Celebrity Life

For newborns to toddlers, here's our pick of the best Christmas gifts for the new bundles of joy in your life.

If you're struggling to shop for new babies and toddlers in your life – be it your own, or your friends and families, this is the guide for you. Don't settle for yet another plastic toy or Barbie doll. Here are a few more ideas you might have missed.

Keep scrolling to shop our selection of best gifts for babies and toddlers during the holiday season.

The post Chunky Chains: Chokers & Cable Link Jewellery for Winter 2021 appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

As Chaumet's CEO Jean-Marc Mansvelt tells us, bringing the house's 240-year heritage into the modern era is an immense task that amounts to a "daily obsession". But if the new pieces in the Chaumet Joséphine collection are anything to go by, the Place Vendôme stalwart is heading in the right direction.

What kind of woman today does the Joséphine collection appeal to?

First, it’s about a woman with a certain character. Because when you choose to wear a tiara on your finger, you’re making a choice of distinction, a choice of character. You’re sending a message to say you’re not like everyone else and you have a certain strength and a certain personality. But also a sense of virtuosity, grace and beauty, because it’s not for women who want to be too provocative.

It’s a way to set your personality. And then of course, there are two major reasons to become a client of Joséphine. On one side, it remains one of the favourite pieces chosen for a bridal purpose. It’s connected to the initial history of Chaumet, the history of the power and love between Napoleon and Joséphine. And Napoleon is known everywhere, that’s incredible. There’s another type of client on the other side of the connection with the pearls, the coloured stones, something a bit easier and more accessible.

This year, Chaumet's creations have also incorporated sleeker, more modern takes on the tiara. Can you tell us a bit about the new high jewellery?

After many creations that were a bit more tiara-like, a bit more decorative, more visible, more baroque in a certain way, we wanted to enrich the collection with new ways to mix and match, and to go for designs that were slicker, with a more minimalist approach, because that’s also the style of today. We have a feeling that clients today are a little more understated, and we have the capacity to create beauty through a fine line, rather than an accumulation. So one of our high- jewellery pieces, which is sort of a V with a stone in suspension, doesn’t shout about its design. It’s all about balance.

This year is the 10th anniversary of the Joséphine collection...

But we don’t mark it that way for two reasons. I always feel that if you start doing anniversaries for everything, then at the end, what’s the meaning in it? Last year, when we did the 240 years of Chaumet, that was slightly different. For Chaumet, our heritage is much longer than a decade, it’s about centuries. Instead, this year, we’re celebrating our connection with the 200th anniversary of the death of Napoleon, which is significant in Europe and in France. We’ve done an exhibition at 12 Place Vendôme that was open to the public which tells the love story of Napoleon and Josephine through 150 different objects, beautiful loans from museums and private owners.

Which piece proved to be the most challenging piece in the collection?

The most discussed and the most debated one was the watch. Because we’re clearly a jeweller, and we’ve focused all our efforts and attention on jewellery. But since a few years ago, we’ve reassessed and repositioned what watches mean for Chaumet. It’s true that with the business of watches within Chaumet, we’ve really tried to be coherent with what the story of watchmaking for Chaumet is as a jeweller. One of our challenges was to look at the market – in the market, 90 percent of watches are round – and nobody’s waiting for Chaumet to create a round watch, because we already have thousands of beautiful options on the market.

We decided on a shaped watch, and it wasn’t very difficult to settle on the pear shape, like an illusion of a diamond. We also faceted the watch’s dial.

How do you balance 240 years of heritage behind a brand and stay relevant at the same time?

That’s really the obsession every single day. How do we continue the narrative, the link to the story? Since the pandemic, we’ve seen clients choose Chaumet because there’s longevity. And so it becomes a daily obsession of ours to convey this message to our clients through different means, including the digital approach, so we can speak to the needs of our audience today. We also go through the traditional channels and have books and exhibitions. I regularly write down on paper in two columns: on one side, how much do we tell the story of Chaumet, and on the other, how do we take a contemporary approach, either through the narrative or through using different tools? I take a step back and ask myself is there a balance? If we’re going too much in one direction, maybe it’s time to rebalance. It’s in everything we do.

The post View from the Top: The Best 2021 High Jewellery Selection appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

Mother Nature has borne us two of the world's greatest treasures, one abundant yet fleeting, the other rare yet enduring — both eternally beautiful. Here, timeless high jewellery is showcased against ephemeral blooms in a study of our planet's most precious formations.

