Remember the days... turning up to the airport well in advance, sipping champagne and harvesting a few canapés, leisurely strolling to the aircraft full of anticipation to be met by a well attired stewardess to be then shown to a comfortable seat..1A sir, more champagne or perhaps some fine beluga caviar?
Errrr...no! Flying a couple of decades ago was all about endurance, anything over 7 hours involved a refueling stop in a location nobody knew and even less were interested in, “food” that wasn’t edible and an entertainment system that ensured we all watched the same movie at the same time (on the big screen). The bygone era - romantic in everything but reality.
Countries and economies expanded on the back of this mass migration in the air. The Boeing 747 (“Jumbo”) was the work horse in the 70’s, delivering countless jet lagged travelers to destinations not available just 20 years earlier. It was the pioneering era of transatlantic and intra-Asia trade. Low cost manufacturing meets insatiable demand.
Did you know that Boeing made 1500 of these, a 747 once carried 1112 passengers during a humanitarian Ethiopian “Operation Solomon” mission in 1991 and the world’s largest fleet on 747’s is now in the Arizona boneyard.
Coming from an aviation background with my father working for Cathay Pacific I decided to capture the romantic memory and conveniently park (in the hanger) the reality. Inspired by these memories the ONE BOND STREET team decided to find, acquire and up-cycle a 747-400. We went to Kemble Airfield in the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire and opened the wallet to acquire body panels, and a few more collectables.
3 months later we had developed our new sterling silver 747-400 cufflink. The face cut and sculpted from part of the fuselage with the sterling silver body hallmarked in London.
I guess the plane was born in Seattle, died and transported to the Cotswolds but reincarnated in London. What a fitting end to an inspiring aircraft. Our cufflinks are desired by pilots and well-heeled travelers, a bit of history on the cuff.
So, if you are looking for something a little bit different, a gift with history, then ONE BOND STREET could help. We have 747-400 sterling silver cufflinks that say that little bit more, carbon fibre watch boxes to keep your precious watches safe or carbon fibre silver bangles to make a statement plus a lot more. Live fast, dress well.
Chris Harker
Author