Celebrity Life

Choosing the right anniversary gift is a serious affair – after all, it’s a declaration of your undying love to your significant other. We picked some exquisite jewels to consider, no matter whether you’re celebrating five or 50 years of marriage.

4th Anniversary — Flowers

Flowers are the traditional gift for a fourth-year anniversary, but why pick something impermanent when you could get one that will last forever? Boucheron’s Nature Triomphante high-jewellery collection takes real petals from anemone, rose, hydrangea and peony and turns them into eternal works of art through a closely guarded scientific technique that retains their natural colours. Each ring has a rare precious stone in its centre that brings out the ombré tones of the ring’s petals. The floral rings are further enhanced with pistils in a powdered effect and pavé-set diamonds.

15th Anniversary — Crystal

The next piece that has caught our eye is this En Passant necklace, which was first presented in Boucheron’s 2020 high-jewellery collection, Contemplation. Strings of rock-crystal beads are given a frosted finish to evoke the misty, ethereal nature of clouds. Two diamond clouds rest on the beads, just underneath the collar bones, with diamond beads cascading downwards like tiny drops of rain. It’s a fitting piece for a 15th-anniversary celebration, which calls for a gift of crystal.

19th Anniversary — Jade

Jade is given on the occasion of a 19th anniversary. This fine necklace from Nuò by Cindy Yeung, which is crafted by artisans at Emperor Watch and Jewellery, pieces together natural fei cui jade with diamonds to wonderful effect. The milkiness of the jade green beads contrasts with the brilliant faceted white diamonds and stark black onyx for a wholly chic and contemporary look. The necklace, whose pendant is shaped in a geometric pattern to evoke an immaculate hedge maze, is part of Nuò’s Garden of Treasures high-jewellery collection. Each piece is said to have been inspired by Yeung’s travels.

25th Anniversary — Silver

Buccellati, which celebrated 100 years of jewellery-making just last year, is renowned for its distinctive gold pieces, which are hammered and handcrafted using traditional Italian techniques to resemble silks, tulle and damask. But the company is also known for silverware; its co-founder, Mario Buccellati, had always created exquisite objects for the home in sterling silver, using Renaissance motifs and nature as his inspirations. With the petals and stamen of each bloom engraved in elaborate detail, these photorealistic flower bowls could not be a more perfect gift for a 25th Silver anniversary.

30th Anniversary — Pearl

Bina Goenka is a former lawyer turned jeweller to Bollywood stars, whose creativity and bold use of coloured gemstones have made her designs true works of art. Pearls often feature prominently in her jewellery designs, which is why we’ve picked this pair of earrings for a 30th Pearl anniversary. Handcrafted to the highest ethical sourcing and sustainable standards, the white-gold earrings are inlaid with shimmering diamonds in a leaf motif, from which dangle two gleaming pearls from the South Sea.

35th Anniversary — Coral

Cartier’s latest high-jewellery collection, [Sur]naturel, blurs the lines between fantasy and realities of the natural world. The Panthère Tropicale jewellery watch in this collection is a powerful and vibrant amalgamation of colours and materials. Yellow gold comes together with coral, aquamarine and tourmaline on one side of the cuff watch, while the other is speckled in onyx stones and diamonds to depict the fur of a panther.

The size of the coral used in the piece is an absolute highlight, which is why we found it a fitting gift for a 35th anniversary. The brittle coral is carefully worked by an expert gem-cutter in order to achieve the gadrooned design of the watch. It’s no easy feat, as the material can crack at the slightest touch.

40th Anniversary — Ruby

Romeo and Juliet may have ended tragically, but the Shakespearean play is still considered one of the greatest love stories of all time. Van Cleef & Arpels clearly thought so too, creating a high-jewellery collection that featured more than 100 unique pieces based on the classic. Rubies and sapphires feature prominently in the collection to depict the two feuding families – red for the Capulets, and blue for the Montagues. The Fogliame clips in white gold and rose gold are set with one oval-cut ruby of 2.33 carats, one oval-cut pink sapphire of 2.10 carats, rubies, pink and mauve sapphires and diamonds. The pair of clips are an impressive piece of jewellery to show off on your 40th Ruby anniversary, even if we do say so ourselves.

45th Anniversary — Sapphire

Sapphire is the traditional gift for a 45th-anniversary celebration. Also from the Cartier [Sur]naturel collection is this magnificent Sinopé necklace, a sapphire and diamond masterpiece that’s worked into a supple and wave-like shape to evoke the flow of water. The piece boasts a scalloped lapis lazuli edge that rests against the neck, a ripple of blue that’s offset with the crystal-clear quality of the frosty diamonds. On the lower edge of the necklace are five Ceylon sapphires, chosen for the beautiful “medium cornflower blue” shade. The oval-shaped sapphires are from Madagascar, and total 8.55, 8.40, 8.14, 7.23 and 6.88 carats.

