Watches & Jewellery - 2019

WATCHES&

JEWELLERY AUTUMN/WINTER 2019

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Discover THE NEW YORK COLLECTION

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©2018 Harry Winston, Inc. 718 CHANDELIER by HARRY WINSTON

LONDON, 171 NEW BOND STREET 0207 907 8800 LONDON, FINE JEWELLERY ROOM HARRODS 0207 907 8899 HARRYWINSTON.COM

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C&TH

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GOLD TIDINGS Annabel Davidson brings you the latest luxe jewellery news WATCH THIS SPACE Up-to-date horological happenings

by Timothy Barber HERE COMES THE SUN Dose up on Vitamin D THE CHAIN GANG Getting shackled is all the rage THE ART OF DECO Jewellery shapes up DARK AND STORMY Metal for men INSPECTOR GADGET Technical watches to tempt you

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EDITOR’S LETTER CONTRIBUTORS STOCKISTS

ON THE COVER Isabel Getty wears paisley military coat by Camilla, yellow silk trousers by Adam Lippes at The Outnet.com and Aphelie necklace and earrings from the Cartier Magnitude High Jewellery collection. Styling by Marcella Martinelli. Photography by Turi Løvik Kirknes

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T H E P E R F E C T D E S T I N AT I O N F O R T O W N & C O U N T R Y L I V I N G

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ENTENTE CORDIALE French jewellery house Cartier has more than a passing crush on London, as Annabel Davidson discovers BEYOND BOND STREET Deal or no deal, Brexit doesn’t matter to these British jewellers, who have their sights set on foreign shores, says Ming Liu LONDON CALLING The capital dazzles in Turi Løvik Kirkne’s Londoninspired shoot MINEFIELD OR MAGIC BULLET? Created diamonds are one of the jewellery’s world’s hottest topics.

Avril Groom hears both sides of a controversial argument WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE The adventure watches that take you from office to the depths of the ocean or the summit of a mountain in style PEARLS GET FRESH Vivienne Becker on the recent resurgence of pearl jewellery and who’s making it modern STRIKE IT LUCKY Hardstones have symbolic significance and luxury brands and luxury brands love them as watch dials, reports Avril Groom SITTING ON A GOLDMINE With the opening of a Scottish goldmine, Hamilton & Inches is making jewellery crafted from local gold JEWELLERY BY NUMBERS Figuring out Chanel’s Sarafane necklace

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ALPINE EAGLE With its pure and sophisticated lines, Alpine Eagle offers a contemporary reinterpretation of one of our iconic creations. Its 41 mm case houses an automatic, chronometer-certified movement, the Chopard 01.01-C. Forged in Lucent Steel A223, an exclusive ultra-resistant metal resulting from four years of research and development, this exceptional timepiece, proudly developed and handcrafted by our artisans, showcases the full range of watchmaking skills cultivated within our Manufacture.

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C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY | Editor’s Letter

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ith Brexit still unresolved and diamond prices falling – a recent De Beers auction of roughs made 44 per cent less than last year’s – Britain’s luxury jewellery and watch industry could be forgiven a few jitters. But into every life a little joy must fall and Britain, especially London, is still the world’s luxury shopping and creative hub.

The London Issue is our shout-out that we are not just open for business but doing very well. European luxury brands all want to be here. Bulgari chose London for its latest watch launch; Richard Mille, Roger Dubuis and Audemars Piguet contrive a Bond Street face-off with simultaneous store openings. Cartier has over a century of history here and in our cover feature Annabel Davidson explores this special relationship as an intimate new private-order store is revealed. Their new, Bohemian high jewellery is photographed on artist-songwriter Isabel Getty – an American who calls London home – in homage to Patrick Lichfield’s famous Marrakech pictures of her great-aunt Talitha (p44).

Also at home here are Nadja Swarovski and Italian sustainability campaigner Livia Firth, who – very politely – take opposite sides in the natural versus created diamonds debate, a hot topic among London’s woke millennials. We

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conclude that there is room, and reason, for both (p65).

Meanwhile, British designers do not rest on their home market. Ming Liu talks to the jewellers meeting global demand with trunk shows, private visits and stores around the world (p51).

London’s creativity inspires designers to reverse the pearl’s staid image and catapult it into modern life, as lyrically chronicled by expert Vivienne Becker on page 71.

Our ancient interest in superstition underlies the symbolism attached to hardstone minerals which we investigate in the form of stunning watch dials (p75). We also celebrate wider Britain. Timothy Barber takes a look at rugged ‘explorer’ watches which thrive in our wildest corners (p68) perhaps in the Highlands where Scotland’s only commercial goldmine produces the metal for unique and evocative jewellery (p79).

Add the latest news and shopping and we hope our issue will lighten these tricky times. Threats remain. Eloise Kramer, one of the Bright Young Gems chosen to show at the recent IJL exhibition, whose Juicy Peach Stone ring is pictured left, told me how the quality of the work she saw on a week’s course in Paris at Van Cleef & Arpels’ prestigious École des Arts Joailliers changed her design life. If such exchanges cease it would be tragic for this industry. Let’s hope commonsense prevails. n

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CONTRIBUTORS

VIVIENNE BECKER

Which jewellery or watch designer, past or present, would you invite to dinner?

Jeanne Toussaint of Cartier – I want to hear all the stories about her clients, and I’d also ask her to bring all her chic and famous friends along.

Which watch model would you ‘look after for the next generation’?

I’m lusting after JaegerLeCoultre’s Rendez Vous – Jaeger watches are instant heirlooms anyway, and this is a timeless, strong but elegant, contemporary design, plus the dial is so clear – I like to be able to tell the time!

What is your birthstone and does it suit your character?

I actually had no idea until I looked it up and it seems to be emerald.

This suits me fine, visually speaking. I have no idea about character although the emerald is intense and flawed...

TIMOTHY BARBER

Which jewellery or watch designer, past or present, would you invite to dinner?

I imagine Abraham Louis Breguet would have a few stories to tell.

Which watch model would you ‘look after for the next generation’? It would have to be something from an independent maker.

The Chronomètre Contemporaine by the Geneva watchmaker Rexhep Rexhepi is, perhaps, the most special and perfect watch of the past five to ten years, and would be a spectacular investment.

One can but dream...

What is your birthstone and does it suit your character?

Google tells me it’s topaz, that it symbolises love and affection, and gives increased strength and intellect. Who am I to argue?

MING LIU

Which jewellery or watch designer, past or present, would you invite to dinner?

The living legend that is Yves Piaget. He was right there during one of history’s most exciting times, mingling with the likes of Liz Taylor and Andy Warhol, and was behind the fabulous Piaget hardstone cuff watches.

Plus, I could pick his brain about the most unique stones he’s come across.

Which watch model would you ‘look after for the next generation’? A Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso. Its art deco lines are classic and beautiful, and with a dual face, you’re really looking after two watches. It’s a piece packed with memories.

What is your birthstone and does it suit your character?

The pearl, especially popular in Asia, resonates with me. I’m drawn to its links to purity, nature and water.

TURI LØVIK KIRKNES

Which jewellery or watch designer, past or present, would you invite to dinner?

Coco Chanel, as she was a fashion classic and I would love to have dinner with her.

Which watch model would you ‘look after for the next generation’? The Cartier Tank. I love that it was inspired by First World War tanks and worn by men, later becoming a popular women’s watch. Breaking the traditions of the circular aesthetics of the time, it’s still an eternal classic.

What is your birthstone and does it suit your character?

Peridot, which symbolises strength, power and protection. It takes strength to follow your passion and, with my images, I hope to empower future photographers and artists.

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CO U N T RYA N DTOW N H O U S E .CO.U K

Watches & Jewellery EDITOR Avril Groom EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Lucy Cleland ASSOCIATE EDITOR Charlotte Metcalf MANAGING EDITOR Anastasia Bernhardt FASHION DIRECTOR Nicole Smallwood BEAUTY DIRECTOR Nathalie Eleni SUB EDITOR Katie Bamber FEATURES ASSISTANT Sofia Tindall ONLINE EDITOR Rebecca Cox ONLINE WRITER Ellie Smith ONLINE ASSISTANT Daniella Saunders CREATIVE & PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Parm Bhamra JUNIOR PRODUCTION DESIGNER Samuel Thomas LUXURY LIFESTYLE ADVERTISING MANAGER Ellie Rix ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER Eleanor Selby ACCOUNT MANAGERS Shanna Whaley and Bianca Maraney DIGITAL MANAGER Adam Dean TECHNICAL MANAGER Hannah Johnson TECHNICAL DIRECTOR Mark Pearson DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL STRATEGY Wil Harris ACCOUNTS & CREDIT CONTROLLER Aimi Nicastro SALES & OFFICE MANAGER Daisy Orr-Ewing FINANCE DIRECTOR Jill Newey PROPERTY & MARKETING ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR Gemma Cowley GROUP PUBLISHING DIRECTOR Tia Graham MANAGING DIRECTOR Jeremy Isaac CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Vivienne Becker, Timothy Barber, Ming Liu, Marcella Martinelli THE EDITOR editorial@countryandtownhouse.co.uk ADVERTISING advertising@countryandtownhouse.co.uk ACCOUNTS accounts@countryandtownhouse.co.uk SUBSCRIPTIONS subscribe@countryandtownhouse.co.uk Country & Town House WATCHES & JEWELLERY is an annual publication distributed with Country & Town House to AB homes in Barnes, Battersea, Bayswater, Belgravia, Brook Green, Chelsea, Chiswick, Clapham, Coombe, Fulham, Holland Park, Kensington, Knightsbridge, Marylebone, Mayfair, Notting Hill, Pimlico, South Kensington, Wandsworth and Wimbledon, as well as being available from leading country and London estate agents. It is also on sale at selected WHSmith, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s stores and independent newsagents nationwide.

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C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY | Jewellery News

GOLD TIDINGS Big birthdays and transparent traceability. By Annabel Davidson Boodles’ new relationship with South Africa’s Cullinan Mine means transparency in traceability Annoushka’s delightful caviar tin charm designed in collaboration with Michel Roux Jnr

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANNOUSHKA

Ten years of Annoushka Ducas MBE’s eponymous label is worth celebrating. With her seemingly endless creative output, she is a force to be reckoned with. Just one element of the celebrations is a charm collaboration with the two-starred Michelin chef Michel Roux Jr. The story behind it is worth telling. Ducas’s first foray into jewellery 30 years ago was designing a pair of cufflinks for her fish-business-owning mother to gift the chefs she supplied, one of which went to Roux. Their relationship has lasted ever since.

The tiny fishy charm sees an 18ct yellow gold and lapis lazuli caviar tin filled with ‘caviar’ made from shimmering Druzy quartz, complete with tiny 18ct gold white spoon. £2,500. annoushka.com

IT’S CLEAR CUT FOR BOODLES

LINKS AND MR JONES The appointment of Dominic Jones as Creative Director of iconic British brand Links of London was only ever going to be exciting – the multi award-winning designer has a particularly strong aesthetic that has appealed to me wherever he has landed. One of the first collections he has overseen for the brand is the new Orbs collection in sterling silver and freshwater pearls, and I’m already a fan.