(Hero Image: ROUND DIAMOND NECKLACE (TOTALLING 89.18 CARATS) AND MULTISHAPE DIAMOND EARRINGS (TOTALLING 26.25 CARATS), BOTH SET IN WHITE GOLD GRAFF)

HIGH JEWELLERY PHOTOSHOOT

Photography Kauzrambler
Creative Direction Stephanie Ip
Styling Karen Siu
Photography Assistant Chu Mei Kwan
Flowers Flannel Flowers

The post 2021 High Jewellery: Earth’s Greatest Treasures appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

There’s no doubt Alex Lam inherited his musical talent from his parents, his father being Cantopop legend George Lam Chi-Cheung, and his mother, Sally Yeh. Still, the singer-songwriter and actor hasn’t let privilege get to his head — he’s not afraid to explore other paths, from a stint in Los Angeles to discover yoga and becoming a yoga teacher, to dipping his toes in fashion.

Lam met Hiro Yoshikawa, founder and designer of Washi Jeans, a Japanese denim brand, a couple years back and was intrigued by the designer’s backstory. Now based in Hong Kong, Yoshikawa is the 18^th generation of a revered sake maker in Okayama, Japan, and the first to leave the family business to pursue his own passion in denim-making. By chance, Yoshikawa had found an old document that charted out his family’s history, written on washi paper. Inspired by this, he developed and patented the Washi No. 6 paper yarn, which he utilizes in his first solo collection launching this month.

Lam, who has always had an eye for detail, quickly became an ambassador and muse for Yoshikawa, and took it upon himself to bring the recognition Yoshikawa deserves by helping him stage his upcoming solo debut.

We sit down with Alex Lam and Hiro Yoshikawa at Washi Jean's studio to talk about style and the upcoming debut of Yoshikawa's solo collection Life on Earth.

Can you describe your style? What are your wardrobe essentials?

AL: My style has always been inspired by musicians. I grew up watching some of my favourite bands like The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, and today, I'm inspired by singers like Drake. For me, my summer essentials include a sleeveless vest, a good multi-functional blazer and a pair of high-quality designer jeans.

Have you always been passionate about fashion and did you want to work in fashion?

AL: I have always cared about how I look and my outfits since I was a kid. I remember there was one time when the collar of my t-shirt wasn't right and I wouldn’t wear it out until my parents fixed it for me. Having friends who are in the fashion industry allows me to execute and experiment my ideas during workshops, like the ‘marshmallow’ colourway of the t-shirt I’m wearing right now. 

How did the both of you meet?

AL: I met Hiro-san thought some of our mutual friends.

HY: have been making jeans for other brands for the past 30 years and it has always been my dream to have my own denim brand. I have always hung out with people from the fashion industry, and meeting Alex from the music and acting world has made my life more fun and exciting.

Can you tell us a bit about your project with Hiro-san?

AL: I was hanging out with a group of producers and we often talk about fashion shows, designer brands’ videos, installation art and music. Once we found out Hiro-san wanted to launch his own denim brand this year, we decided to catch this opportunity and put our ideas together. We are organising a VIP launch event with a fashion show on June 11, 2021.

What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome with this project?

AL: I think the rules of the game changed after Covid started last year. We looked at online fashion shows last year, without the tradition styles, and we knew our team needed to do it in a cleverer way. The restriction for event gathering is 30 persons at the moment, so we were not able to invite too many friends and make the event as big as before. Plus the campaign and fashion show video shoot all in one day, that’s the biggest challenge in this project.

HY:  We have been staying in our studio almost every day is the past few months, meeting different parties like our PR team, models, videographers and producers.

What else are you up to this year that you can share with us?

AL: I have released a new song and I just finished a music video for another song. I have also been working on my YouTube channel and created a few series, but it’s been slightly slowed down because I was focusing in this project.

Has the pandemic affected the way you work or changed your priorities?

AL: Before Covid, I was busy working with clients, who often prepared everything. With changes and restrictions during this period, I am able to organise and create more content by myself.

What are you currently inspired by?

AL: There are many indie musicians and young kids out there who are doing their music in their unique styles. I admire them a lot as they can release songs as long as they think it sounds good. I used think good music requires the best studio and recording equipment, but turned out a lot of indie musicians are producing high quality songs just by working at home.

You have a YouTube channel, you're into fashion, music as well as classic cars. How did you get into each of those passions and how do you balance it all?

AL: Project by project. I’m now focusing more on quantity over quality and I'll keep learning from the progress and mistakes.

Do you have a motto you live by?

Stay healthy. As I was a yoga teacher, I still practice yoga for two to three hours each day. It’s a good way to reflect on myself and find peace.

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The Carlyle hotel-inspired bolthole -- slated to open on the uppermost floors of Rosewood Hong Kong later this year -- will offer a blueprint for the eponymous group's vision of "a new kind of international members' club". We venture north of the harbour to discover just what that entails...

Hitherto, the Hong Kong ecosystem of private members' clubs has been split broadly between two camps: at one end, you have venerable institutions catered to the needs of the city's professionals (the FCC) and those who surround them (the KCC); at the other, a burgeoning array of social haunts meant to profit from the growing number of Silicon Valley types -- hawkers of crypto, CBD cafes, and other speculative investment opportunities -- who reside here.