50th Anniversary — Gold

KISS (but in this case the acronym stands for Keep It Super Simple) is the name of Carolina Bucci’s latest collection, as well as pretty good advice to take into your 50th year of marriage. The gold bracelet and necklace collection is quite unusually inspired by Carolina Bucci’s partnership with watchmaker Audemars Piguet. The collection’s design is based on the beating heart of mechanical watches – the balance spring – a tightly wound, sinuous coil that causes the balance wheel to oscillate at a constant frequency to keep the watch running. Aesthetically simple and yet deliciously complex, the bracelets and necklaces in yellow and rose gold can be worn on its own or stacked with a watch or other jewellery.

55th Anniversary — Emerald

Emeralds are often considered regal; their glittering shades bely an almost mysterious appeal, but the thing about emeralds is that they’re also very rarely flawless. Almost all emeralds contain inclusions and tiny fractures that could even be visible to the naked eye. But maybe this is why we find them so enchanting. Relationships, too, aren’t always perfect, but they can be absolutely beautiful.

To celebrate a 55th Emerald anniversary, look no further than Graff’s high-jewellery collection, which sees emeralds and diamonds taking centre stage. The highlight is an emerald-cut emerald and pear-shaped diamond necklace, which is set with a 26.22-carat pear-shaped diamond that’s cut and polished from the legendary 1,109-carat Lesedi la Rona.

60th Anniversary — Diamond

To celebrate your 60th anniversary, there’s no more appropriate or timeless gift than diamonds. And not just any diamond, but one from Graff. Every Graff diamond is carefully selected for its rare beauty, before its master craftsmen work with the stones to maximise its brilliance, but this particular one is a piece of diamond history. The principle stone is cut and polished from the 476-carat Meya Prosperity Diamond, which is then set into an exquisite necklace featuring more than 63 carats of the finest white diamonds.

The pendant drop, cut from the Meya Prosperity Diamond, is a 102.38-carat flawless pear-shaped diamond that sparkles with extraordinary brilliance and scintillating fire. The total necklace comes down to 183.18 carats of diamonds.

The post Jewellery to Celebrate Milestone Anniversaries appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

Astounding gemstones and awe-inspiring craftsmanship notwithstanding, the story of heritage jewels is what make them the stuff of legends. Here are the tales of some of the most amazing heritage pieces and of their owners.

Jewellery pieces only truly come alive when they’re worn, and as they’re often inextricably connected to a particular owner, these precious objects are transformed and take on a persona of their own. When we admire heritage pieces from behind glass in museums or exhibitions, or perhaps placed on headless busts, their stories still resonate. One can almost hear the proclamations of a hopelessly smitten lover, or the chides of an insatiable woman, if not feel the unspeakable pain brought about by loss and tragedy. There exist many such storied relics, but here are a few that will surely compel you to explore more.

VAN CLEEF & ARPELS: UN-ZIPPED

Perhaps unknown to many, Van Cleef & Arpels’ famous Zip necklace was conceived on the suggestion of the Duchess of Windsor, formerly the American socialite Wallis Simpson, a big client of the house whose controversial love story and eventual marriage to Prince Edward of Great Britain – who in 1936 abdicated to marry “the woman I love” – were the stuff of legend. So too was her jewellery collection. The couple was known to have shared an incredible passion for jewellery; story has it that the
Duke would spend hours with Van Cleef & Arpels’ designers to develop
and customise jewels for the Duchess.

In the 1930s, after the Duchess of Windsor had just purchased an Elsa Schiaparelli piece that was fastened, for the first time in haute couture, with a zipper – then relegated mainly to utilitarian wear – she encouraged, or perhaps challenged, Renée Puissant, then artistic director at Van Cleef & Arpels, to create the Zip necklace, a piece designed to be worn either open around the neck, or closed, gracing the wrist as a bracelet. Made from yellow gold and diamonds mounted in platinum, the Zip took more than a decade to make and was only completed in 1951. The Duchess is believed never actually to have owned a Zip necklace herself – pundits say the wait might have been a tad too long – but she remained a huge fan of the French house, having owned many of its pieces.

BULGARI: A LOVE SET IN STONE

It’s remiss not to include Elizabeth Taylor’s renowned emerald necklace and brooch suite by Bulgari when speaking about jewellery of incredible provenance. As the story goes, the actor Richard Burton fell in love with Taylor after filming the first scene of Cleopatra together – naturally – and the jewels just poured thereafter. Burton famously said, “the only word Elizabeth knows in Italian is Bulgari” and, unsurprisingly, Bulgari’s Via Condotti store was one of the couple’s favourite venues in Rome.

Burton gave Taylor the spectacular Bulgari necklace mounted with 16 step-cut octagonal Colombian emeralds of 60.50 carats, each surrounded by brilliant-cut and pear-shaped diamonds, and on their engagement he presented her with this 23.44-carat step-cut Colombian emerald brooch, which she wore on their wedding day in 1964. In 2011, Christie’s held a sale of Taylor’s private collection, which set records as the most valuable jewellery in auction history. From this sale and other private transactions, the brand re-acquired nine of its pieces – one of which is this brooch.

