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European jewellery trends blog
Attending European jewellery fairs each year and staying in touch with the European jewellery design community, Sarah Hutchings - Orsini Fine Jewellery Director, ensures that her Orsini Collections always reflect only the best of the latest European fine jewellery trends. Sarah captures her trips to Italy each year including her interesting travels along the way.. Here she recounts her recent overseas trips... Sarah’s trip to Dubai, Verona, Vicenza, Milano, Paris & Hong Kong 2011 It’s difficult to find the words to describe the artificial oasis that is Dubai as it is unlike any where else in the world. My time in Dubai became compulsory ‘R&R’ time as my husband Kent went off to work each day and I was left in the apartment to do as I please. Being a blonde in Dubai means you really stand out, so I was a little cautious to venture out alone. After some thought, I decided to get some exercise, but after I nearly fainted during a brisk 100 metre walk along the beach, the 40 degree heat put a stop to that and I was soon back at our apartment twiddling my thumbs. Luckily, my husband Kent realised that I was getting rather bored and kindly accompanied me to the mall after work. Once you’re in the mall complex you could be anywhere in the world. All the big cities have Ralph Lauren, Cartier, Damiani, Rolex and Louis Vuitton stores and the fit-outs are all the same or similar. It was wonderful to see my jewellery in the main Damiani store in Dubai’s largest mall. Seeing the tallest building in the world was a ‘must do’ and having high tea at the Burj Al Arab Hotel was incredible. We were suspended from the top and had a window ledge seat. Thank goodness I do not suffer from vertigo! The view looks back over Dubai and down the coast with the clear Persian Gulf and white sand beaches stretching on forever. The head chief very kindly gave us a tour of all the restaurants including the one underneath the hotel which is surrounded by huge tropical fish tanks which made you feel as though you were in a submerged wonderland of colours. This was true luxury travel. You would think that after many annual trips to Verona that I would begin to tire of visiting the same town. However, it’s quite the opposite. Like a fine wine, Verona gets better with time and we loved spending our days exploring the wonderful alleyways and heading back to our most loved jaunts, including visits to my favourite jewellery stores which stock the brands I import. In the evenings we would walk through the large courtyard front of an old Italian mansion, surrounded by the joyful sounds of locals laughing and the sweet scent of jasmine and dine in a local restaurant opposite a medieval castle full of cooing pigeons. The atmosphere in Verona is always amazing; the people are friendly, the pace of life slow (except behind a wheel!), the evenings are warm and the food exquisite – it’s a perfect place to relax. The fashion in Verona is consistently beautiful and unlike New Zealand you won’t find a woman walking the streets in her gym gear. The daily trips to the Vicenza Jewellery Fair were an opportunity to greet old friends and hear about the international jewellery news and trends. Each year it becomes easier to determine what my style is and know the quality of the jewellery houses and determine the unique designs; I now know my favourites and tend to stick to what I love. In the town of Tirisino, we were warmly welcomed by Francesca of Marco Bicego who was as hospitable as ever and showed Kent and I the production area where the team of artisans hand make each piece with the utmost accuracy. The space is style personified; open, light, clean lines, designed to Marcos exacting specifications. My newest exclusive jewellery brand is Pomellato and we were fortunate enough to have a number of days in Milano training with the brand. We were based at Lake Como and travelled to Milan each day on the train which only took 50 minutes and we enjoyed stunning scenery all the way. At the Milano headquarters we watched the jewellers handcraft each piece using some of the best technology in the industry. We were also taken to the top secret ‘design’ headquarters where we were shown how the jewellery is produced – from the initial concept through to multiple prototypes to completion. An incredible experience! Damiani headquarters in Milano was our final destination. The old stately mansion in Milan speaks of the style and opulence of Damiani. We were training on the newest ranges and shown the masterpiece creations. New Zealand does not have the market for pieces designed for the Oscars, however it is wonderful to know I can source these designs for my customers. The highlight of the trip was our time in Paris. We were in holiday mode – although we couldn’t resist a quick trip to all the main retail