Call me Debbie Downer, but neither feels like an especially glam place to visit. After all, such clubs justify their patronage by way of mostly pragmatic considerations: a convenient location; access to business networking opportunities; affordable gym membership; and so forth. This, as Rosewood Hotels CEO Sonia Cheng well knows is where Carlyle & Co. can break the mould -- by conjuring a little glamour into Hong Kong's mostly comatose members' club scene.

Best thought of as a kind of pied-à-terre to the Rosewood Hong Kong (spanning the 54th-56th floor of the hotel) Carlyle & Co. is, in effect, Cheng's answer to the boutique members' clubs that have dominated pop culture these last 20 years. In Hong Kong -- where bureaucratic red tape is frequent; and decent-sized real estate scant -- her hotel group's latest venture feels especially impressive -- if for no other reason than the sheer audacity of it all.

In recent weeks, the first details of the club's leviathan 25,000 sq. ft. premises have begun to emerge, inspired in broad strokes by the "intriguing, inimitable and ultimately indefinable" style of The Carlyle in New York (incidentally also a brand owned by Rosewood Hotels). To orchestrate this vision of Hong Kong-via-Manhattan, Rosewood turned to British designer Ilse Crawford, whose approach has imbued the club's many rooms with a light, playful sensibility -- affording each a healthy dose of individual personality.

For fusty decadents like yours truly, the gentlemen's spaces -- including a barber, shoeshine, and capsule store by an award-winning haberdasher -- hold immense charm -- even though they espouse just one of many eclectic visual styles members will enjoy each time they navigate the club. The aforementioned differ significantly from spaces like the Cabaret Bar and Sitting Room, both of which employ the medium of painting (by artists Jean-Philippe Delhomme and Christina Zimpel respectively) to celebrate The Carlyle hotel's legendary Bemelmans murals.

Supper & Supping

In the spirit of its progenitor, the various dining venues at Carlyle & Co. seem to be accompanied by an august sense of occasion. The crux of the action happens at the brasserie, which (like any decent club restaurant in Hong Kong) serves a medley of Western, Chinese, and all-day delicacies. Here, the focus is on simply cooking the freshest produce the club can source -- various of the small plates are smoked, cured, or otherwise preserved in-house -- yet it's hardly the most theatrical outlet. That honour belongs to Café Carlyle, an intimate supper club intended as the local chapter of the eponymous tippling destination in New York. Members can expect this to be the repository of the club's live musical programming, which (consistent with the historic acts that have taken to the stage at the Carlyle hotel) will include an assortment of uniquely American artforms like jazz, funk, and blues.

Members craving a dose of sunshine can also take a selection of food and drink on the club's 55th-floor terrace, which (much like the Rosewood property at large) enjoys the sort of view that's conducive to sonnet writing or spontaneous tears of joy. Flanking one end of that terrace, you'll find the local chapter of Bemelmans Bar. Like its namesake, the menu here is split roughly equally between fine wines, punchbowls and classic cocktails; though, at the weekend, you can expect a certain frenetic atmosphere to take hold, as the space merges with the terrace for live DJ performances against the backdrop of Victoria Harbour.

Cosy quarters, brimming with personality

Though Carlyle & Co. members can easily book themselves into one of the 400-plus rooms at the surrounding Rosewood property, the entire 54th floor of the club is given over to eight themed suites -- all of which celebrate the history of The Carlyle hotel. More or less equal in size, each offers an inviting and distinctive interior personality. If you're retiring following an evening spent drinking (one too many) Martinis for instance, the 'Tommy' seems an apt choice -- named for and inspired by the legendary Bemelmans bartender Mr. Tommy Rowles. Other known personalities include Dorothy Draper, the original 'modern Baroque' decorator of The Carlyle's interiors; and Eartha Kitt, the renowned actress and Broadway musician. For dedicated students of café society, a stay in every single suite would seem like money well-spent.

A variety of membership packages are available at Carlyle & Co., with or without health club membership. To learn more about rates (or inquire about eligibility) visit Carlyle & Co. online.

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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.

High jewellery celebrates art, fairy tales, nature and the joy of colour.

The post Our Favourite Highlights From the New High Jewellery Collections appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

With one holiday immediately following the other this year, you'll need the gems that do double duty. Here are a few of our favourites.

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Though Laurence Graff only opened his first store in Singapore this year, the diamantaire-billionaire and his jewellery are no strangers here.

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Proceeds to provide Sierra Leone with clean water, electricity, infrastructure.

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Party the night away in these show-stopping sparklers from some of the world’s most magnificent jewellery houses.

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Senior figures at five of the world's leading watch brands explain how they plan to steer a course through some decidedly uncharted territory in the years to come.

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