BOUCHERON: A QUESTION OF TASTE

The Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia, a devoted client of Boucheron, is known to be the first owner of the Point d’Interrogation (or, as most of us know it, the Question Mark), an astounding emerald and diamond peacock-feather necklace. Designed by Frédéric Boucheron and the head of his workshop, Paul Legrand, the necklace was referred to, for obvious reasons, as the Question Mark: it was wrapped around the wearer’s neck without the need to be fastened.

Although this modern, asymmetrical piece formed part of the Boucheron collection that won the Gold Medal at the World’s Fair in 1889, the Grand Duke already had his eyes on it even before it was presented to the world, having seen it in a sketch in 1879. He bought it a few years later, in 1883.

CARTIER: EPIC PROPORTIONS

This extravagant necklace was made for Sir Bhupindra Singh, the Maharaja of Patiala, in a special order that was placed in 1925 in Paris and completed three years later. The Maharaja brought a trove of his traditional Indian jewels to Cartier, instructing the house to modernise them. The result was a magnificent ceremonial necklace with, at its centre, the 234-carat De Beers yellow diamond, believed to be the seventh-largest diamond of all time and surrounded by another 2,900 diamonds.

In 1947, the necklace vanished and in 1998, Éric Nussbaum, the former director of the Cartier Collection, discovered it in a poor state. Its restoration took Cartier’s artisans more than two years, with zirconia, white topazes, synthetic rubies, smoky quartz and citrines replacing the original gems. Tremendous efforts went into restoring the platinum chain necklaces, specifically that of the pendant that held the De Beers diamond. The necklace, as it now appears in the Cartier Collection, was shown in public for the first time in 2002.

CHAUMET: PERFECT PARURE

In the early 1800s, Chaumet and its founder Marie-Étienne Nitot were appointed as Napoleon Bonaparte’s official jeweller. Nitot would go on to design Napoleon’s coronation crown, sword hilt and many precious gifts for his first wife, Empress Joséphine, who would be known as Chaumet’s “first great client”.

The royal court’s ties with Nitot would continue even after Napoleon’s second marriage to Marie-Louise of Habsburg-Lorraine of Austria, the grand-niece of Marie-Antoinette. They married at the Louvre Chapel in 1810, when the Empress Marie-Louise received as gifts two elaborate sets of jewels, each comprising a tiara, a necklace, a pair of earrings and a comb. With Nitot’s desire to preserve a copy of these ceremonial parures, he made replicas – and this tiara is one of them. It’s part of the replica of the ruby and diamond parure that belonged to Empress Marie-Louise, which was made in gold, silver and set with white sapphires, zircons and garnets.

HARRY WINSTON: FATEFUL BEAUTY

As stunning and jaw-dropping though this 45.52-carat intense dark-blue Hope Diamond is, tragedy has befallen anyone who came to its possession. Smuggled out of India in 1642 and sold to Louis XIV 26 years later – when it was called the French Blue – it was worn once by the king, who died shortly thereafter. It then went to Louis XV, who never wore it but lent it to his mistress, Countess DuBarry, who was beheaded in the French Revolution (Marie Antoinette, who shared the same fate at the guillotine, was also believed to have worn it often).

The diamond then appeared in the collection of Henry Philip Hope, the stone’s namesake, in 1824, who had it set on a brooch and sometimes lent it to Louisa Beresford, wife of his brother Henry Thomas Hope, when she hosted society balls. Henry Philip Hope died in 1839 and his three heirs fought in court for a decade until his nephew Henry Hope acquired the gems, including the Hope Diamond. It was showcased in the Great Exhibition of London in 1851 and the Paris Exhibition of 1855, but was usually kept in a bank vault.

By the early 1900s, the Hope changed hands once more and was cut, re-cut and re-set time and again, with tragedy never far from it. It was owned by Evalyn Walsh MacLean, whose husband was implicated in the Teapot Dome government scandal and whose son was killed in a motor accident. Harry Winston acquired the Hope in 1949, and 10 years later donated the gem to the Smithsonian, where it resides to this day.

The post Incredible Stories of 6 Heritage Jewels You Might Not Know About appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

Astounding gemstones and awe-inspiring craftsmanship notwithstanding, the story of heritage jewels is what make them the stuff of legends. Here are the tales of some of the most amazing heritage pieces and of their owners.

Jewellery pieces only truly come alive when they’re worn, and as they’re often inextricably connected to a particular owner, these precious objects are transformed and take on a persona of their own. When we admire heritage pieces from behind glass in museums or exhibitions, or perhaps placed on headless busts, their stories still resonate. One can almost hear the proclamations of a hopelessly smitten lover, or the chides of an insatiable woman, if not feel the unspeakable pain brought about by loss and tragedy. There exist many such storied relics, but here are a few that will surely compel you to explore more.