With a vibe that straddles punk, renaissance, and even a little Indian, the collection sees pearls of graduating size used with aplomb in hoop earrings, pendants, chokers, and adjustable bracelets and necklaces. linksoflondon.com

As transparency and a clear supply chain become more Boodles ‘Gemini’ bow important, the jewellery design ring featuring industry has struggled to keep two important Victorian emerald up. Diamonds, in particular, cut diamonds set in are almost impossible to track platinum once they’ve left the mine, but in the case of Boodles and their new partnership with the famed Cullinan Diamond Mine, they’ve actually created a collection that guarantees that the stones in certain pieces are from that actual min in a rare example of true mine to market transparency. boodles.com

Links of London’s new Orbs collection sees sterling silver and freshwater pearls used with aplomb

COLOUR POP

Mix and match Tiffany & Co’s latest Tiffany T Colour range

Tiffany & Co’s Tiffany T collection is ripe for endless iterations and its newest member of the family is a real winner. Tiffany T Colour sees pops of turquoise, onyx and mother of pearl set into bracelets and rings, as well as lots of new pendant shapes and sizes. The whole collection is mix-andmatchable. tiffany.co.uk

Fabergé’s new Crescent Collection, based on vintage Fabergé cigaratte cases

CURVE BALL

A collection of 18 vintage Fabergé cigarette cases is the inspiration behind its new Crescent Collection. Intricately carved gold crescent moons, pavé-set with diamonds and featuring Gemfields emeralds in a star setting all feature in pieces, inspired by the moon and other symbols that decorate the original cigarette cases. faberge.com

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C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY | Jewellery News

Nina Runsdorf 18k rose gold rough diamond and grey enamel earrings

PLANET ORGANIC

She’s known for her splashes of colour via enamel and bright gemstones, but Nina Runsdorf’s new Claire de Lune collection plays with a more organic palette. Blue moonstones, luminous like pearls and opals, radiate out from diamond-set hoops on major earrings, or are strung on long chains, mixed with diamonds. Grey diamonds are set in rose gold and countered with grey enamel in sultry drop earrings, or paired with white, pavé-set diamonds in undulating hoops. Feminine and mysterious, the look suits a simple white shirt as much as a cocktail dress. ninarunsdorf.com

Pink and yellow sapphire dazzle in Garrard’s new Wings Embrace earrings

THE ITALIAN JOB

GIVES YOU WINGS

There’s something glorious about the colour that pink and yellow sapphires bring to Garrard’s new Wings Embrace pieces, vibrant when set in yellow gold and combined with white diamonds. All utilising the signature double-wing design, throughout October, 10 per cent of sales of the collection at the Mayfair flagship will go to breast cancer charity Future Dreams. garrard.com

Italian jeweller Vhernier isn’t shouty about its pieces. Whether it’s the ‘eyeliner’ setting that sees diamonds seemingly sunken into metal like sprinkles into icing, or their use of matte black titanium with highly polished yellow gold, the look is opulent, refined, and very Italian. New additions to the Freccia collection include this chunky necklace that wraps the iconic triangular shapes around the entire neck, with gleaming white or grey mother of pearl components overlaid with rock crystal. vhernier.com

Vhernier necklace from the Freccia collection with its iconic triangular shapes

WHERE BOLDNESS GOES

De Beers Talisman rings are made for stacking

ROUGH WITH THE SMOOTH

The new additions to De Beers’ Talisman collection aren’t aimed at those shopping for an engagement ring. They’re sweet and refined, using a tactile mix of rough and polished stones, in stackable rings, jangly bracelets and tiny hoops – truly a case of the more the merrier. debeers.com

Bibi van der Velden isn’t one to shy away from what frightens others. Whether it’s climate change or the decay inherent in the beauty of Dutch still life paintings, she turns it all into breathtaking jewels like miniature sculptures. Her new Memento Mori collection sees huge tulips sculpted from gold, within which crawl tiny ants, maggots, and detailing in coloured gemstones, while the Forces of Nature collection sees diamonds spun in a vortex of gold tornadoes, and rock crystal turned into miniature melting ice caps bissected with a sliver of diamond-studded gold. bibivandervelden.com

Bibi van der Velden Millipede eternity ring and Ant stud earrings

Chanel Comète Shooting star single earring in 18K white gold, diamonds and cultured pearls

STAR STRUCK

Stars and comets are synonymous with Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel, whose first diamond jewellery collection, created in 1932, was rife with them. They continue to inspire its watches and jewellery ever since, and the new additions to the Comète fine jewellery range are stellar. White and yellow gold, diamonds and pearls are scattered across wearable single earrings, mismatched pairs (interlacing comet-blazing stars in white and yellow gold in one ear, a simple yellow gold comet in the other), and a glorious single shooting star earring weaving diamonds and pearls into one swirling galaxy. chanel.com

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B DIMENSION COLLECTION Available in all Bucherer stores and on bucherer.com

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C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY | Watch News

WATCH THIS SPACE What’s tempting in timepieces?

Timothy Barber has the answers PICK ’N‘ MIX

We’re not sure which is sweeter, the new pastel shades of Backes and Strauss’ Miss Victoria watch, the interlocking heart motif that symbolises eternal love or the fact that you can now mix and match the colours of the dial and strap. £19,380. backesandstrauss.com

Chopard Alpine Eagle

THE EAGLE HAS LANDED

Backes and Strauss’ Miss Victoria

HORN OF PLENTY

Vacheron Constantin Cornes de Vache

Bulgari’s new Serpenti Seduttori watch launched in London

Were watches more beautiful back in the day?

Vacheron Constantin’s Cornes de Vache makes a strong case: it’s based on a classic from the 1950s, which earned its nickname from its distinctive cow horn (‘cornes de vache’) lugs. Modern versions in gold or platinum have become firm collector favourites, and Vacheron Constantin is now making the watch available in steel. The £36,000 asking price may seem steep, but it’s a watch with beauty and history on its side. vacheron-constantin.com

READ ALL ABOUT IT

For anyone wondering what to get the watch lover in their life this Christmas, Nicholas Foulkes’ latest tome seeks to examine mankind’s quest to understand and measure the passage of time in a series of remarkable timely tales. Published 31 October. (£25, Simon & Schuster)

Back when luxury sports watches on bracelets were all the rage, Chopard had one of the most distinctive: the St Moritz, launched in 1980. Now Chopard is launching a reinterpretation.

In two sizes (41mm and 36mm), the grandlynamed Alpine Eagle is modishly mindful, with a case made from ultra-pure recycled steel. CEO Karl-Friederich Scheufele, who conceived the original St Moritz when his father was running Chopard, worked with his own son on the new model. From £8,120. chopard.com

MY PRECIOUS

LONDON SEDUCES BULGARI Having revealed its stunning Cinemagia high jewellery collection in Capri, Bulgari brought equal glamour to gritty Camden at London Fashion Week, launching the Serpenti Seduttori watch at the Roundhouse, where newly-wed Ellie Goulding performed. It is well-named – the serpent head case has a sinuous bracelet of silky hexagonal ‘scales’, with a rubellite or sapphire crown, and diamonds. From £19,800. bulgari.com

Harry Winston Premier Precious timepiece

Finding novel handcrafts to bring unusual beauty to its jewellery watches is something of a speciality at Harry Winston, which has previously used bird feathers, woven gold thread and lace marquetry. The glass ‘micromosaic’ work exhibited in the new Premier Precious collection, with tiny glass tiles made in Ravenna, might be the most exquisite example yet. £POA. harrywinston.com

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C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY | Watch News

BACK TO BLACK

With the 2019 Rugby World Cup currently in full swing in Japan, here’s the watch official tournament sponsor Tudor has come up with to mark the event – and, crucially, you really don’t need to be a rugby fan to be a fan of the watch. It’s an allblack version of the brand’s Black Bay chronograph – a reference, of course, to Tudor’s sponsorship of the New Zealand All Blacks, but a sleek and powerful design in its own right. Numbers are limited to the number of All Black players throughout history – 1,181 at time of writing. £4,260. tudorwatch.com

Tudor Black Bay in all black

’CAUSE I EATS ME SPINACH London-based watch entrepreneur George Bamford has clearly been eating his greens. The new version of the 1970s-influenced GMT travel watch from his Bamford London brand features none other than Popeye the Sailor on the dial, his spinach-pumped arms acting as hour markers. Fans of the old comic may need to pop some spinach themselves and fight for a piece, with the watches limited to just 50, at £1,500 a go. bamfordlondon.com

Liberty London x Zodiac Super Sea Wolf GMT

BOND STREET BOYS

You wait years for a new boutique proffering high-octane superwatches to the jet set, and then two open at once. The Piccadilly end of Old Bond Street is now home to shops from Richard Mille and Roger Dubuis, makers of some of the most fantastically outré, high-tech examples of modern watchmaking to be found. richardmille.com; rogerdubuis.com

HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLF

Liberty London has entered the sports watch fray with a limitededition collaboration with historic Swiss firm Zodiac. The Liberty version of Zodiac’s Super Sea Wolf GMT is a dual time zone dive watch, with signature purple highlights, interchangeable straps and an option to customise the case-back. £1,995. libertylondon.com Space Traveller II can be seen at the Science Museum

Bamford’s Popeye GMT travel watch

Richard Mille’s new store on Bond Street

JET SET OUT AND PROUD

Perhaps the most celebrated Britishmade watch of the 20th century has gone on public display for the first time. When it hammered for £3.2m at Sotheby’s in 2017, the Space Traveller II pocket watch, by George Daniels, it became the most expensive British-made watch ever sold. Owned

by Daniels himself until his death in 2011, the timepiece – described by him as the watch you’d need for a package tour to Mars – is now on show at the Science Museum within the Clockmakers’ Museum, the oldest and most important collection of clocks and watches in the world. sciencemuseum.org.uk

Oris Big Crown ProPilot x Calibre 115

Oris is a historic watchmaker known for its no-nonsense approach, though it takes a more creatively ambitious turn with a skeletonised sports watch. The open view inside means you can see the huge mainspring tighten as you wind the watch. But with a sleek case and bracelet in lightweight titanium and a knurled bezel inspired by a jet engine, this is every inch the action watch too.

Oris Big Crown ProPilot X Calibre 115, £5,950. oris.ch

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When you’ve been making watches for as long as we have, some things just come naturally.

Big Crown ProPilot X Calibre 115

ORIS BOUTIQUE LONDON 41 South Molton Street London W1K 5RP

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C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY | Shopping

HERE COMES THE SUN Let our life-giving star shine 1 SATTA MATTURI Calabash Teacup earrings, £15,000.

2 BENTLEY & SKINNER Sunburst diamond brooch (circa 1925), £13,750. 3 BEE GODDESS Jardin star ring, £1,950. 4 MESSIKA Sun Tribe gold and diamond necklace, £POA. 5 PIPPA SMALL Turquoise Mountain gold vermeil Tofaan earrings, £210. 6 CALLEIJA Sya ring

with mandarin cabochon garnet, yellow sapphires, white diamonds and pear-shaped sapphires, set in white and yellow gold, £POA. 7 DE BEERS Greater Flamingo white and pink diamonds set in white and rose gold medallion, £POA. 8 CLEOPATRA’S BLING Lampetia pendant handcrafted in 18k gold plate, £109. 9 LARK & BERRY Flora fancy yellow sapphire (created) detachable pendant in 18k gold, £3,750. 10 RALIEGH GOSS Yellow pinky ring with diamond, £380.

