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Few in the world of fashion have managed to make numbers quite as symbolic as Chanel. Think 5, 22, 31 – these are just some of the numerals that have become synonymous with Coco and her brand. Well, two years ago, to celebrate the centenary of the No.5 perfume, the head of the Chanel Fine
Understanding the difference between fashion jewellery and fine jewellery is simple enough: it all comes down to the materials that the jewellery is made with. Fine jewellery describes jewellery made of solid gold, sterling silver, or platinum in combination with genuine precious gemsto…
1. This 41-year-old Copenhagen-based jeweller started her eponymous brand ten years ago and it’s now widely considered as a driving force behind Denmark’s new design era. 2. Bille Brahe creates jewellery with a philosophy of paring back rather than ostentation or bling. It’s classicism …
Fifty-three years old now, yet as contemporary as ever, Van Cleef & Arpel’s Alhambra collection must be the jewellery industry’s luckiest charm. 1. Its motif was designed by Jacques Arpels in 1968, combining the Gothic quatrefoil of the Doge’s Palace in Venice, the scalloped Moorish…
The artistic force behind Bulgari, Lucia Silvestri, wears two distinct hats. She happens to be both the Jewellery Creative Director and the Gems Buying Executive Director of the esteemed Rome-based jewellery house. “This gives me a very peculiar and unique advantage in how I operate as …
Vram Minassian's rings are arresting, sculptural and gloriously impractical. His signature Echo design, worn either erect or recumbent, catches eyes, clothes and hair alike, announcing a jeweller unafraid to challenge convention with bold form.
Proving that diamonds can also be a man’s best friend, Akillis is paving a new way for men’s jewellery. One with plenty of character and just the right dose of sparkle. While jewellery is most often associated with women, the truth is that men are starting to appreciate a little persona…
Designing jewellery takes creativity, says Fred Mouawad, fourth-generation heir to the Lebanese-born dynasty, but running the business demands true imagination. Design has its limits; in business, he reflects, there is far more one can do.
Maria Tash’s jewellery shows unconventional piercings have transcended rebelliousness. No longer just the domain of angst-ridden teens, piercings of all kinds have entered the luxury realm in the form of fine jewellery. And Maria Tash, who first opened in New York’s East Vil…
In what might be a sign of the abundance of our times, we recently came across the most beautiful new jewellery, made not by a jeweller, but by a lacemaker. “I had this piece of lace in my hand and a ring with a diamond, and I thought how wonderful it would be to have […]
Nadine Ghosn, the daughter of Carlos Ghosn, the Brazilian-Lebanese Chairman and CEO of Renault (and one of the auto industry’s most celebrated turnaround artists) started her career at Boston Consulting Group in New York but left to pursue a two year-rotational programme at Hermès. It w…
Dolce & Gabanna’s foray into couture jewellery has resulted in the brand’s Alta Gioielleria line, which gorgeously combines highly inspired forms with Italy’s renowned tradition of fine jewellery making. In the four years since Dolce & Gabbana launched into Alta Moda (Italian ha…
The venerable Lebanese house Aziz & Walid Mouzannar, with roots in the eighteenth century, has lately collaborated with the late Zaha Hadid and crafted Victoria's Secret's multimillion-dollar Fantasy Bra under its sixth generation.
Many jewellers swore by Elizabeth Taylor's eye for exquisite diamonds. By her death in 2011 she had amassed the world's most impressive collection, its most prized pieces by Bulgari, the subject of one enduring love affair.
Dylanlex necklaces draw their raw appeal from a vintage look, blending ethnic styling with Art Deco. Crafted from aged brass, copper, bronze and mixed metals, then hand-laid with Swarovski crystals, they trade colour for pure metallic sheen.
Impeccably groomed and endlessly multi-tasking, Ibtissam Saab directs her new in-store display while zooming her camera across deep blue tanzanites and bright green emeralds, pear-shaped jewels cut to a gleaming, flawless finish.
Arriving late but radiant, Chaumet chief executive Thierry Fritsch settles into his office overlooking Place Vendôme. Below, in one of the grand salons, a small selection of the storied French house's creations awaits.