VAN CLEEF & ARPELS: UN-ZIPPED

Perhaps unknown to many, Van Cleef & Arpels’ famous Zip necklace was conceived on the suggestion of the Duchess of Windsor, formerly the American socialite Wallis Simpson, a big client of the house whose controversial love story and eventual marriage to Prince Edward of Great Britain – who in 1936 abdicated to marry “the woman I love” – were the stuff of legend. So too was her jewellery collection. The couple was known to have shared an incredible passion for jewellery; story has it that the
Duke would spend hours with Van Cleef & Arpels’ designers to develop
and customise jewels for the Duchess.

In the 1930s, after the Duchess of Windsor had just purchased an Elsa Schiaparelli piece that was fastened, for the first time in haute couture, with a zipper – then relegated mainly to utilitarian wear – she encouraged, or perhaps challenged, Renée Puissant, then artistic director at Van Cleef & Arpels, to create the Zip necklace, a piece designed to be worn either open around the neck, or closed, gracing the wrist as a bracelet. Made from yellow gold and diamonds mounted in platinum, the Zip took more than a decade to make and was only completed in 1951. The Duchess is believed never actually to have owned a Zip necklace herself – pundits say the wait might have been a tad too long – but she remained a huge fan of the French house, having owned many of its pieces.

BULGARI: A LOVE SET IN STONE

It’s remiss not to include Elizabeth Taylor’s renowned emerald necklace and brooch suite by Bulgari when speaking about jewellery of incredible provenance. As the story goes, the actor Richard Burton fell in love with Taylor after filming the first scene of Cleopatra together – naturally – and the jewels just poured thereafter. Burton famously said, “the only word Elizabeth knows in Italian is Bulgari” and, unsurprisingly, Bulgari’s Via Condotti store was one of the couple’s favourite venues in Rome.

Burton gave Taylor the spectacular Bulgari necklace mounted with 16 step-cut octagonal Colombian emeralds of 60.50 carats, each surrounded by brilliant-cut and pear-shaped diamonds, and on their engagement he presented her with this 23.44-carat step-cut Colombian emerald brooch, which she wore on their wedding day in 1964. In 2011, Christie’s held a sale of Taylor’s private collection, which set records as the most valuable jewellery in auction history. From this sale and other private transactions, the brand re-acquired nine of its pieces – one of which is this brooch.

BOUCHERON: A QUESTION OF TASTE

The Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia, a devoted client of Boucheron, is known to be the first owner of the Point d’Interrogation (or, as most of us know it, the Question Mark), an astounding emerald and diamond peacock-feather necklace. Designed by Frédéric Boucheron and the head of his workshop, Paul Legrand, the necklace was referred to, for obvious reasons, as the Question Mark: it was wrapped around the wearer’s neck without the need to be fastened.

Although this modern, asymmetrical piece formed part of the Boucheron collection that won the Gold Medal at the World’s Fair in 1889, the Grand Duke already had his eyes on it even before it was presented to the world, having seen it in a sketch in 1879. He bought it a few years later, in 1883.

CARTIER: EPIC PROPORTIONS

This extravagant necklace was made for Sir Bhupindra Singh, the Maharaja of Patiala, in a special order that was placed in 1925 in Paris and completed three years later. The Maharaja brought a trove of his traditional Indian jewels to Cartier, instructing the house to modernise them. The result was a magnificent ceremonial necklace with, at its centre, the 234-carat De Beers yellow diamond, believed to be the seventh-largest diamond of all time and surrounded by another 2,900 diamonds.

In 1947, the necklace vanished and in 1998, Éric Nussbaum, the former director of the Cartier Collection, discovered it in a poor state. Its restoration took Cartier’s artisans more than two years, with zirconia, white topazes, synthetic rubies, smoky quartz and citrines replacing the original gems. Tremendous efforts went into restoring the platinum chain necklaces, specifically that of the pendant that held the De Beers diamond. The necklace, as it now appears in the Cartier Collection, was shown in public for the first time in 2002.

CHAUMET: PERFECT PARURE

In the early 1800s, Chaumet and its founder Marie-Étienne Nitot were appointed as Napoleon Bonaparte’s official jeweller. Nitot would go on to design Napoleon’s coronation crown, sword hilt and many precious gifts for his first wife, Empress Joséphine, who would be known as Chaumet’s “first great client”.

The royal court’s ties with Nitot would continue even after Napoleon’s second marriage to Marie-Louise of Habsburg-Lorraine of Austria, the grand-niece of Marie-Antoinette. They married at the Louvre Chapel in 1810, when the Empress Marie-Louise received as gifts two elaborate sets of jewels, each comprising a tiara, a necklace, a pair of earrings and a comb. With Nitot’s desire to preserve a copy of these ceremonial parures, he made replicas – and this tiara is one of them. It’s part of the replica of the ruby and diamond parure that belonged to Empress Marie-Louise, which was made in gold, silver and set with white sapphires, zircons and garnets.

HARRY WINSTON: FATEFUL BEAUTY

As stunning and jaw-dropping though this 45.52-carat intense dark-blue Hope Diamond is, tragedy has befallen anyone who came to its possession. Smuggled out of India in 1642 and sold to Louis XIV 26 years later – when it was called the French Blue – it was worn once by the king, who died shortly thereafter. It then went to Louis XV, who never wore it but lent it to his mistress, Countess DuBarry, who was beheaded in the French Revolution (Marie Antoinette, who shared the same fate at the guillotine, was also believed to have worn it often).

