As the founder and co-founder of The Arc Circle™, we are delighted to welcome you as a reader, and we look forward to demonstrating just why The Arc Circle really is a luxury concept like no other and, even more importantly, why you can be assured that your most important asset is secure – your personal health and wellbeing.
However, we wouId first Iike to take a step back and to share our personal history with you and the insights we have gained from nearly 40 years working within luxury loyalty, experience and communication and in partnership with a comprehensive list of some of the most renowned and revered brands within the lifestyle, health, beauty and travel sectors.
In the past four decades, the most frequent question we have been asked is, without doubt: “What is the true definition of Iuxury?"
Though the word luxury can be a charged and divisive term, the intention behind the question is always clear: people are eager to find out what it means to have access to the ultimate service, experience and quality.
Today, maybe more than ever, health and wellbeing are an integral part of the luxury conversation. This realisation is long overdue and who could now doubt that good health is the key to living and maintaining the life one desires?
For us, the question has always been much more nuanced. Our mission has never been to simply track or follow evolving trends, but rather to try and understand the underlying motivations influencing Iuxury, and then to anticipate future movements with innovations and new solutions. The Arc Circle was inspired by the milestones of the past that shaped our present and with an eye to the future.
EvoIution of the finest things in Iife has at times given way to revolution: we witnessed the Concorde ruling the air and embodying the thrill and possibilities of new technology.
It opened our eyes to a definition of Iuxury that we had hitherto not considered: luxury could also be about better access, better service and, increasingly, the application of technology to save time – time that then could be spent doing the things we most enjoy with the people we love. We recognised this in our creation of the first payment card magazine for Diner’s Club, which had made its name as a disruptive independent newcomer, changing the landscape of dining, travel and entertainment. Though the Concorde is no more, it remains a powerful symbol of the almost limitless scope of technological advancement and the opportunities that await us in our increasingly digital world.
Amanpuri was also an immediate game-changer. Seeing the property when it opened in 1988, we instantly recognised that a new benchmark had been set. It wasn’t merely the small number of rooms and remarkably high staff-to-guest ratio that stood out, but rather a profound sensitivity to its setting and the local culture, heritage, architecture, environment, cuisine and more. Amanpuri – IiteraIIy “pIace of peace" – was ahead of its time, a standard-bearer in terms of unparalleled service levels and a new interpretation of wellbeing. The opening of Chiva-Som in 1995, located in Hua Hin, Thailand, would later have a similarly transformative impact on luxury wellness.
For over 20 years now, we have had the privilege of a global partnership with American Express, creating an international portfolio of magazines and, later, digital destinations for its Centurion and Platinum Card members.
Featuring the highest level of service and an unrivalled mystique, the arrival of the Centurion Card in particular was a turning point. We are proud to still be working with American Express today, supporting them on a host of communication and loyalty solutions, and continuing to produce those same award-winning magazines and websites.
This special partnership has been a force for shaping and steering elite trends, exempIified by our speciaI Deeper Luxury edition of Centurion Magazine in the first decade of the new millennium. We had a clear sense that high-end living would need to move away from frequent associations with excess or wastefulness to a future with more substance and deeper values. The edition polled the opinions of renowned leaders and decision-makers across the spectrum and the message was clear: luxury was changing.
Being more meaningful and responsible does not mean losing a sense of playfulness – a quality perfectly demonstrated over the past decade by the BMW i8 with its high-performance features and low fuel consumption. This landmark in automotive design challenged preconceptions of how a car should look or drive. It was a Concorde coupé for the digital age and brought the spirit of an experimental start-up to the lumbering world of motoring, setting a benchmark for hybrid cars worldwide.
Our attachment to the BMW i8 is made stronger by having conceived and created a gIobaI IoyaIty programme – the first of its kind in the automotive sector, which we still manage today. The BMW i Pure Impulse programme is a milestone in both motoring and luxury loyalty, inspiring the global community of BMW i8 drivers with extraordinary events, experiences and priviIeges that reflect both the vaIues and pioneering spirit of the car, but also the lifestyle it embodies.
Through these observations and with the experience of so many successful launches and projects – including the production of internationally fêted makeup artist Kevyn Aucoin’s bestselling coffee-table books, which played their part in changing the beauty landscape forever – we concluded that there was stiII a significant gap in Iuxury servicing. Best described as the pursuit of absolute quality – our belief was that providers of premium products and services in general had failed to recognise that the utmost luxury is one’s health.
This is undeniably the foundation of all our lives – as well as those of our loved ones. However, the greatest challenge when appraising the medical, health, wellness, high-end travel and related segments is the sheer inconsistency in quality and service levels.
More than that, while the overall industry continues to grow at an exponential rate, there are too few players taking a holistic approach to the needs of their clientele – or understanding the full spectrum of requirements for individual prevention – to live and enjoy a long, healthy life. It was in this context that The Arc Circle was born.
The Arc Circle features only the most rigorously vetted and carefully judged coverage of some of the world’s leading names in preventative health, aesthetics, wellness journeys and better ageing. We ally this with expert insights, courtesy of Healing Holidays, to provide you with continual reporting that ensures you find the right advice when you need it most.
We recognise that pleasurable and life-enriching moments are as important for wellbeing as access to the very best in health and preventive holistic care. We hope that you are inspired by the promise of The Arc Circle and appreciate our holistic approach to lifestyle management.
Sincerely,
Christian Schwalbach
Founder, The Arc Circle
Michael Klotz
Co-Founder, The Arc Circle
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