Luxury watchmaker BOVET 1822 and the Artists for Peace and Justice (APJ) Foundation united in Toronto earlier this month for the annual charity luncheon.
Like every significant episode in the history of the House of BOVET, it was a meeting of like-minded men – Pascal Raffy, the owner of BOVET 1822, and APJ founder Paul Haggis – that gave rise to the partnership between BOVET 1822 and the APJ Foundation, which for five years has been carrying out important work in Haiti.
A school has been opened in the country to provide basic education for children, as well as an Art Academy for adults. “We believe that education has the power to change a nation” has become the Foundation’s maxim and perfectly sums up the values shared by BOVET and APJ.
‘Art at the service of education and an entire nation’ is a cause close to the heart of Raffy and BOVET. The event which took place on the fringes of the Toronto Film Festival brought together many of the actors appearing in The Third Person, Haggis’s latest film which he produced, wrote and directed, as well as personalities from the world of TV and music, and 300 guests determined to support this noble cause.
An auction raised the exceptional sum of $600,000, which will allow APJ to continue developing its activities on a long-term basis, educating more students and building new infrastructures.
The highlight was the auction of a timepiece specially manufactured for this cause, a unique piece from the Château de Môtiers Collection displaying on its dial a gardenia, the symbol of purity, sincerity and beauty, painted by hand by one of the artisans of the House. The sum raised by this timepiece alone will provide for the schooling of 50 children for an entire year.
APJ is a non-profit organization that encourages peace and social justice and addresses issues of poverty around the world, with an immediate goal to serve the poorest communities in Haiti with programs in education, healthcare, and dignity.