The diamond then appeared in the collection of Henry Philip Hope, the stone’s namesake, in 1824, who had it set on a brooch and sometimes lent it to Louisa Beresford, wife of his brother Henry Thomas Hope, when she hosted society balls. Henry Philip Hope died in 1839 and his three heirs fought in court for a decade until his nephew Henry Hope acquired the gems, including the Hope Diamond. It was showcased in the Great Exhibition of London in 1851 and the Paris Exhibition of 1855, but was usually kept in a bank vault.

By the early 1900s, the Hope changed hands once more and was cut, re-cut and re-set time and again, with tragedy never far from it. It was owned by Evalyn Walsh MacLean, whose husband was implicated in the Teapot Dome government scandal and whose son was killed in a motor accident. Harry Winston acquired the Hope in 1949, and 10 years later donated the gem to the Smithsonian, where it resides to this day.

The post Incredible Stories of 6 Heritage Jewels You Might Not Know About appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

Astounding gemstones and awe-inspiring craftsmanship notwithstanding, the story of heritage jewels is what make them the stuff of legends. Here are the tales of some of the most amazing heritage pieces and of their owners.

Jewellery pieces only truly come alive when they’re worn, and as they’re often inextricably connected to a particular owner, these precious objects are transformed and take on a persona of their own. When we admire heritage pieces from behind glass in museums or exhibitions, or perhaps placed on headless busts, their stories still resonate. One can almost hear the proclamations of a hopelessly smitten lover, or the chides of an insatiable woman, if not feel the unspeakable pain brought about by loss and tragedy. There exist many such storied relics, but here are a few that will surely compel you to explore more.

VAN CLEEF & ARPELS: UN-ZIPPED

Perhaps unknown to many, Van Cleef & Arpels’ famous Zip necklace was conceived on the suggestion of the Duchess of Windsor, formerly the American socialite Wallis Simpson, a big client of the house whose controversial love story and eventual marriage to Prince Edward of Great Britain – who in 1936 abdicated to marry “the woman I love” – were the stuff of legend. So too was her jewellery collection. The couple was known to have shared an incredible passion for jewellery; story has it that the
Duke would spend hours with Van Cleef & Arpels’ designers to develop
and customise jewels for the Duchess.

In the 1930s, after the Duchess of Windsor had just purchased an Elsa Schiaparelli piece that was fastened, for the first time in haute couture, with a zipper – then relegated mainly to utilitarian wear – she encouraged, or perhaps challenged, Renée Puissant, then artistic director at Van Cleef & Arpels, to create the Zip necklace, a piece designed to be worn either open around the neck, or closed, gracing the wrist as a bracelet. Made from yellow gold and diamonds mounted in platinum, the Zip took more than a decade to make and was only completed in 1951. The Duchess is believed never actually to have owned a Zip necklace herself – pundits say the wait might have been a tad too long – but she remained a huge fan of the French house, having owned many of its pieces.

BULGARI: A LOVE SET IN STONE

It’s remiss not to include Elizabeth Taylor’s renowned emerald necklace and brooch suite by Bulgari when speaking about jewellery of incredible provenance. As the story goes, the actor Richard Burton fell in love with Taylor after filming the first scene of Cleopatra together – naturally – and the jewels just poured thereafter. Burton famously said, “the only word Elizabeth knows in Italian is Bulgari” and, unsurprisingly, Bulgari’s Via Condotti store was one of the couple’s favourite venues in Rome.

Burton gave Taylor the spectacular Bulgari necklace mounted with 16 step-cut octagonal Colombian emeralds of 60.50 carats, each surrounded by brilliant-cut and pear-shaped diamonds, and on their engagement he presented her with this 23.44-carat step-cut Colombian emerald brooch, which she wore on their wedding day in 1964. In 2011, Christie’s held a sale of Taylor’s private collection, which set records as the most valuable jewellery in auction history. From this sale and other private transactions, the brand re-acquired nine of its pieces – one of which is this brooch.

BOUCHERON: A QUESTION OF TASTE

The Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia, a devoted client of Boucheron, is known to be the first owner of the Point d’Interrogation (or, as most of us know it, the Question Mark), an astounding emerald and diamond peacock-feather necklace. Designed by Frédéric Boucheron and the head of his workshop, Paul Legrand, the necklace was referred to, for obvious reasons, as the Question Mark: it was wrapped around the wearer’s neck without the need to be fastened.

Although this modern, asymmetrical piece formed part of the Boucheron collection that won the Gold Medal at the World’s Fair in 1889, the Grand Duke already had his eyes on it even before it was presented to the world, having seen it in a sketch in 1879. He bought it a few years later, in 1883.