Amid double-height ceilings, white marble floors and stained glass, Jean-Louis Sabaji cuts an incongruous figure. Skinny jeans, patterned trainers, an eyebrow stud and a diamond-encrusted skull necklace announce, unmistakably, the creative at work.
Gold was plentiful, yet it was the precious stones, diamonds, sapphires, rubies, emeralds and notably opals, that had their moment. More than 600 exhibitors from 30 countries made this dazzling fair the region's finest.
Tiffany & Co may lead contemporary jewellery, but its roots run deep. Founded in 1837 by twenty-five-year-old Charles Lewis Tiffany and John B. Young as a stationery store, its first day's takings totalled just under five dollars.
Pre-independence India was a treasure trove of the finer things, but preserving them is now an art. Where maharajas once traded Cartier watches, Bulgari jewels and Vuitton trunks freely, holding onto such artefacts has become far harder.
One of the world's largest and least-worn diamonds, Tiffany's bulbous 128.54-carat Yellow, has been given a brand-new look. Unearthed in South Africa in 1877, it was cut by gemologist George Kurtz into an eighty-two-facet brilliant.
Channelling the Ottoman spirit with a twist of happiness, the jeweller takes a playful approach to prayer beads, threading ancient dinars, tassels and newly discovered amber through his thirty-three and sixty-six bead strings.
Founded in Milan in 1967 by Pino Rabolini, Pomellato pulled jewellery out of haute couture and into pret-a-porter, to be worn as changeably as clothes. The Capri Collection carries that credo forward beautifully.
Nadine Khalil reports on the collaboration between Chopard's Caroline Gruosi-Scheufele and Giuseppe Zanotti, whose jewel-encrusted pink satin shoes, hundreds of hours in the making, are now quite literally the most precious footwear in the world.
It is one of those jewellery shops you cannot simply go to and just choose and buy. The 67-year-old founder, though a secretive man, has managed to garner a cult following and as if to prove a point, his perfume sells at 325 USD an ounce (30 ml). This is JAR. The street-level window dis…
With prowess equal to that expressed in its emblematic panther design motif, Cartier stole the spotlight among High Jewellers at the Biennale des Antiquaires, held last September at the Grand Palais in Paris, France.
Inspired by a love of Beirut’s vibrant history and an appreciation of the boons of the earth, Selim Mouzannar’s latest two collections are at once both classic and relevant.
Although the company’s name is synonymous with crystals, Swarovski’s fortunes have had their ups and downs in recent decades. These days however, you’ll see their products gracing catwalks, movies and dressing tables alike, adding sparkle to any number of items.
Writer: Nadine Hallak Rare appeal His jewelled empire extends from the Middle East, through Europe and all the way to Beverly Hills. He is Edmond Avakian, the fine jeweller who strives for nothing short of perfection. With a head for engineering and finance, and a hawk’s eye for precious s
The eponymously named Ivanka Trump Collection, started back in 2007, marked Ivanka’s stepping out of her father’s formidable shadow and forcing herself into the realm of high-end jewellery.
You’ve all heard the women in your lives waxing lyrical about the importance of diamonds. You get the stone right and you’re half way there. Be it a D flawless four and a half carat, emerald cut solitaire or some other intricate specification, it’s vital that you’re on the ball when it com
“With the impact of love, order is shattered, masks fall, feelings are revealed. And colours are in unison. Bright orange attracts turquoise; pink caresses a deep green; orange, red and pink fuse.”
Funky Maharani, Misha Daoud’s line of shiny jewellery treats, are just the kind of bling she would wear herself.
The latest media frenzy concerning Jacob & Co. has nothing to do with flamboyant diamonds, rather the shady dealings of its owner, Jacob Arabo. Rayan Raad interviewed the jeweller just before he took a plea deal requiring four years behind bars.
There is an undeniable gravitas associated with Boucheron, one that has seduced European aristocracy for over 150 years. Perhaps less known is the French haute-jewellers close relationship with the Middle East. Bespoke takes you on a trip down memory lane.
An eighteenth century arcade in the prestigious Place Vendôme separates the museum from the workshop of one of the most legendary jewellers in the world today. One that is rich in history with roots dating back to the Napoleonic era. Its name is Chaumet and Bespoke visited its Parisian hea