Plus Vacheron Constatin Moves Into The Edition
Words by ELIZABETH VARNELL
Photos by Jurgen Teller.
Saint Laurent’s Gold Rush
Saint Laurent’s wide cuffs and giant bracelets have become head-turners over the past few seasons, so it seems particularly fitting that the Paris-based fashion house is launching its first fine jewelry collection. Essentials, designed by Anthony Vaccarello, include necklaces and earrings in addition to wrist-wrapping baubles in 18-karat gold. Wide slide-on cuffs in yellow or gray gold are made with a recycled version of the sought-after alloy, as are Star pendant necklaces, Cassandre bangles and threaded earrings, and Maillon link motifs incorporated into graduated chain rings, bracelets, and necklaces. Diamond-encrusted brooches in gray gold shaped into hearts, stars, and moons, are also part of the house’s first haute joaillerie offering, plus ID bands and multichain bracelets. ysl.com.
David Yurman’s Costa Mesa Boutique Takes a Personal Turn
David Yurman’s newly renovated Costa Mesa boutique, which houses high jewelry and wedding collections alongside women’s designs and men’s offerings, also includes a private room lined with midcentury modern furniture (in a nod to the Yurman family’s personal collections). A façade of rose gold and fluted granite opens to a sea of glass vitrines atop white oak, nickel, and silver travertine countertops and floors of dark Cardoso stone and pale Bardiglio marble slabs. Inside the new South Coast Plaza boutique, hand-assembled Curb chains, curvy Cable Edge necklaces and bracelets in recycled gold and silver, and the metal facets of Modern Renaissance Pyramid bracelets, earrings, and rings are instantly eye-catching. 3333 Bristol St., South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa, 714-444-1080; davidyurman.com.
Photo by Robbin Lee.
New Swatch Tickers Are a Tribute to Basquiat
New York artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, the current subject of a downtown Los Angeles exhibition, is also the latest creative whose works comprise a capsule collection of Swatch watch designs. Three new watches and a special triptych set feature three original compositions created by Basquiat including Hollywood Africans (1983), Ishtar (1983), and an untitled work from 1982 with the often-repeated three-pointed crown motif, one of the artist’s most striking symbols. The Swiss company, founded in 1983, has embraced artistic collaborations since its inception, and Basquiat’s use of bold colors, imagery, symbols, and text assembled into tickers makes for a particularly distinctive collection. In addition to the artist’s powerful use of codes and edgy juxtapositions depicted throughout each design, there’s a vibrant playfulness to the pieces. swatch.com.
Photo by Floris Heuer.
Cartier’s Women’s Initiative Awards Changemakers Across the Globe
The Cartier Women’s Initiative, the French jewelry house’s annual international entrepreneurship program seeking women-run and women-owned businesses aiming for a sustainable social or environmental impact (or both), is celebrating its newest 2023 awardees. This year, the program focused on collaboration and fostering partnerships and the awards ceremony was headlined by Clooney Foundation co-founder and barrister Amal Clooney and Cartier International President and CEO Cyrille Vigneron, and included a video featuring all 32 impact entrepreneurs awarded first ($100,000), second ($60,000), and third place ($30,000) prizes this year. Additional speeches and conversations at the ceremony involved global program director Wingee Sampaio, actress and activist Yara Shahidi, and actress and producer Mélanie Laurent. Women working in regions from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean to Oceana, Europe, and North America are included, as are science and technology pioneers. A diversity, equity, and inclusion award was also handed out to a recipient in each prize tier. In addition to the grants, tailored mentoring, coaching, and educational courses are included. Cartier has already launched its call for applications for next year’s edition, with a submission deadline of June 30. cartierwomensinitiative.com.
Vacheron Constantin Launches Suite 1755 in West Hollywood
Swiss watchmaker Vacheron Constantin celebrates 265 years of haute horlogerie with an immersive suite modeled after an L.A. bungalow and dedicated to archival designs and a complete range of modern masterpieces inside the West Hollywood Edition. The space, open by appointment through July, serves as a temporary home for the house during the complete renovation of its Rodeo Drive boutique and also houses Art Deco designs created in the 1920s, a midcentury timepiece given to Marlon Brando by Zsa Zsa Gabor, and a rare Metiers D’Art Kalla Haute Couture model similar to one owned by Elizabeth Taylor. Sid Avery photographs of off-duty golden-age stars including Taylor and Brando are visible throughout, as are other casual shots taken by the lensman known for catching Sammy Davis Jr. at the piano, Steve McQueen behind the wheel, and James Dean perpetually lighting a cigarette. New works by L.A. painters Gregory Siff and Gena Milanesi are also on display, continuing the ongoing link between the watchmaker and American creatives. 9040 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, 310-598-2026; vacheron-constantin.com.
Feature image: Photo by Jurgen Teller.
May 17, 2023.
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