CARTIER: EPIC PROPORTIONS

This extravagant necklace was made for Sir Bhupindra Singh, the Maharaja of Patiala, in a special order that was placed in 1925 in Paris and completed three years later. The Maharaja brought a trove of his traditional Indian jewels to Cartier, instructing the house to modernise them. The result was a magnificent ceremonial necklace with, at its centre, the 234-carat De Beers yellow diamond, believed to be the seventh-largest diamond of all time and surrounded by another 2,900 diamonds.

In 1947, the necklace vanished and in 1998, Éric Nussbaum, the former director of the Cartier Collection, discovered it in a poor state. Its restoration took Cartier’s artisans more than two years, with zirconia, white topazes, synthetic rubies, smoky quartz and citrines replacing the original gems. Tremendous efforts went into restoring the platinum chain necklaces, specifically that of the pendant that held the De Beers diamond. The necklace, as it now appears in the Cartier Collection, was shown in public for the first time in 2002.

CHAUMET: PERFECT PARURE

In the early 1800s, Chaumet and its founder Marie-Étienne Nitot were appointed as Napoleon Bonaparte’s official jeweller. Nitot would go on to design Napoleon’s coronation crown, sword hilt and many precious gifts for his first wife, Empress Joséphine, who would be known as Chaumet’s “first great client”.

The royal court’s ties with Nitot would continue even after Napoleon’s second marriage to Marie-Louise of Habsburg-Lorraine of Austria, the grand-niece of Marie-Antoinette. They married at the Louvre Chapel in 1810, when the Empress Marie-Louise received as gifts two elaborate sets of jewels, each comprising a tiara, a necklace, a pair of earrings and a comb. With Nitot’s desire to preserve a copy of these ceremonial parures, he made replicas – and this tiara is one of them. It’s part of the replica of the ruby and diamond parure that belonged to Empress Marie-Louise, which was made in gold, silver and set with white sapphires, zircons and garnets.

HARRY WINSTON: FATEFUL BEAUTY

As stunning and jaw-dropping though this 45.52-carat intense dark-blue Hope Diamond is, tragedy has befallen anyone who came to its possession. Smuggled out of India in 1642 and sold to Louis XIV 26 years later – when it was called the French Blue – it was worn once by the king, who died shortly thereafter. It then went to Louis XV, who never wore it but lent it to his mistress, Countess DuBarry, who was beheaded in the French Revolution (Marie Antoinette, who shared the same fate at the guillotine, was also believed to have worn it often).

The diamond then appeared in the collection of Henry Philip Hope, the stone’s namesake, in 1824, who had it set on a brooch and sometimes lent it to Louisa Beresford, wife of his brother Henry Thomas Hope, when she hosted society balls. Henry Philip Hope died in 1839 and his three heirs fought in court for a decade until his nephew Henry Hope acquired the gems, including the Hope Diamond. It was showcased in the Great Exhibition of London in 1851 and the Paris Exhibition of 1855, but was usually kept in a bank vault.

By the early 1900s, the Hope changed hands once more and was cut, re-cut and re-set time and again, with tragedy never far from it. It was owned by Evalyn Walsh MacLean, whose husband was implicated in the Teapot Dome government scandal and whose son was killed in a motor accident. Harry Winston acquired the Hope in 1949, and 10 years later donated the gem to the Smithsonian, where it resides to this day.

The post Incredible Stories of 6 Heritage Jewels You Might Not Know About appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

Astounding gemstones and awe-inspiring craftsmanship notwithstanding, the story of heritage jewels is what make them the stuff of legends. Here are the tales of some of the most amazing heritage pieces and of their owners.

Jewellery pieces only truly come alive when they’re worn, and as they’re often inextricably connected to a particular owner, these precious objects are transformed and take on a persona of their own. When we admire heritage pieces from behind glass in museums or exhibitions, or perhaps placed on headless busts, their stories still resonate. One can almost hear the proclamations of a hopelessly smitten lover, or the chides of an insatiable woman, if not feel the unspeakable pain brought about by loss and tragedy. There exist many such storied relics, but here are a few that will surely compel you to explore more.

VAN CLEEF & ARPELS: UN-ZIPPED

Perhaps unknown to many, Van Cleef & Arpels’ famous Zip necklace was conceived on the suggestion of the Duchess of Windsor, formerly the American socialite Wallis Simpson, a big client of the house whose controversial love story and eventual marriage to Prince Edward of Great Britain – who in 1936 abdicated to marry “the woman I love” – were the stuff of legend. So too was her jewellery collection. The couple was known to have shared an incredible passion for jewellery; story has it that the
Duke would spend hours with Van Cleef & Arpels’ designers to develop
and customise jewels for the Duchess.

In the 1930s, after the Duchess of Windsor had just purchased an Elsa Schiaparelli piece that was fastened, for the first time in haute couture, with a zipper – then relegated mainly to utilitarian wear – she encouraged, or perhaps challenged, Renée Puissant, then artistic director at Van Cleef & Arpels, to create the Zip necklace, a piece designed to be worn either open around the neck, or closed, gracing the wrist as a bracelet. Made from yellow gold and diamonds mounted in platinum, the Zip took more than a decade to make and was only completed in 1951. The Duchess is believed never actually to have owned a Zip necklace herself – pundits say the wait might have been a tad too long – but she remained a huge fan of the French house, having owned many of its pieces.