11 BOODLES Just Beyond the Setting Sun cuff, £POA. 12 VENYX Yellow gold, red garnet, citrine, moonstone, red fire opal, orange and yellow sapphire Surya pendant, £8,640. 13 CHANEL Médaille Solaire earrings, £POA. 14 PIAGET Sunlight rose gold set with brilliant-cut diamonds pendant, £9,700.

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C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY | Shopping

THE CHAIN GANG Go big, or go home

1 CHANEL 1.5 1 Camelia 5 Allures gold and diamond necklace, £POA. 2 CASSANDRA GOAD Volo d’Angelo diamond yellow gold earrings, £9,230. 3 GUCCI Tiger Head yellow

gold, tsavorites and diamonds necklace, £POA. 4 JORDAN ALEXANDER Signature Hammered box chain

gold, aquamarine and chrysoprase necklace, £11,050.

5 BOUCHERON Maillons yellow gold, frozen quartz and pavé diamond necklace, £POA. 6 NIQUESA Kashmir yellow gold and diamond hoops, £12,000. 7 VANDA JACINTHO Chain choker, £460. 8 LOUIS VUITTON B Blossom gold, mother of pearl and diamond earrings, £6,450. 9 KAVANT & SHARART gold and diamond necklace, £5,980. 10 GIOVANNI RASPINI Crocodile sterling silver pendant earrings, £215. 11 ANNOUSHKA Yellow gold and diamond charm bracelet, £2,900. 12 TIFFANY City HardWear wrap gold bracelet, £6,525. 13 GAELLE KHOURI Nous gold and diamond earrings, £5,080 14 POMELLATO Tango

rose gold and brown diamond bracelet, £19,450.

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Ildri

www.adler.ch ILDRI 2 210x297.indd 1 Adler.indd 1

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C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY | Shopping

THE ART OF DECO Get your jewellery in shape 1 ADLER Yunnan diamond brooch, £POA. 2 DAVID MORRIS Pearl deco drop earrings, £34,000. 3 AVAKIAN Gatsby earrings, £POA. 4 CATHERINE BEST Cleopatra necklace with black and white diamonds, £POA. 5 JESSICA MCCORMACK Strike diamond and ruby ring, £25,000. 6 THEO FENNELL Emerald and diamond lotus flower drop earrings, £79,750. 7 GRAFF Emerald and diamond ring, £POA. 8 AMRAPALI Emerald, diamond and bakelite bracelet, £2,958. 9 HARRY WINSTON ‘Brownstone’ sapphire and diamond earrings, £POA. 10 DIOR JOAILLERIE Vert Imperial emerald and diamond ring, £POA. 11 WILLIAM & SON The London Collection white gold and diamond bracelet, £20,000. 12 EMMA CLARKSON WEBB Bespoke engagement ring, £POA. 13 PRAGNELL Colombian emerald and diamond bracelet in platinum, £70,200. 14 BUCHERER

Vivelle earrings in white gold with brilliant-cut and oval-cut diamonds, £9,900. 15 LES GEORGETTES Volute hoop earrings, £69. 16 NOOR FARES Rosewood ring in yellow gold with amaranth garnet, amethyst, coloured sapphire pavé and white diamonds, £11,250.

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HIDDEN REEF COLLECTION

18ct Yellow Gold Pink and Orange Sapphire Cuff, £16,500

1 South Molton Street 41 Cadogan Gardens Harrods • Harvey Nichols Liberty • Selfridges The Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong 0800 138 1659

#hiddenreef @annoushkajewellery 0800 138 1659

annoushka.com

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C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY | Shopping

DARK AND STORMY Heavy metal for men 1 ALAN CROCETTI Flame sterling-silver earrings, £315.

2 JULIEN RIAD SAHYOUN Ami bracelet, £4,000. 3 DE BEERS

Chapman Zebra diamond and mother of pearl bracelet, £POA. 4 ARA VARTANIAN Yellow gold and white diamond Scorpio pendant, £800. 5 ALICE MADE THIS Cufflinks, £190. 6 MESSIKA ‘Move Titanium’ titanium and black diamond cord bracelet, £950. 7 BOUCHERON White gold and black PVD ‘Quatre’ ring, £4,130. 8 SHAUN LEANE Yellow gold vermeil Arc single leather wrap bracelet, £250. 9 STEPHEN WEBSTER Vertigo Gaining Perpective pavé ring, £11,000.

10 LUIS MORAIS Gold and sapphire beaded bracelet, £2,745.

11 TOMASZ DONOCIK Black rose triple wrap bracelet, £11,176.

12 CARTIER Juste un Clou white-gold ring, £1,070. 13 THEO FENNELL Yellow gold, carved silver obsidian and ruby Coiled Snake cufflinks, £12,250. 14 REBUS Yellow gold and onyx oval signet ring, from £1,300. 15 HANNAH MARTIN Bound earrings in black jade, £1,400. 16 DAVID YURMAN Petrus scarab gold amulet, $2,100.

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PROMOTION

Neptune, Innana and La Sirene earrings

LEFT: Linus ring RIGHT: Medallion pendant

TRAVEL TREASURE For jewellery that transcends both time and place, Cleopatra’s Bling is the go-to for something a little different

I

ncreasingly we want jewellery pieces that offer more than just a glint of sparkle.

We want beauty, sure, but more than that, we want a unique piece possessing a story that can be traced back further than the workshop in which it was produced. Bespoke bijoux, precious heirlooms and vintage treasures are what’s in demand, but to save yourself from trawling through flea markets, a piece (or many) from artisanal jewellery brand Cleopatra’s Bling will charm even the most discerning magpie.

Born in Australia, made by her travels; Olivia Cummings is truly a citizen of the world and her storied collections are a reflection of just that. With a penchant for sourcing gold coins at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, the designer founded her brand on her fascination with myths, travel and a healthy respect for authentic ABOVE: La Sirene earrings craftsmanship – all underpinned by BELOW: a commitment to ethical practices.

Kamala ring Many of the designs, from coin necklaces to lapis-beaded bracelets, are anchored in cultural heritage, often finding its roots in ancient lore.

History is the thread which connects the collections, from the First Love collection to the latest My Italian Summer, you’ll find (and covet) pendants etched with Byzantine figures, earrings paying homage to Homer’s mythical siren Parnethnope and rings adorned with an Egyptian Eye of

Horus. Every Cleopatra’s Bling piece tells a story.

The brand prides itself on its ability to trace the origins of each and every one of its pieces; the materials to their source, and the process to the hands which crafted them. Wherever possible, Olivia herself utilises the skills she learned at the feet of master artisans across the globe (over many a strong cup of coffee), but when a specific skill is called for, she turns to those who do it best. Over the years, Olivia has assembled a team of committed and passionate communities across the world to not only deliver exquisite quality, but vitally play a role in keeping these timeless crafts alive across generations. Similarly, with turquoise and lapis sourced from Afghanistan, recycled silver from Indonesia and stones engraved with animals and figures from eastern Turkey, just one treasure from Cleopatra’s Bling can span continents.

Just as the jewellery transcends borders and eras, Cleopatra’s Bling translates effortlessly from the spice-scented bustling markets in Marrakech to the blissful shores of Bali to London’s concrete jungle and beyond; the perfect pieces to accompany the stylish nomads wherever they may choose to drift. cleopatrasbling.com

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C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY | Shopping

INSPECTOR GADGET Timepieces for tech heads 1 PANERAI Carbotech™, £15,200. 2 RESERVOIR Battlefield D-Day, £3,500. 3 LOUIS VUITTON Tambour Horizon Connected, £2,640. 4 GIRARD-PERREGAUX Titanium Constant Escapement L.M., £68,400.

5 JAEGER-LECOULTRE Master Grande Tradition Gyrotourbillon Westminster Perpétuel, £POA. 6 LINDE WERDELIN Oktopus 3DTP Double Date, £10,200.

7 VACHERON CONSTANTIN Cory Richards Overseas Dual-Time, £POA. 8 PATEK PHILIPPE Calatrava Pilot Travel Time ref. 7234R-001, £34,290. 9 BREITLING Cockpit B50 Orbiter limited edition, £6,560. 10 HERMÈS Arceau L’Heure de la Lune, 100 limited-edition, £20,500. 11 AUDEMARS PIGUET Royal Oak Frosted Gold Double Balance Wheel Openworked, £POA. 12 BLANCPAIN X Fathoms, £31,160.

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L A D Y

F R E E L A N C E R

The Lady freelancer is the ideal watch for women juggling a career, a family and a social life. For Ladies wishing to express their femininity with a touch of sparkle, the freelancer collection offers diamond set dial and case options. Available in 26mm or 29mm case - the Lady freelancer proves to be the ideal timepiece for the modern and dynamic lifestyle of today. #PRECISIONMOVEMENTS

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17/09/2019 10:55

C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY | Cover Feature

ENTENTE CORDIALE They may be a French maison, but London has really claimed Cartier as its own, says Annabel Davidson Photography by TURI LØVIK KIRKNES, styling by MARCELLA MARTINELLI

ABOVE: Jacques Cartier circa 1915.

LEFT: Maharaja Jam Saheb Singh Digvijjay Nawanagar, wearing the Cartier ceremonial necklace, commissioned by his uncle in 1931

PHOTOS: PHOTO BOISSONNAS ET TAPONIER © CARTIER; CARTIER ARCHIVES © CARTIER

T

here’s a charming exchange of correspondence in Cartier’s archives between Jacques Cartier and his friend the Maharajah of Nawanagar.

Circa 1930s, the beautifully handwritten letters portray an easy, yet appropriately deferential friendship (on Cartier’s part) between the two men.

Polite enquiries as to the health of the Maharajah’s family are put forward, and an interest in improvements to the water system in Gujarat, the Maharajah’s state. News regarding the rise in diamond prices is shared, and other industry tidbits. Would the Maharajah perhaps be coming to town soon, Monsieur Cartier would be delighted to know.

Alas, the Maharajah wouldn’t be in town soon, and was busy organising a cricket team to travel to New Zealand (the Maharajah himself had thrilled cricket fans with his prowess when he played for the County of Sussex) but all best wishes to his friend, etc. But it’s not just the cordiality of the correspondence itself that is so telling here. It is that it was sent to the Maharajah’s grand palace in India, not from Place Vendôme in Paris, but from the Cartier flagship store on New Bond Street (where it still stands today).

