T O P L I N E - Surekha Kadapa-Bose ( Courtesy - BTW Magazine)

Jewels To Die For

RAREFIED, unique and embodied with distinctive
authenticity luxury jewellery needs to be all that in
order to satisfy the new breed of discerning super client

THERE is no doubt about it; luxury has been redefined. Those truly in the market for luxurious goods seek couture jewellery pieces that imply rarity and impeccable taste. In terms of luxury, if a jewel item is on tap, in a store, to the mass of people, then the higher echelons of the most affluent of consumers do not even want to touch it.

Faberge and Porrati, for example, feel that unless the jewellery is rarefied, unique and has distinctive authenticity it will never satisfy the new breed of discerning super client. For them, custom jewellery is for those seeking a special, rare and different piece. Indeed, this desire for custom ‘gemart’ is a driving force in high-end sales. We bring in these pages the jewellery which were launched at the Watch and Jewellery Fair (2008) at Basel, Switzerland.

There is no doubt about it, to impress everything today has to be a luxury, ultra or premium alternative version! Look at the back of any quality glossy magazine or surf online and notice how many references are made to ‘bespoke’ items. For jewellery to impress the top end consumer, it must now be cutting edge. In fact, jewellery marketed at the super rich has to offer more than something that is available to the mass consumer market. Not surprisingly, some jewellers consider the phrase ‘mass luxury market’ a much abused term and lacking meaning. Pieces have to be unique and individual to please the discriminating. Want it - so buy it. Not sure - leave it.

Indeed, today really rich people often opt for a one-off, one-ofa-kind or a very limited edition artist piece of jewellery. Such pieces are meant to be viewed as works of art. The price is not always as relevant, nor necessarily unaffordable, but what matters is how exclusive and authentic a bespoke piece is distribution wise. It is that old chestnut, rarity increases the desirability.

Mostly a higher price does play a part, of course. But there are lone jewellers who work in mid-price ranges simply because they enjoy producing one-off handmade pieces. Creative satisfaction of owning one-of-akind handmade pieces can be as important to the craftsman whom akes them, as to the customer.

That is why women attending galas this summer will be adorning themselves with larger, more impressive pieces, for a classic look. Consumers can get the look by wearing a single, diamond-studded cuff bracelet or a one-of-a-kind cocktail ring, for example.

Look at the Oscars. One of the most entertaining parts of the Oscars tradition is the variety of ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ lists that come out after the event. It is gone beyond the awarding of best picture, best actress, and so on, to best and worst dressed, best and worst jewellery, best and worst hair, best and worst couple, and on and on.

At Oscars 2008, perhaps no one exemplified winning and losing more than Damiani. The Italian jeweller dressed Tilda Swinton, and received lots of publicity for its jewellery on the best supporting actress Oscar winner.

Roberta Porrati is another luxurious Italian jewellery brand. The distinctive sign of its success comes from its high quality, fantasy and original designs. Roberta Porrati designs are jewels with a strong personality and aesthetic impact. Innovative shapes are used to create contrasts with hard and semiprecious stones, resulting in very unusual pieces.

The four key collections offer a definition for the women who will wear them: the Luxury Collection for women always looking for something different; Glamour for those who have achieved their goals and want to display that; the Fashion Collection is for women who are living in their time and for the exuberant personality who cannot be inhibited by age there is the Young Collection.

Exulting in a display of grand artistry, Roberta Porrati offers a trio of collections starting with the Fashion Collection, which is inspired by the woman who lives life tothe fullest and who spiritedly takes on risks and challenges, daunted neither by the ghost of her past or the fanciful lure of the future. Its lines emphasise the essence of modernity. While its Glamour Collection celebrates the confidence of a woman who has achieved her dreams and towers above the rest in a zone of exclusivity, its Luxury Collection is an exuberant set of lines dedicated to the one-of-akind woman, who, having reached the heights, yearns to scale yet another peak. She is a free spirit untouched by the rules of the world.

This trident of collections spills out dazzling lines such as Las Vegas in mysterious black South Sea pearls and diamonds, epitomising the famous American city’s glamour status in pendants, earrings and rings; the enthralling Sibilla featuring clusters of diamonds ‘glued’ together to hold sumptuous white South Sea pearls in white gold and fashioned as earrings, pendants and rings; the Fragola line of elongated, ellipse-like colourful pendants with spirals of gem stones; and Liberty, a selection of earrings shaped by arcs of white, rose and yellow gold dotted richly with diamonds and at times multi-coloured gems.

And while Clessidra’s glamorous earrings depict elongated strips of yellow and rose gold held together like a bunch, the Liberty line of art deco creations brings white gold and black stones with diamonds that dazzle in fish-shaped pendants, earrings and rings.

*******

Faberge Ring, 18kt White Gold, Diamonds 1.85ct; Necklace, 18kt White Gold, Diamonds 2.08ct, Length 45 Cm; Earrings, 18kt White Gold, Diamonds 2.64ct

A Glamourous Fish Inspired Gold And Diamond Ring By Porrati

Faberge Ring, 18kt Rose Gold, Diamonds 0.18ct; Necklace, 18kt Rose Gold, Diamonds 0.24ct, Length 45 Cm; Earrings, 18kt Rose Gold, Diamonds 0.40ct

A Luxurious Gold And Pearl Ring By Porrati

Faberge Ring, 18kt Yellow Gold, Brown And Translucent Fire Enamel, Diamonds 0.14ct; Medaillon, 18kt Yellow Gold,
Brown And Translucent Fire Enamel, Diamonds 0.12ct; Earring 18kt Yellow Gold, Brown And Translucent Fire Enamel, Diamonds 0.15ct

Faberge Locket, 18kt Yellow Gold, Lilac And Light Green Fire Enamel; Locket, 18kt Rose Gold, Opal White Und Pink
Fire Enamel; Locket, 18kt Rose Gold, Opal White Fire Enamel, Diamonds 0.20ct; Locket, 18kt Yellow Gold, Lilac,
Diamonds 0.195ct

A Luxurious Gold And Pearl Ring By Porrati