BULGARI: A LOVE SET IN STONE

It’s remiss not to include Elizabeth Taylor’s renowned emerald necklace and brooch suite by Bulgari when speaking about jewellery of incredible provenance. As the story goes, the actor Richard Burton fell in love with Taylor after filming the first scene of Cleopatra together – naturally – and the jewels just poured thereafter. Burton famously said, “the only word Elizabeth knows in Italian is Bulgari” and, unsurprisingly, Bulgari’s Via Condotti store was one of the couple’s favourite venues in Rome.

Burton gave Taylor the spectacular Bulgari necklace mounted with 16 step-cut octagonal Colombian emeralds of 60.50 carats, each surrounded by brilliant-cut and pear-shaped diamonds, and on their engagement he presented her with this 23.44-carat step-cut Colombian emerald brooch, which she wore on their wedding day in 1964. In 2011, Christie’s held a sale of Taylor’s private collection, which set records as the most valuable jewellery in auction history. From this sale and other private transactions, the brand re-acquired nine of its pieces – one of which is this brooch.

BOUCHERON: A QUESTION OF TASTE

The Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia, a devoted client of Boucheron, is known to be the first owner of the Point d’Interrogation (or, as most of us know it, the Question Mark), an astounding emerald and diamond peacock-feather necklace. Designed by Frédéric Boucheron and the head of his workshop, Paul Legrand, the necklace was referred to, for obvious reasons, as the Question Mark: it was wrapped around the wearer’s neck without the need to be fastened.

Although this modern, asymmetrical piece formed part of the Boucheron collection that won the Gold Medal at the World’s Fair in 1889, the Grand Duke already had his eyes on it even before it was presented to the world, having seen it in a sketch in 1879. He bought it a few years later, in 1883.

CARTIER: EPIC PROPORTIONS

This extravagant necklace was made for Sir Bhupindra Singh, the Maharaja of Patiala, in a special order that was placed in 1925 in Paris and completed three years later. The Maharaja brought a trove of his traditional Indian jewels to Cartier, instructing the house to modernise them. The result was a magnificent ceremonial necklace with, at its centre, the 234-carat De Beers yellow diamond, believed to be the seventh-largest diamond of all time and surrounded by another 2,900 diamonds.

In 1947, the necklace vanished and in 1998, Éric Nussbaum, the former director of the Cartier Collection, discovered it in a poor state. Its restoration took Cartier’s artisans more than two years, with zirconia, white topazes, synthetic rubies, smoky quartz and citrines replacing the original gems. Tremendous efforts went into restoring the platinum chain necklaces, specifically that of the pendant that held the De Beers diamond. The necklace, as it now appears in the Cartier Collection, was shown in public for the first time in 2002.

CHAUMET: PERFECT PARURE

In the early 1800s, Chaumet and its founder Marie-Étienne Nitot were appointed as Napoleon Bonaparte’s official jeweller. Nitot would go on to design Napoleon’s coronation crown, sword hilt and many precious gifts for his first wife, Empress Joséphine, who would be known as Chaumet’s “first great client”.

The royal court’s ties with Nitot would continue even after Napoleon’s second marriage to Marie-Louise of Habsburg-Lorraine of Austria, the grand-niece of Marie-Antoinette. They married at the Louvre Chapel in 1810, when the Empress Marie-Louise received as gifts two elaborate sets of jewels, each comprising a tiara, a necklace, a pair of earrings and a comb. With Nitot’s desire to preserve a copy of these ceremonial parures, he made replicas – and this tiara is one of them. It’s part of the replica of the ruby and diamond parure that belonged to Empress Marie-Louise, which was made in gold, silver and set with white sapphires, zircons and garnets.

HARRY WINSTON: FATEFUL BEAUTY

As stunning and jaw-dropping though this 45.52-carat intense dark-blue Hope Diamond is, tragedy has befallen anyone who came to its possession. Smuggled out of India in 1642 and sold to Louis XIV 26 years later – when it was called the French Blue – it was worn once by the king, who died shortly thereafter. It then went to Louis XV, who never wore it but lent it to his mistress, Countess DuBarry, who was beheaded in the French Revolution (Marie Antoinette, who shared the same fate at the guillotine, was also believed to have worn it often).

The diamond then appeared in the collection of Henry Philip Hope, the stone’s namesake, in 1824, who had it set on a brooch and sometimes lent it to Louisa Beresford, wife of his brother Henry Thomas Hope, when she hosted society balls. Henry Philip Hope died in 1839 and his three heirs fought in court for a decade until his nephew Henry Hope acquired the gems, including the Hope Diamond. It was showcased in the Great Exhibition of London in 1851 and the Paris Exhibition of 1855, but was usually kept in a bank vault.

By the early 1900s, the Hope changed hands once more and was cut, re-cut and re-set time and again, with tragedy never far from it. It was owned by Evalyn Walsh MacLean, whose husband was implicated in the Teapot Dome government scandal and whose son was killed in a motor accident. Harry Winston acquired the Hope in 1949, and 10 years later donated the gem to the Smithsonian, where it resides to this day.