For all that is so French about a maison founded in Paris by Jacques’ grandfather LouisFrançois Cartier in 1847, Cartier’s history is replete with British chapters. Quirky, charming and idiosyncratic, the legacy of Cartier London is as rich with stories, style, personalities and lore as Cartier Paris and Cartier New York, which were, for a time, quite separate entities. Run respectively by Louis and Pierre Cartier, the New York and Paris businesses each have their own wonderful histories, but it is that of Jacques Cartier that the focus is on today, with a second Cartier address opening in 44 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | Autumn/Winter 2019

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PHOTOS: PHOTO BOISSONNAS ET TAPONIER © CARTIER; CARTIER ARCHIVES © CARTIER

Hilda lace panel dress, Camilla ‘Soreli’ earrings in white gold, with rutilated quartz and diamonds, ‘Soreli’ necklace in white gold, with rutilated quartz, diamonds, brownish yellow diamond and fancy yellow diamond, Magnitude Collection by Cartier

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C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY | Cover Feature

LEFT: Stackable 18-carat gold rings from the Cartier Clash collection, some scattered with diamonds BELOW: Equinox necklace in yellow gold, with yellow sapphire from Ceylon, lapis lazuli beads, yellow cushionshaped diamonds and yellow, orange and white brilliant-cut diamond, from the Magnitude collection

by Cartier

October, just a few doors down from the flagship.

While the main store at 175 New Bond Street is one of three Cartier ‘temples’ (the others being New York and Paris, naturally), the new boutique at 40 Old Bond Street is its natural extension, a sort of high-end concept store with modern and evolving features. Firstly, it aims to be a Mecca of customer service, somewhere you can bring the old Cartier Crash watch inherited from a late uncle to find out what can be done for it, or a scratched Love bangle that needs a good polish. Anyone can go straight up to the first floor to get personal service, no matter their familiarity – or lack of – with the maison.

On the ground floor will be the fragrance collection, leather goods, key rings, pens – all the accoutrements to the lifestyle of a Cartier devotee. And of course, a salon for all those Cartier Icons that garner their own cult following; the nail-inspired pieces from Juste un Clou, the screwembellished Love collection, the three-banded Trinity range, Tank watches et al. And naturally added to this list, the astonishing new Clash collection, heir apparent to the title of ‘Icon’, if ever there was one. A spiky yet soft use of

gold across myriad pieces, Clash takes all those Cartier codes relating to hardware – nails, studs, beads – and turns them into jewellery that is at once tough yet feminine. Studded here with red coral beads, or there with a scattering of white diamonds, or purely in gold, it’s a new contender for ‘icon’ status and has just the right mix of insouciance and luxury.

But it’s not just a duet of stores on one of the world’s most iconic streets that marks London out as a Cartier hub – it’s the sheer scale of the offering provided by two buildings just yards from each other.

As Cartier UK’s Managing Director Laurent Feniou has claimed, 2019 is ‘the year of Cartier London’. This year has seen the launch of the acclaimed high jewellery collection Magnitude in the capital, as well as a sold out public exhibition and star-studded gala, and that’s in addition to ‘seasonal’ events like the Cartier Queen’s Cup Tournament and the Cartier ‘Style et Luxe’ Concours d’Elégance at historic Goodwood each year. Magnitude on its own made local headlines for the sheer scale of its offering – an extraordinary mix of major precious stones and unusual

© CARTIER

Magnitude on its own made local headlines for the sheer scale of its offering – an extraordinary mix of major precious stones and unusual ornamental stones, rarely seen in high jewellery

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Fuchsia top, Amanda Wakeley

Š CARTIER

Earrings, necklaces, rings and bangle, all from the Cartier Clash collection

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C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY | Cover Feature

Meiji Chrysanthemum print gown, Andrew Gn

ornamental stones, rarely seen in high jewellery.

There are, apparently, over 100 events on the schedule this year alone for The Residence, the grand, private space on the second floor of the New Bond Street flagship which is a sort of private club for ‘friends of the maison’. At any one time, the vitrines lining the walls might be filled with pieces from the Cartier Collection (permanent, important pieces from the Cartier archives) and Cartier Tradition (beautifully refurbished vintage pieces for sale). When I visited recently, a storied brooch was on display. Commissioned by Jacques Cartier himself, a large central amethyst is flanked by four diamond motifs, each lined with sapphires. The amethyst is for his wife Nelly Harjes’s birthstone, the diamond motifs for his four children, and the sapphires his own birthstone. It’s a beautiful representation of family in one Art Deco era jewel.

There is also an enormous Scarab brooch, from whose chubby body, carved in smoky quartz, extend vast wings of blue Egyptian faïence (a type of early ceramic) striped with diamonds and black enamel. It hails from 1924 and is signed ‘Cartier London’ – something which is lost on many people. For there was a time when the London business, under Jacques Cartier and then his son, Jean-Jacques, manufactured pieces very much in keeping with British tastes, and British society’s needs.

‘Equinox’ earrings and ring in yellow gold, lapis lazuli, yellow and white diamonds, Magnitude

by Cartier

Where The Residence sits now was formerly the location of English Art Works, the workshop founded in 1922 by Jacques Cartier, shortly after Cartier London became an officially independent entity. The British taste for coloured gemstones like purple amethyst, orange citrines and leaf-green peridots saw the creation of extraordinary, transformable headpieces like an orangey-brown tiara from 1937, all created in the workshop on New Bond Street, many of them for the aristocracy attending the coronation of King George VI. It was here that the Halo tiara was crafted, a gift for Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (the Queen Mother) from the future king, handed down to Queen Elizabeth, and worn by the now Duchess of Cambridge on her wedding day. It was also Cartier London who created the famous tutti frutti bandeau tiara purchased by that most stylish of socialites, Lady Edwina Mountbatten in 1928, which now resides in the Victoria & Albert Museum.

Where now sits a beautiful bar, for Cartier friends to sip on a ‘Bond Street Cocktail’ – shaken perhaps in a Jacques

© CARTIER

40 Old Bond Street will offer ‘Your Signature by Cartier’, where you can get your own Cartierdesigned monogram

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Turquoise signature gargoyle print kimono, Gyunel Couture

Cartier Cocktail Collection shaker (now available exclusively from New Bond Street), used to be the clock and watch workshop. It’s part of Cartier legend that the iconic Crash watch, created by Jean-Jacques Cartier in 1967 in London, was inspired by a Cartier watch brought in for repair after a car accident. The re-edition of this design in 18-carat gold is a New Bond Street exclusive, as is the diamond-encrusted version, in a limited edition of 15 pieces.

English Art Works still exists, albeit on the fourth floor of the flagship, where craftspeople work on diamond pieces and repairs, but it’s only a hop, skip and jump from there to 40 Old Bond Street where the new, and very special ‘Your Signature by Cartier’ service is launching. Here, clients can sit with a monogram designer who will work with you on the creation of your own, very personal monogram to be used on Cartier cufflinks, leather goods, and – space allowing – jewellery and watches. If having your very own Cartiercreated monogram doesn’t make you feel like part of the Cartier family, I don’t know what will.

‘Kiruna’ earrings, necklace (can be worn as brooch) and ring in white gold, with opals, emeralds, lapis lazuli, diamonds, Magnitude by Cartier Photography assistant: Tristan Fennell Makeup: Karin Darnell @ Frank Agency Hair: Jennie Roberts @ Frank Agency

ISA BEL GET T Y Our cover model is a London-based artist

ABOVE & BELOW: The 175– 177 Bond Street new-look flagship store, where you can see important pieces from the archive

and musician, and official friend of Cartier As an American, how do you find living in London?

I was born in New York but I’ve lived here since I was eight so it really is home. It is so inspiring because it is such an international melting pot with many cultures and styles and has offered me great opportunities.

Music or art – which is more important to you? I was a jazz and blues singer at school and wanted to do music at university and I can’t imagine not writing songs. But art was a hobby and my school wanted me to follow that up. I was very lucky because I was offered a gallery show and it’s taken off. But music is still my big dream.

Do you have any Cartier pieces that are very special to you?

I was first aware of the brand aged 11, when my mother gave me a Love bracelet for Christmas. Both she and my grandmother had them. I never take it off. I went with her to get it and fell in love with the store’s timeless elegance.

Then at 18 I got a Juste un Clou bracelet – I love its edginess.

I don’t usually wear much other jewellery.

© CARTIER

Cartier Crash, one of the maison’s most iconic creations

What are your favourites in the new collections? I adore the modern-Moroccan look of the big necklace I wore for the shoot but it was heavy – you need good upper body strength. And I would love to layer the Clash rings, which have that edge too but are still elegant and not OTT. That’s what Cartier does so well. n

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Lark & Berry is the first designer jewellery brand in the world to use cultured diamonds and stones exclusively. Cultured diamonds are type II a, the purest diamonds.

Since our diamonds are grown and perfected with science, no mining is necessary; this makes cultured diamonds the cleaner, more environmentally friendly and progressive choice.

CLEAN. COOL. CULTURED.

Lark & Berry.indd 1

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British Abroad | C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY Bond Street is home for many British jewellery brands but now some look further afield

PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES

BEYOND BOND STREET

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Even if British jewellers aren’t concerned about Brexit, foreign markets are increasingly important, says Ming Liu

he UK may yet be careening towards a no-deal Brexit, but not all British brands are panicking.

Despite gloomy predictions for industries, from car manufacturing to fishing, British jewellers are infectiously upbeat. When asked if London would lose its retail dominance, Michael Hakimian, CEO of pearl house Yoko London – who has only one boutique, smack in the middle of Knightsbridge – answered with a categorical ‘no’. London, after all, is London. ‘There are unique places – London, Rome – that took hundreds of years to become what they are,’ he says. ‘We will still have Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, black cabs and red buses. There is huge diversity here and you can’t replicate that. I’m not worried in the least.’

Even though London is upbeat, British jewellers are taking no chances but increasingly following their Continental competitors and going where the money is. Annoushka Ducas takes a broad view, buoyed by changing buying habits. ‘More people shop the way they like and our job is to help them do whatever suits them,’ says the jewellery designer. ‘They might browse online, see our pieces in one of our stores here, see it in Harrods and then decide they might prefer to buy it back home in Hong Kong.’

Two years ago Ducas opened a boutique in Hong Kong at the Mandarin Oriental hotel – a top-notch location that gives her British brand ‘credence, confidence and trust’ in Asia, she says – as more Chinese take interest in her narrative-led designs. Particularly popular are the stackable Crown rings and the ethereal Dream Catcher line, Autumn/Winter 2019 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | 51

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which is accented with a bamboo motif. From this month, Annoushka will debut in mainland China with Jewelria, a multi-brand retailer of some 35 stores across the country, run by the region’s gem giant, Chow Tai Fook.

China is also on the radar of House of Garrard, whose almost 300-year history and its status as a Royal Warrant holder are huge draws. The house recently held an invitation-only exhibition in Guangzhou at the majestic Imperial Springs private members’ club. The show mixed old and new: an early-1900s maquette of the imperial state crown of India from Garrard’s London vault sat alongside last year’s Jubilee sapphire brooch, set with a jaw-dropping 118.88ct sapphire. Royal watchers will quickly notice the design parallels with the Duchess of Cambridge’s engagement ring, which was Prince Charles’ engagement ring to Diana. Creative director at Garrard Sara Prentice showed clients around and met with them privately to discuss bespoke orders.

