" with their friends during their summer holidays. At dinner's end, a great concert by the Zurich Opera, closing with a series of Italian arias. And then, the dance