The post Incredible Stories of 6 Heritage Jewels You Might Not Know About appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

By now, your bosses and colleagues have probably seen more of your abode than you would've ever expected to show them.

With many of us working from home these days, meetings held over video conferencing apps the likes of Zoom and Microsoft Teams have become the new normal. Inevitably, this means letting colleagues into our residences — albeit virtually — and having them catch glimpses of it via our backdrop. Depending on where your workspace is located, this view could range from a boring blank wall to windows or cluttered bookshelves.

Your makeshift office may not be the most glamorous, but there are several easy interior design tricks that you can employ to quickly jazz up the background of your Zoom calls.

Textiles and cushions

If your workstation of choice is the couch or bed, all it takes is a few snazzy throw pillows wrapped in eye-catching fabrics and prints to provide visual interest in the space behind you. Consider dressing your cushions in the Armani/Casa Exclusive Textiles by Rubelli collection, which is inspired by modern art — specifically works by Henri Matisse, Vasilij Kandinskij and Paul Klee.

It showcases striking colour blocks embellished with embroideries, ikat details and intertwined motifs. These are available in various patterns and shades ranging from pastel to neutral hues. More details here.

Houseplants and greenery

Adding houseplants to your home office will help the space look less spartan and bland. Smaller plants like cacti, succulents and spider plants can be displayed on shelves or tables, while larger ones such as philodendrons, snake plants and ZZ plant (Zanzibar Gem) can be placed on the floor to break the monotony of blank walls.

Online plant retailer Flora Houses offers a wide variety of houseplants that will thrive indoors and are generally low-maintenance. Its range includes Japanese fir, fiddle leaf fig and Bird of Paradise. The store provides free doorstep delivery with a minimum spend.

Artworks and paintings

Perhaps houseplants may seem like too much of a commitment, or you simply don't have green fingers. This is where paintings and art pieces make an easier alternative. You can simply hang a couple of them on the wall that constantly forms your video call backdrop.

An Andy Warhol or Basquiat will certainly impress your co-workers, but your art doesn't necessarily have to be expensive or by big name artists. Consider procuring artworks instead from indie galleries such as Odd One Out, which boasts an array of creations by local and international printmakers and illustrators. We can't take our eyes off the above acrylic painting by Micke Lindebergh, which is titled 'Small Yellow Flower Pot' and features colourful blooms accented by quirky squiggles and bright hues.

Statement ornaments and furniture

Inject a dose of quirk into your meeting setup by peppering your background with assorted decorative items and statement furniture pieces. These can be anything from figurines to colourful tiles and dramatic room dividers.

Our go-to is Lala Curio, which is a whimsical wonderland of objets d'art such as brass monkey sculptures, cloisonné birds, and, one of our favourites — an adorable trio of cranes adorned with rock crystal feathers and perched on crystal balls.

Wallpaper

Why settle for one specially curated work area, when you can turn your whole room into an Instagram-worthy space? Wallpaper is a bold and easy solution — if every wall in your room is clad in beautiful prints, you can essentially park yourself in any corner and still have an envy-inducing Zoom backdrop.

Designer wallpaper has seen a resurgence in recent years, and we're obsessed with Christian Lacroix's exquisite Oiseau Fleur vinyl wallpaper, which depicts vibrant botanical and bird motifs against a silk effect embossed base. It comes in two colourways of pink and grey.

(Main image: Brina Blum/ Unsplash; Featured image: Christian Lacroix)

The post The Boucheron Fenêtre sur Ciel Necklace Resembles a Celestial Portal to the Sky appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

Hong Kong's ever-changing dining scene is constantly evolving.

So much so, that it can get a little difficult to keep track of it all, let alone remember to book and try the new restaurants that have caught your eye. From brand new concepts to fresh venues and additional locations, here is our guide to seven of Hong Kong's most promising new restaurants to try right now.

Well, what are you waiting for...

The post 7 Gift Ideas for Dad to Make Father’s Day Extra Special appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

Few people are lucky enough to enjoy a visit of the Boucheron apartment in Paris, just above the House’s historical boutique on Place Vendôme. A magnificent and unique apartment created during the renovation of the store that reopened in early 2019, and dedicated to most exclusive brand’s clients. I had the chance to see it in detail! There are many…

The post Visiting the Boucheron apartment on Place Vendôme appeared first on The Luxe Insider.

When it comes to luxury, you can rest assured that Prestige has it covered. But with the sheer multitude, let alone variety, released regularly on the landscape, it can become rather difficult to figure out the best from the rest or to even pick up the newest and most exciting. As luck would have it, our editors are forever on the look out: discovering on-the-rise labels, picking up new products from cult brands and the finding the most desirable items there are. So for those that are curious what that might be, keep scrolling to discover what made the cut in our weekly Most Coveted list.

The post Most Coveted: Isabel Marant, Boucheron, Valentino and More appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.