Now Garrard is placing its bets on the Middle

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Yoko London pearl necklace; Garrard Jewelled Vault emerald and diamond earrings; Garrard held an invitation-only event in China, showing its Jubilee Sapphire brooch; the rareness of the pink diamond used in Mousaieff’s flower ring appeals to the Asian market; Annoushka’s stackable Crown rings and ethereal Dream Catcher collection are particularly desirable in Asia

East. The house has six points of sale in the region, with another due to open soon.

As for Yoko and Annoushka, Brexit feels like a distant concern. ’Our clients are interested in and respect the heritage and Royal Warrant.

We have that longevity,’ says Madeleine David, Garrard’s senior marketing executive. Madeleine adds that when Brexit was announced the house saw an influx of customers from abroad.

Moussaieff is also long on both regions, pairing its retail presence with gem fairs such as Fine Art Asia in Hong Kong, Bahrain’s Jewellery Arabia and Saudi Arabia’s Jewellery Salon. The house has recently returned from showing a divine, 5.7ct natural fancy vivid pink diamond flower ring blooming with angled, pear-shaped diamonds totalling 12.44cts. ‘Our Asian clients are discerning, with sophisticated taste, so an exceptionally rare pink diamond is very appealing,’ says owner and managing director Alisa Moussaieff. ‘Feminine, delicate designs appeal.’

Gem fairs can be a lifeline for small, independent

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British Abroad | C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY

names. Notting Hill-based jeweller Ming Lampson has built a loyal following in the US and Hong Kong, but hasn’t quite cracked Europe. So being selected to participate in Switzerland’s GemGenève fair this year was ‘the perfect opportunity’, she says after showing the likes of jazzy turquoise and sapphire hoop earrings and a mesmerising, modern art-decolike Pool ring with tourmaline, lapis and black diamonds. ‘Every visitor had such knowledge and interest. It was a wonderful way to meet European clients.’

Meanwhile, Graff’s jet-setting clientele set the tone for its retail strategy. Earlier this year Graff opened its Paris flagship on Rue Saint-Honoré, a show-stopping space designed by Peter Marino that complements its debut Paris outlet, just a diamond’s throw across the Place Vendôme. ‘We have to follow our clients wherever they go,’ says Matthieu Brichet, Graff’s European CEO. ‘If we’re not in the right place, where they’re spending time, the competition is there and we can lose out.’ As customers spend more time travelling and in multiple homes, Graff comes direct to them – digitally, with in-house videographers who create exclusive content that can be instantly WhatsApp’ed to VIPs, to shop via phone, when and wherever.

David Morris has also planted a flag on Rue Saint-Honoré and will be in New York’s Bergdorf Goodman in January. Its digital presence includes a new e-commerce platform and last summer’s online trunk show with Moda Operandi. Like Graff, it is looking beyond its nine physical sales points to go with the client flow. Last summer it hosted a pop-up at the Czarina at Monaco’s One Monte-Carlo property, to show its vivacious Tassel collection – which does well outside the UK – with pieces like an akoya pearl sautoir and earring set shimmering with micro-set mother-of-pearl and diamonds.

From organising a private visit to a client’s favourite wine estate, to a dinner party hosted by royalty in a money-can’t-buy setting, such events go down a treat. They also inspire current designer Jeremy Morris, the founder’s son. His heavenly hand bracelet collection, Amira – which means Princess and comes in white, pink and yellow diamonds – recalls the ceremonial henna tattoos that Morris saw in India. ‘I wanted to create artful hand jewellery that was comfortable to wear but also still embodied this rich heritage,’ he explains.

Elsewhere, Boodles may be the most UK-centric of its peers, with all nine

FROM TOP: A necklace from David Morris’s Tassel collection, shown at a pop-up in Monaco last summer; independent jeweller Ming Lampson’s turquoise and sapphire hoop earrings were shown at Switzerland’s GemGenève; earlier this year Graff opened its Paris flagship on Rue Saint-Honoré; Boodles’ clients were treated to a cutting workshop of the Ashoka diamond in New York; Glenn Spiro shows his jewellery like these stunning ‘Fan’ earrings in private exhibitions at New York’s Mark Hotel

of its showrooms located in the UK and Ireland. However, the 150 client events it hosts each year keep the brand globally ontrend. Hong Kong, Thailand and Dubai have all been recent pit stops. ‘Spending time with our customers is one of the most important things for us,’ says director James Amos.

As a family-owned company we pride ourselves on knowing most of our clients personally.’

One such ‘unforgettable’ event was a visit to the Big Apple to see the cutting workshop of the Ashoka diamond, a cut exclusive to Boodles in the UK. Glamorous nights on the town and a helicopter trip to the Hamptons were the icing on the cake.

Finally, Glenn Spiro’s brand-building formula may be as off-beat as his signature creations.

Based predominately in Mayfair and Geneva, he hosts a private exhibition twice a year at New York’s Mark Hotel, and earlier this year opened a small private boutique in the Peninsula Beverly Hills. It’s only open four weeks a year, he adds, ‘when I decide to get on an aeroplane and when I have something to show’. Clearly the jewellery should do the talking – aesthetically and business-wise.

‘The personality of the house should carry you wherever you go,’ he says.

‘If you haven’t got great things to show, then you don’t go. That’s how it is.’ n Autumn/Winter 2019 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | 53

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Black velvet dress, The Vampire’s Wife ‘Coromandel’ necklace in white gold, motherof-pearl and diamonds and L’Esprit du Lion’ brooch in white gold and diamonds, both Chanel Fine Jewellery

LONDON CALLING The jewels in the crown Styling MARCELLA MARTINELLI Photography TURI LØVIK KIRKNES

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Yellow silk dress, Olivia von Halle High jewellery choker, earrings, ring and bracelet with yellow and white diamonds, set in white gold, all Moussaieff

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Black jacket with snake crystal detail, Andrew GN Emerald and diamond earrings, Graff

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Dress, The Vampire’s Wife Conch pearl necklace with pink and white diamonds, set in rose and white gold, Conch pearl earrings with diamonds and white gold, Art-Deco style Conch pearl ring with white diamonds and white gold, all David Morris

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Black silk top, vintage Miguelina Shimmering Sun necklace and earrings in white gold with white and yellow diamonds, Piaget

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‘Elsa’ necklace with diamonds and rubies set in rose and white gold, Van Cleef & Arpels

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Dress, The Vampire’s Wife ‘Pomegranate and Parakeet’ earrings set with rubies, diamonds and rock crystal in platinum and rose gold, ‘The Waterfall and the Songbird’ necklace set with diamonds, tsavorites and white jade in platinum and yellow gold, ‘A Late Spring Frost’ ring set with pink tourmaline, grey star sapphire and diamonds in platinum and rose gold, all from the Always a Story Collection, Boodles

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Lilac dress, Temperley London High jewellery necklace with spessartine, amethysts, pink sapphires, diamonds, tsavorite, tourmalines, set in white gold, earrings from The Temptations collection with orange sapphires, rubies, tsavorite, amethysts and diamonds set in platinum and rose gold, both Chopard Set design: Kathryn ‘Madge’ Healey Photography assistant: Tristan Fennell Make-up artist: Maria Asadi using Nars Cosmetics Hair stylist: Enzo Volpe @ Mandy Coakley using Revamp Professional Manicurist: Edyta Betka using CND Model: Georgina Howard from Models 1 STOCKISTS: PAGE 78

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PROMOTION

ROCK OF AGES

By recognising the personality of each gemstone, Niquesa Fine Jewellery creates future heirlooms of extraordinary beauty

N

iquesa Fine Jewellery was born from the desire to create exquisite jewels, combining innovative design with exceptional craftsmanship. Founded in London in 2013

by Luigi and Elisabetta de Simone Niquesa, the house is synonymous with exuberant colour, striking compositions and unparalleled quality, seamlessly injecting Italian flair into a timeless British aesthetic.

The love and appreciation of colour is realised through Niquesa Fine Jewellery’s extraordinary gemstones, responsibly sourced and of an outstanding quality. The house employs expertise and experience to source the rarest and most desired gemstones. Once perfection has been found, the stones are sent to the artisanal workshop in Rome, where fourth generation craftsmen skilfully set each stone to enhance its individual beauty and unique vibrancy.

CEO Luigi and Creative Director Elisabetta de Simone Niquesa, found love in Rome when they discovered a shared passion for rare gemstones. For Luigi, this fascination stems from earlier times, fuelled by an intrigue for a diamond cutting business in Tel Aviv, part of his family’s business.

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to be inspired by every aspect of life; the ability to see beauty in the ordinary. Luigi and Elisabetta de Simone Niquesa believe every stone has a personality and it’s often the discovery of an extraordinary gemstone that ignites creativity and forms the basis on which an exquisite fine jewellery collection is realised.

Vibrant colour is in abundance throughout many of Niquesa Fine Jewellery’s iconic collections and it’s an inherited passion for art that inspires the colour palette and sculptural silhouettes that have become signature to the brand. From old masters to more contemporary works, the artist’s brush stroke is depicted through the mesmerising gradation of pavé coloured gemstones regularly surrounding a prominent centre stone.

Romance is at the heart of the brand and the notion of love is evident within the design, injecting soul into the impeccable craftsmanship and the exceptional finished product. The 18thcentury double-pointed marquise cut stone is used widely and represents a pair; two people in love and symbolic of petals which, when bound together, become a flower; the iconography of love. niquesafinejewellery.com

FROM BOTTOM LEFT: Petali collection; Starlight collection; Venice collection; Stella collection; Kashmir collection

Similarly, Elisabetta was immersed in the world of fine jewels from a young age; her great uncle, renowned cameo engraver Tommaso Saulini, created an exceptional piece portraying Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, set with onyx, diamonds, emeralds and rubies, which is now on display at the Victoria & Albert museum in London.

The couple moved to London and set up their jewellery business with the launch of the atelier town house in the heart of Belgravia, providing an exclusive and unrivalled bespoke service. Over the years, the brand has gained an international reputation for its sculptural silhouettes and captivating gemstones. It’s this recognition that has led to the opening of its very first flagship store in South Kensington.

Love and passion are the driving forces behind the brand.

Whether it’s an exquisite bespoke creation or a complete collection, Niquesa Fine Jewellery seeks to create future heirlooms of extraordinary beauty, handcrafted by the finest Italian craftsmen and designed to be cherished for generations.

Inspiration comes from open-mindedness and the willingness

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Baumatic In-house self-winding Steel 40mm

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Created Diamonds | C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY

Pénelope Cruz worked with Atelier Swarovski on a collection of created diamond pieces, including the sapphire short drop earrings, below

MINEFIELD OR MAGIC BULLET?

Created diamonds appeal to woke millennials with a conscience, but are they really more socially responsible? The jury’s still out, says Avril Groom

W

hen the beautiful Penélope Cruz arrived on this year’s Cannes Film Festival red carpet wearing a luscious pair of earrings with dazzlingly large diamond peardrops, it looked like a typical ‘actor borrows fabulous gems from grateful jewellery brand’ situation. Then Cruz proudly announced that these were indeed diamonds – created diamonds, from a collection for Swarovski’s upmarket Atelier range on which she had collaborated.

Her appearance threw a cinematic spotlight on one of the fastest-growing and most controversial areas in jewellery today.

‘Laboratory-created diamond’ doesn’t have quite the romantic ring of De Beers’ slogan, ‘a diamond is forever’, over 70 years old

and still going strong. Yet it is just as ‘forever’, forged from identical elements that create the hardest substance on earth. While natural diamonds’ billion-year history, and the fact they don’t make ’em any more, gives them a sentimental edge, for woke millennials the past association of diamonds with war, crime and poor working conditions makes lab stones symbols of modern romance, bonded over aspirations for a better world.

In truth, diamonds have always been more about money than love. That De Beers slogan happened because diamond prices were falling in a glut of small, less good quality stones and the company needed to push the market for bigger, better-quality gems. Created diamonds are a fledgling industry that currently accounts for only two per cent by volume of the $87 billion diamond industry but analysts predict an annual growth rate of 20 per cent over the next decade.

But will people really forsake natural diamonds for the manmade variety, or is there room for both?

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Britain has as yet no created diamond production – most is in the USA or Asia. But, as a creative hub, London is home to several key players on both sides of the diamond fence. It has the world’s first retail store devoted entirely to created gems, Lark and Berry, which has grown so fast in just over a year that it has now appointed the former US brand president of Ralph Lauren watches to head up expansion in the United States. Nadja Swarovski, her family firm’s head of global and sustainability strategies and communications, is London based with her British husband and children, and committed to using created diamonds and coloured gems in conjunction with crystal, all set in fairmined gold. Also based in London is Italian sustainability activist Livia Firth, whose Eco-Age consultancy has, to many people’s surprise, recently endorsed a report for the Diamond Producers Association by independent sustainability assessment company TruCost showing that natural diamonds are the more socially responsible and environmentally beneficial option.

All very confusing when you are just a shopper with a conscience looking for a sparkly treat, but inevitable with a new industry that is still establishing limits. Like natural diamonds, there are different levels of created ones. Atelier Swarovski includes large stones, like the Cruz three-carat peardrops, which took months to create as roughs, were then cut and set as carefully as natural diamonds and cost nearly £200,000.

Already interested in sustainability, Cruz had met Swarovski, felt a kinship with her and offered her input. ’Nadja does what she believes in,’ she said at the London launch.

‘She can make us all question our attitude.’

Sustainability, says Swarovski, ‘is at the heart of our crystal manufacturing business, and

FROM ABOVE: Machines at work at US producer of created diamonds, Diamond Foundry; a lot of heat is required to produce lab diamonds; Lark and Berry’s rough and cut created diamonds and Bow necklace; Atelier Swarovski drop earrings worn by Penelope Cruz at Cannes Film Festival

although we don’t currently create our own diamonds we source very carefully.

I call it conscious luxury the best created stones, traceable precious metal our gold comes from a small, certified mine in Peru) and beautiful, creative design that’s the equal of traditional high jewellery.’

Fine jewellery pieces at Lark and Berry run from $3,000 to $100,000 and currently 85 per cent of its gold settings are recycled metal. ‘Our diamonds do not displace any land or wildlife, do not pollute ground water and do not put anyone’s life at risk,’ says founder Laura Chavez. ‘This is a new industry but it already gives back by offsetting carbon emissions and starting philanthropic partnerships in places where diamonds have funded conflict in the past.’

Meanwhile US-based Lightbox, which is owned by the De Beers Group, has set a fixed retail rate of $800 per carat, more value than top-end design.

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Created Diamonds | C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY

Its British CEO, Steve Coe, explains:, ‘Lab-grown diamonds for us are everyday sparklers, a wellpriced self-purchase or gift. Our pricing creates stability, unaffected by factors like supply variations.’

Currently sold in America, next year it will open a facility producing 200,000 carats per year of mainly small stones, to sell worldwide.

Styles are no-nonsense and simple; engagement rings, De Beers’ staple, are not included, which removes competition and acknowledges that, for special LEFT: Lightbox pink chevron pendant purchases, RIGHT: Diamond Foundry customers still collaborated with Dover Street Market and designers including gravitate to Delfina Delettrez, who designed natural diamonds. this bracelet Conversely another leading US producer, Diamond Foundry, does make rings because, says Vice President Marketing Mona Sadat Akhavi, ‘Millennials often feel that a natural diamond is never quite guilt-free. They choose a created stone because it fits their values’. The brand also focuses on the upper end, with a recent collaboration for Dover Street Market by six contemporary designers, including Delfina Delettrez and Sophie Bille Brahe, who also use natural diamonds.

So created diamonds already span a wide price and design range, as natural stones do, but questions remain. Coe believes that, because limitless numbers can be made, smaller ones will be an everyday rather than luxury purchase and prices may drop. Consumers worry that unscrupulous traders may try to pass off created diamonds as natural – chemically and optically they are identical, so tests prove nothing – though big brands like Swarovski and Lightbox use internal laser marking which cannot be removed.

One brand commissioned a created diamond necklace or a major design competition, which it won, but the prize was withdrawn once it was revealed the stones were not natural. The flawlessness of created diamonds gives smaller stones a sparkling advantage, though some prefer the character of natural inclusions.

TruCost’s report raises questions over sustainability.

It was the brainchild of Jean-Marc Lieberherr, who gave up the top job at Rio Tinto Diamonds to run the Association because of his passion for transparency in an industry famous for opacity. ‘Created diamonds are good because they are forcing us all to be open,’ he says. ‘The natural diamond industry has changed hugely in the past 20 years. Eighty per cent of production is from major companies, from Southern Africa to Siberia and Northern Canada, which have to be transparent, and its value to local communities is well established. But we were surprised by the value the report attributes to ancillary local economic activity, education and employment for generations created by mining, while

environmental impact is deep but narrow because diamond pipes are vertical, and on average 80 per cent of water used is recycled, ending up so clean local communities fish in it.’

He agrees that carbon dioxide production, at 160 kgs per polished carat, needs to be improved but argues that it is considerably less than that generated by created diamonds ‘because of the great heat needed to make them, which in India and China is still coming from coal-fired power’. Livia Firth endorsed the report because she had seen the industry’s changes at first hand through working with Chopard on their drive to use only sustainable gold and diamonds. ‘The social aspects around mining are changing fast,’ she says. ‘I am going to visit a mine in Botswana which is run by local women, with cutting and polishing facilities attached. If mining is done well it benefits the community. And diamonds are sustainable – they hold their value and get passed on. We have yet to see if that applies to created stones.’ Supporters like Chavez believe it will. ‘Why are mined diamonds still a choice when we can make controversy-free ones?’ she asks. ‘If energy use is a problem we must persuade labs to turn to renewables.’

There are arguments on both sides but also interesting signs of rapprochement. Ever innovative, Swarovski reveals that she is considering using natural as well as created diamonds.

‘The Gemmological Institute of America also produced a report which concluded that created diamonds have less impact,’ she says. ‘I think there is a place for both. I am talking to the GIA about traceable diamonds from small, well-run, artisanal mines and eventually I will buy them.’

Maybe one day we will buy items with both, depending on design, and only the overall cost will reflect the difference. Meanwhile, check traceability every time and go for what you love – and your pocket and conscience allow. Still quite an equation to work out. n Autumn/Winter 2019 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | 67

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FROM ABOVE: Edmund Hillary conquered Mount Everest with his Rolex Explorer; climber Mike Horn adventures with his Panerai Submersible, below; IWC Pilot’s watch perpetual calendar

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

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ere you a Victorian explorer planning to venture into treacherous, far-flung territories, you’d likely pack an especially sturdy, waterproof pocket watch, provided by the Royal Geographic Society.

The likes of Joseph Thomson (the inspiration for H Rider Haggard’s King Solomon’s Mines) and Robert Falcon Scott carried what have become known as ‘explorer watches’, made with robust mechanisms and hermetically-sealed cases to keep them working in extreme climates.

Things aren’t so different now. The former Gurkha and speed climber Nirmal ‘Nims’ Purja has spent this year attempting to scale 14 of the world’s highest peaks in just seven months (the previous record being over seven years), with a tough-as-a-nut S300 watch by Bremont strapped to his wrist. Fellow climber and South African über-adventurer Mike Horn has been

sporting a burly Panerai Submersible and is taking a handful of lucky collectors with him on a mission to the Arctic ice floes of northern Sweden. Other ‘Paneristi’ can try a training weekend with Italian naval commandos while they pick up their militarystyled Submersible Marina Militare, whose khakigreen rubber strap is paired with a case in Panerai’s camo-like material, Carbotech.

Panerai has tapped into the notion that, while admiring a watch for its adventurous associations is one thing, throwing in the adventure with the watch is quite another. ‘It’s a slice of what the brand is about,’ says CEO Jean-Marc Pontroué. ‘Our image is watches for sports or military guys, but what does that mean? So we said, let’s do it. If you want to sit on the beach, it’s not the watch for you.’

Personally, I’m perfectly happy sitting on the beach while wearing a watch capable of rather more – The Rolex Explorer, which made its debut being taken to Everest’s summit by Edmund Hillary on his

PHOTOS: REX FEATURES

Explorer watches are becoming more mainstream as not everyone has to wear a suit to the office nowadays. Timothy Barber reports

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Adventure Watches | C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY

PHOTOS: REX FEATURES

legendary climb, would do nicely. With a pared-down dial designed for ultimate legibility and a build quality that would take on any situation, it remains – along with its beefier, GMT-equipped sibling, the Explorer II – the standard bearer in watches designed for life in the field, even the merciless milieu of the morning commute.

The Explorer, Rolex’s least fancy watch, is distinctly shiny and deluxe compared with some models in a growing genre that places capability over swank.

2019 is proving a banner year for militarythemed watches, perhaps because their downbeat style – dark dials, textile straps, cases that practically invite a bit of knocking about – chime with the flexi-working, on-themove lifestyle of today’s watchophile. Even Patek Philippe is at it: its Aquanaut sports watch on an olive green strap is the breeziest, most dressed-down watch the venerable maker has ever produced. The waiting list is already years long.

‘Not everyone needs something to go with a suit now,’ says Sylvain Dolla, CEO of Hamilton, which has rough-andtumble watches with both military and aviation connections.

‘A lot want something rugged and gritty, but also understated and with a bit of history, and to wear every day.’ Hamilton’s Khaki Field Mechanical fills those specs perfectly, harking back to (now collectible) military watches the firm made in the mid20th century. Like them, it’s hand-wound and on the small side at 38mm, while the case of its latest version has an ‘Earth PVD’ matte coating and a brownish dial: rather than a retro statement, it feels utilitarian and modern.

Ruggedness amplified by a sense of the lived-in is even stronger in bronze watches. Not only does this have a unique, slightly murky, asperous lustre but it gains a dense patina over time (until you polish it). IWC, whose Pilot’s Watches descend from wartime military pieces, has striking bronze-cased versions for its Spitfire range with dials in dark, military green. Available in automatic, chronograph or perpetual calendar

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Rolex Explorer; Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical; Patek Philippe Aquanaut; anOrdain Model 2; Omega Seamaster Diver 300m; Rolex Sea-Dweller; explorer ‘Nims’ Purja won’t be seen without his Bremont S300

versions, for watch purists these might seem affected; but as an aesthetic option that both tells the story and provides the scenery, it’s compelling.

The ‘field watch’ template is surprisingly versatile. I’m a fan of the little Scottish start-up anOrdain – named after a Highland loch – wich hand-makes enamel dials for its watches in Glasgow. Vitreous enamel – which the Swiss call ‘grand feu’ – produces incredible depth of colour, and for its Model 2 the brand takes the leap of fusing this artisanship with a sporty, retro design. The curving case, thick bezel and elegant dial take cues from vintage field watches – as does the 36mm sizing, which makes it a unisex option. As founder Lewis Heath says, it’s intended to be ‘at home in the wilderness of Assynt, in a sailing dinghy on Loch Ard or a watchmaker’s studio in Glasgow’.

However, for bonafide brawn and built-for-anything aptitude, it’s a diving watch you’ll need. Omega, which this year demonstrated those qualities with a one-off watch sent to the deepest point of the world’s oceans, Challenger Deep in the Pacific’s Mariana Trench, has overhauled one of the most recognisable dive watches of the modern era, the James Bond-favoured Seamaster Diver 300M. Cased in lightweight titanium and black ceramic, it pops with muscular detail and carries the brand’s magnificently highspec, antimagnetic Master Chronometer movement, Cal 8806. Want that but fancier? Rolex’s deep-diving brute, the Sea-Dweller, is available in two-tone steel and gold: it’ll do for saturation diving and black tie dos.

A bit more streetwise is a new diving watch from Bremont. The Argonaut is built with the Royal Navy in mind and is one of three Bremont pieces carrying the imprimatur of Her Majesty’s Armed Forces – the others are an RAF-friendly chronograph and a simple automatic for ground troops. Aimed at civilians but with the MOD’s blessing, Bremont cofounder Nick English reports that they are creating bespoke versions for military units. ‘We wanted a design that you could pick up in two or three decades and still feel right. You get that with military watches,’ he says. ‘It’s utilitarian, it’s not about fashion.’ n Autumn/Winter 2019 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | 69

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London

Manchester

Edinburgh

Mondaine Official Swiss Railways Watch

Wall Clocks Pure Edition A990.CLOCK.17SBV | A990.CLOCK.17SBK | A990.CLOCK.17SBG RRP £219 www.mondaine.com

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Pearls | C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY

PEARLS GET FRESH

FROM TOP LEFT: Nathalie Emmanuel rocks a pair of pearl drop earrings for The Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance film premiere, while Margot Robbie looks dazzling in Chanel pearl earrings for the premiere of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood; Danish designer Sophie Bille Brahe and her Botticelli pearl hoops

Once symbols of primness and propriety, pearls are finally getting punchier, says Vivienne Becker

PHOTOS: REX FEATURES

A

s the ultimate jewellery classic, the perfect, pristine pearl holds out an irresistible temptation to today’s contemporary designers: to shake up that prim and proper high society image, mess up that air of untouchable ladylike femininity, challenge deeply entrenched conventions and subvert age-old traditions. To break through the polite sobriety of the single strand pearl necklace. Most of all, to give the pearl a new narrative, a provocative, cool, urban edge and a fresh, vibrantly youthful voice in today’s design-driven jewellery world.

Of course, so many of the pearl’s traditions are closely linked to London, via the concept of the twinset-and-pearls brigade, the debutantes once presented at Court and then launched into society, for whom pearls were an essential status symbol.

Taking up the challenge, designer-jewellers look at the pearl with fresh eyes, unhindered by preconceptions. They prize

the pearl as the original organic bio-material, feel its connection to the natural world, and love its ethereal beauty that needs no enhancement by human hands. They see its purity of form and colour, smooth surface and understated lustre as the essence of minimalism, yet underpinned by the romance and storytelling of the pearl, its links to the moon, to Aphrodite and the eternal feminine rather than Belle Epoque aristos or 1950s girls-in-pearls.

So that, this season, the purity and simplicity of pearls highlight strong linear, abstract designs of contemporary jewels. Single pure white pearls, often freshwater, are set on lines or arcs of gold, in the edgiest of ear-wear, for instance by Sophie Bille Brahe, or Nataf (new to London’s Dover Street Market) or worn simply and singly as a statement Autumn/Winter 2019 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | 71

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pendant on a chain, a look perfected by pearl specialist and London jeweller, Jane Sarginson. Catherine Best captures the mood of female power in an architectural cocktail ring, in which a large Tahitian pearl, with peacock glints, is set at the centre of a towering, graphic diamond cocktail ring. Copenhagen-based Bille Brahe, who studied at London’s Royal College of Art, says she likes to strip away all superficiality and allow the pearl’s mysterious beauty to shine supreme. She explains, ‘While I had always admired pearl jewellery, I previously thought of it as very traditional and not particularly aligned with what I would want to wear. I then began to design pearl pieces that were decidedly modern, simple and in some cases industrial looking, like my Ellipse earring.’

At Tasaki, the Japanese jeweller and pearl specialist that recently splashed down on Bond Street, creative director and fashion designer Prabal Gurung has introduced a powerfully modernist abstract style that has, without doubt, coaxed the pearl out of its shell and into high fashion. Gurung’s Balance collection contrasts the geometric sphere of the pure white Akoya pearl with strong, straight gold lines, while in his Tasaki Atelier high jewellery Waterfall collection cascades of silky pearl strands fall in long, luscious fringes from a single large South Sea pearl entangled in diamonds, on rings, necklaces and shoulder-grazing earrings.

FROM TOP RIGHT: Jane Sarginson hand-made earrings in 18ct white gold with diamonds and South Sea pearls; Catherine Best’s Time To Be Free ring features a central Tahitian pearl; Prabal Gurung is the fashion designer Creative Director behind Japanese jewellery Tasaki, whose Atelier collection features these Waterfall earrings; Ana Khouri Pearl Mirian ear-cuff

Melanie Georgacopoulos, another RCA graduate, designs the exclusive M/G for Tasaki collection. Having set out from the start to debunk the pearl’s conservativism, she has deconstructed the classic pearl necklace, literally, by slicing pearls, revealing their innermost secrets. Now, her graphic, Bauhausinspired Cube collection juxtaposes the perfect spherical pearl with a cube composed of slices of mother-of-pearl, a material she explores and elevates ingeniously and passionately. In the newest Nacre collection, exceptionally large and lustrous slices of mother-of-pearl in iridescent tones of gold, lavender, peacock and white, are built into geometric structures, and topped with co-ordinating pink freshwater, South Sea and Tahitian pearls.

The pearl ear-cuff is set to be London’s must-have jewel of the season, with its rebellious, urban, punk flavour contradicting the pearl’s fragility and femininity. For designer-jeweller Ana Khouri, whose work was presented in an exhibition at Phillips, London in September, the pearl both embodies radiance and reconnects her to nature. Her Pearl Mirian ear-cuff plays with the classic pearl stud, placing it just inside the ear, via a slim gold bar, while her Pearl Time single earring re-imagines the iconic graduated pearl strand as a luminous, lyrical, tapering trail, establishing an entirely new silhouette.

This new flow of graduated pearls is a key design feature of Yoko London’s Raindrop collection; the rhythmic trail of pearls slides next to a rivière of diamonds, along a linear necklace and around hoop earrings. In another act of jewel anarchy, the pearl

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Pearls | C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Coleman Douglas Rainbow lipped oyster mabe pearls set in 18kt rose gold and matching orange sapphires; Mikimoto Jardin Mystérieux double finger ring with Akoya and conch pearls; Nina Runsdorf 18kt white gold, baroque pearl and diamond flip ring; Annoushka 18kt yellow gold, golden pearl and diamond net earrings from the Hidden Reef collection; Bibi van der Velden Lion baroque pearl necklace

now features prominently and provocatively on between-the-finger or double-digit rings: in his London boutique, Brazilian jeweller, Ara Vartanian finds eager customers for his striking rings contrasting an unusually large white South Sea pearl with an inverted black diamond, or double-finger diamond bands joined by a single huge white pearl at their centre.

Even Mikimoto, inventor of the cultured pearl and regarded as the most established, traditional and reverent of pearl jewellers, includes a ravishing bejewelled floral double-finger ring set with Akoya and conch pearls, and a light and lively ear cuff, designed around an olive leaf theme, hung with an olive-hued Tahitian pearl, in the new Jardin Mystérieux High Jewellery collection. Mari Murota, Mikimoto London’s retail manager, says, ‘Our younger clients love to stack and layer delicate, subtle jewels, especially rings, so that they can create their own individual look.’

More maximalist tastes might be drawn to the burst of colour that’s refreshing pearl jewellery. There’s new appreciation for subtle, often indefinable natural shades of Tahitian pearls – aubergine, blue, pistachio and silver, while pearls originating in waters around Fiji appear in startling, vibrant colours with exceptional lustre, and specimens from the rainbow lipped oyster discovered recently in Mexico by pearl-specialist and jeweller, Chrissie Coleman Douglas (exclusive to her) shimmer with thrilling ‘rainbow’ iridescence.

Jewellers like Coleman Douglas or Jane Sarginson twin unusual hues with coloured gemstones, creating painterly tone-on-tone harmonies: Coleman Douglas pairs a golden Mar de Cortez pearl with orange sapphire, or rose pink Tahitian pearl with pale pink tourmaline. The same trend appears in high jewellery, where Boghossian partners rich bronze pearls and brown diamonds, sparking a dialogue between sheen and shine, brilliance and lustre, light and dark. Annoushka Ducas, meanwhile, hit on the idea for her latest collection, Hidden Reef, celebrating the 10th anniversary of her company, Annoushka, during a trip to the Philippines – a place that holds precious memories for her – where she was reminded of the vastness and variety and pulsating light and colours of ocean life. She sources her golden pearls directly from fisherman in Iloilo, and in the Hidden Reef collection,

One last mention of modernising influences should go to the baroque pearl, loved for its natural, organic cloud-like forms, and the visions it conjures in our imaginations she’s placed them loose, inside woven gold fishing nets, that swing seductively on long drop earrings.

One last mention of modernising influences should go to the baroque pearl, loved for its natural, organic cloud-like forms, and the visions it conjures in our imaginations.

In Nina Runsdorf’s jewels, (newly arrived in Harrods and Dover Street Market) in which a single pearl is encased in a diamond cage, the baroque pearl brings a sensual fluidity to modern minimalism, adding texture to monochrome, while Bibi van der Velden enhances the lilting contours of baroque pearls with drifts of white and brown diamonds, or encases them in effervescent golden celestial motifs. So the moonlit poetry of the perfect pearl finds a new home and new expression in contemporary designer jewels. As Mikimoto’s Murota states, ‘It’s about a free spirit, breaking traditions and making your own.’ n Autumn/Winter 2019 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | 73

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UNDER THE HIGH PATRONAGE OF HSH PRINCE ALBERT II OF MONACO

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CREATE BEAUTY TO DO GOOD

9 NOVEMBER 2019 - 2PM, GENEVA A BIENNIAL CHARITY AUCTION OF UNIQUE TIMEPIECES FOR RESEARCH ON DUCHENNE MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY

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Hardstones | C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY

STRIKE IT LUCKY Julianne Moore wears Chopard’s L’Heure du Diamant tiger's eye dial watch.

Photographed by Andreas Ortner and styled by Leslie Fremar

Hardstones have held generations in their thrall for millenia for their symbolic powers.

Avril Groom examines how luxury brands are using them for the modern age Autumn/Winter 2019 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | 75

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here were many things about the 1970s that make us giggle today. Some of its fashion was glorious and still influential – what woman doesn’t own a floral maxi-dress? But hairy men in singlets – not so much. Likewise jumbo flares and macrobiotic sludge. Then there was the New Age obsession with crystals and stones, from Stonehenge down to little pieces of agate, all with symbolic significance and said to induce healing and spiritual enlightenment less hazardously than ingesting dubious chemicals.

We’re not giggling now, and luxury watch companies must be laughing all the way to the bank. For one theme currently uniting the designs of many top brands is a dial in hardstone – semi-precious minerals that, when polished as a flat surface, reveal wonderful depth of colour and often interesting markings that make each stone unique.

Interest in crystals began with early civilisations who attributed magical powers to them. Experts at Van Cleef and Arpels’ L’École des Arts Joailliers, its Paris academy, which does excellent gemmology courses, describe how coral beads were found in graves from predynastic Egypt, around 4,000 BC, while ancient Greeks thought coral was blood from Medusa, the snake-headed creature whose look turned men to stone, and it could protect from storms at sea and lightning.

It was worn for protection by children in ancient Rome, and malachite similarly in Greece – it was believed to protect travellers, and by the Middle Ages to combat sorcery, its green colour evoking the forces of nature. Van Cleef’s new Perlée watch features both stones, so double the luck! Lapis lazuli was also highly valued, its deep blue colour and glints of golden pyrites associating it with the gods and heavens. It was

worn by Pharaohs and high priests in Egypt and was later thought to guide good judgment and wisdom.

Belief in stones was also strong in the Middle East, especially to ward off the evil eye, and – useful for today’s premium markets – in the Far East, where jade, particularly green jade, and stones with a natural figurative element are highly prized. By the Middle Ages their decorative value was appreciated and later they became a status symbol, as vast columns of malachite and lapis in the Tsars’ St Petersburg palaces attest.

Gem crystals in watches go back centuries as anyone who marvelled at the 17th-century Cheapside Hoard’s pocket watch, made from a hexagonal crystal of emerald, will know – it looks like a 1920s piece. The Art Deco era saw the emergence of modern hardstone, in interior design, jewellery and watches, especially from gem houses like Cartier or VC&A. As style changed it disappeared only to re-ignite at the end of the 1960s, inspired by directional London jewellers like Andrew Grimà, David Watkins and John Donald, who worked with textured gold and highly unusual stones. Europe’s jewellery and watch houses took up the baton, especially Piaget, known for its gold work, and Chopard, now celebrating the half-century since its first mineral dial with the L’Heure du Diamant collection. Grimà may have sold to the Queen and her sister but it was Yves Piaget who persuaded the Rat Pack, Andy Warhol and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis into his watches.

Stone dials disappeared in the 1980s but are now stronger than ever. Clients today demand individuality and nothing is more unique than a hardstone – the striations in every piece of malachite, or veins in turquoise, are different. Raynaud Aeschlimann, president of Omega, says, ‘Current interest in hardstone dials is part of a trend

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PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES

FROM LEFT: Van Cleef & Arpels Sweet Alhambra with onyx dial; Chopard L’Heure du Diamant in diamonds and opal; Chanel Crystal Illusion in white gold, diamond and rock crystal; Dior Grand Bal Plume Wild with tiger’s eye dial; Gucci G-Timeless Automatic with lapis lazuli dial; Rolex Day Date 36 with turquoise dial

Hardstones | C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY

PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES

FROM LEFT: Boucheron Serpent Bohème in gold and malachite; OMEGA Seamaster Diver 300 Co-Axial Master chronometer with malachite dial; Piaget Secret Waters in gold and opal; Jaquet Droz Lady 8 Petite with diamonds and malachite; Chaumet Les Pierres de Rêve with diamond and rhodonite; Harry Winston Premier Hypnotic in white gold, baguette diamonds, opals and sapphires

towards natural materials that are beautiful but not perfect. There is a random quality to the patterns that makes them more individual.’

Their symbolism is important in cultures now driving the market, and many designers, past and present, have been superstitious – not least Chanel and Dior, who added their own lucky symbols to their work and whose brands’ watches now feature stone dials.

Chanel lived through the 1930s hardstone boom and furnished her Paris apartment with rock crystal objets and crystal glass chandeliers and mirrors, ingeniously recalled in the Crystal Illusion watch which features white gold camellias caught in bubbles of rock crystal, like beautiful specimens. Dior believed in the power of stones and they are key to the striking looks of the new Grand Bal Wild collection, with its dials in hardstone from turquoise (symbolising victory over death and prized for 2,000 years), through tiger’s eye, standing for courage and liberty, to pink opal (for luck, success and mental strength), all contrasted with feather-appliquéd, dial-mounted rotors and faceted gem bezels. Today, Alessandro Michele at Gucci is renowned for his love of symbols. He keeps his reasons to himself but the handsome, unisex G Timeless Automatic is multi-layered. It comes in two sizes, in yellow gold, steel or bi-colour, with interchangeable straps or bracelets and dials in malachite, tiger’s eye, lapis lazuli or black onyx (for self-control and willpower). All are set with small gold bees, another house symbol, representing wisdom, industry and fidelity.

Stones wax and wane in popularity. Many turquoise mines have closed, so both the flawless kind used by Chopard as one of its anniversary models, and the variety with striking dark veins used

by Rolex with yellow gold for a new Day-Date 36, are increasing in value. Malachite and lapis lazuli are in better supply – Chopard

uses both, as does Boucheron for the Serpent Bohème watches, co-ordinated to jewellery, while Omega breaks new ground with both, applying them to the men’s Seamaster 300 diving watch, with yellow gold and ceramic. As Aeschlimann says, ‘These stones are bold and confident colours that demand attention, with patterns shaped by nature.’ Meanwhile Jaquet Droz’s new Lady 8 Petite with malachite dial and spinning bead, Piaget’s Limelight, with textured yellow gold and diamonds and its high jewellery piece with delicate malachite leaves, highlight a trend for green, described by its creative director Stéphanie Sivrière as ‘recalling nature, our continual inspiration. Its nuances and veins bring it to life, bestowing dynamism and unique identity’.

Other hardstones are new in the lexicon of symbolism, discovered long after the ancient legends. Chaumet picks rarities for its Pierres de Rêve models featuring figurative stones that resonate in Eastern cultures, such as picture jasper with its delicately-shaded hill horizons, symbolising vitality and confidence, or dendritic agate which appears to contain trees or ferns, and is a talisman for prosperity. One of today’s most sought-after stones, however, is controversial. The opal’s multi-coloured glints made it a good luck talisman from ancient Rome onwards, but in Medieval Britain and Europe people associated it with the evil eye, and occasionally still do. But keen wearers, including Queen Victoria, helped rehabilitate it and now black opals especially make spectacular dials for brands from Chopard to Piaget, or at Harry Winston worked into glowing micro-mosaic with onyx and diamonds.

The great variety of hardstone dials and their symbolism means you can choose for their beauty alone or for more personal reasons, and no one will know if you are a watch connoisseur or just a superstitious 1970s-style New Ager at heart. n Autumn/Winter 2019 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | 77

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C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY

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Scottish Gold | C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY

SITTING ON A GOLD MINE Gold mining has returned to Scotland, so make sure to bag yourself a bit of heritage now, says Avril Groom

W

e all know the Scottish myths: Nessie, mountain-reared haggises and the wealth of gold under yonder hills are a few. All great tales in a country where tourism is an essential industry, except that last one is no longer a story but a beautiful reality.

If you know where to look, in a remote valley of the Western Highlands, there is a small building that conceals the entrance to Scotland’s only commercial gold mine which will reach full production next year but is already supplying its partner – top Edinburgh jeweller and silversmith Hamilton and Inches – with 22 carat gold for unique, gem-set pieces, launched on 1 October and among the year’s most sought-after British jewellery.

Scottish gold has history (including two Victorian items in H&I’s archives) but only in tiny quantities, hence its mythical status. Geologists were aware of rock structures where gold and silver occur with veins of black iron pyrites and white quartzite.

They pinpointed the area the old-fashioned way – checking streams for gold particles – and got excited back in the 1980s; now modern technology has estimated enough potential – £150m over a decade – to attract investors. They expect to sink others in the area and to increase the workforce from nine to about 70 people.

Meanwhile, Hamilton and Inches has been quietly introducing this rare gold for private commissions and finding it resonates with Scots, and those with Scottish ancestry. The new Future Heirlooms collection, which Scottish gold, diamond and mother-of-pearl earrings (left); handworking the gold in Hamilton and Inches’ workshop

Hamilton and Inches has introduced rare Scottish gold into its new collections, including (from above) the Tyndrum Waterfall earrings and Stirling Castle necklace, the Linlithgow Palace ring and the Holyrood Palace cuff

is all handmade in the company’s workshops above its George Street store, will win it a wider audience.

The pieces are elegant, intricate and reference Scottish history and landscapes.

The hammered gold Holyrood Palace cuff seems to merge Celtic style with Glasgow’s Rennie Mackintosh Art Nouveau heritage, set with substantial tourmalines in autumn Highland shades.

Rings could come from a portrait of Mary Queen of Scots – one named after her features a cushion-cut Sri Lankan sapphire of almost nine carats, representing the Saltire’s colour, while the Linlithgow Palace ring has a warmtoned diamond of 4.77 carats set above a frame of smaller baguette-cut and brilliant stones. Beautiful drop earrings include the aptly-named Tyndrum Waterfall with cascades of subtle blue and green tourmalines and the Loch Leven earrings in Burmese rubies and diamonds. Tiny Scottish symbols are finely engraved on the reverses, including the Saltire, the fleur de lys and the double heart luckenbooth.

Prices go from £11,900 to £96,500, but I’ve set my heart on one of the modest, repeatable designs (from £1,175) in gold with scattered diamonds. It’s a beautiful shade, the details are just as delicate and I would love it to celebrate my own Scottish ancestry – even though that’s only 25 per cent. hamiltonandinches.com n Autumn/Winter 2019 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | 79

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C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY | The final countdown

JEWELLERY

BY NUMBERS The Sarafane necklace, Chanel’s symphony of diamonds and pearls from the new, Russian-inspired Paris Russe high jewellery collection

38

marquise-cut feature diamonds total almost 11 carats

2

pear-shaped diamonds, 1.62 carats

1300 6

smaller round diamonds, over 100 carats

round feature diamonds, total 2.57 carats

199.32 Grams of 18 carats white gold

1

DIF central round diamond, 10.18 carats

10

Cream-pink cultured pearls

350

hours to set stones

240

hours to polish

1715

hours to design and make frame

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