jewellery destinations in Paris. Printemp is a must visit and we got in a quick visit to Damiani in Place Vendome and Marco Bicego in the Rue Saint Sulpice. However, this was true R&R that kicked off with an early morning bike ride along the River Seine, drinks at the Cafe de Flore, a night cap at Hotel Costes and hours of fun at the Louvre Museum. The highlight was the recommendation by a fellow traveller at a nearby table at Hotel Costes to go to a restaurant famous for its soufflés. He made our reservation and we had the most magical lunch. Paris is truly a superb city and we were lucky that our hotel was near Place Vendome as the shops and cafes in the surrounding area were superb. The trip home was via Hong Kong where my husband had work meetings. Lying by the pool on the top of a skyscraper was a very good way to have a ‘compulsory relax’. The light shows in Hong Kong on the faraway buildings were an amazing sight and taking them in became a nightly ritual. It was a truly fabulous trip and as usual I returned home inspired to create wonderful jewellery designs for my New Zealand customers, as well as bringing Kiwi women some of the best jewellery brands in the world. Sarah’s trip to Verona, Vicenza and Milano, 2010 Verona is one of my favourite cities in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. With ancient amphitheatres, medieval streets and beautiful boutiques it is a must for anyone’s itinerary when visiting Italy. The streets are filled with stylish women browsing the boutiques and doing a spot of shopping. This is not a place where people leave the house in track-pants and it’s always so delightful to see people make an effort with their appearance. It was also pleasing to see a reduction in the ‘costume bling’ that has been in vogue over the past few seasons. The trend has returned to more classical jewellery; currently yellow gold is a favourite, as are the long, elegant strands of pearls that adorn the necks of women of all ages and stunning diamond rings that make the perfect complement to manicured hands. I spent the day browsing the boutiques and getting a sense of the famous Italian style that was certainly evident everywhere I went. I visited just about every jewellery boutique in town and was pleased to see that my favourite jewellery stores were the same jewellery brands that I bring home to my New Zealand customers. I love being able to bring a touch of Italy to the other side of the world. The following day I was picked up by a driver and taken to Tirisino, a town on the outskirts of Vicenza, for product training on Marco Bicego jewellery. I spent a number of hours with Marco who is an absolutely delightful and hospitable man. He showed me the company's 10 year anniversary bracelet (photo opposite is myself and Marco with the bracelet). Developed in honour of the company’s 10th anniversary, this special creation pays homage to Goa, one of the best-selling collections of recent years. Marco explains, “Rich and elegant, yet clean and essential, like all Marco Bicego creations, the 10Y Celebration Bracelet features the same high-quality workmanship that has made the brand famous around the world, uniquely designed for a new interpretation. 30 strands of white gold, adorned with 100 classically embedded rose-cut diamonds, from 0.10 carats each, for a total of 10 carats—a symbolic number commemorating the occasion. The skilled craftsmanship and purity of the stones that embellish this exclusive piece make it an object of extraordinary fascination and appeal.” I had the pleasure of watching the jewellers at work hand-crafting the collection and was delighted to see that Marco oversees much of the work personally to ensure high standards of quality. I was careful not to take photos of the techniques that they use to make the jewellery as these are unique to Marco Bicego and cannot be replicated by other jewellers. I was shown the new collections which were breathtakingly beautiful. Marco has an amazing flare for design and colour which was also evident in the building design. Recently built to Marco’s standards there was attention to detail, simplicity and style evident everywhere. I spent a wonderful day visiting the Damiani store in Via Montenapaleone, Milan, before being taken to visit the Damiani headquarters. This was a truly memorable experience, being shown the masterpieces created for the Oscars and worn by movie stars and actresses (Sophia Loren, Sharon Stone) worth multiple millions of dollars. The $2 million Damiani Victoria Secrets bra worn by Adriana Lima was on display. It is not surprising that Damiani has the reputation of being one of the leading brands in the jewellery world. It was a wonderful experience to be shown the collections and explained how the jewellery is crafted. There is something truly unique about Damiani, every piece is hand-crafted to the best of standards. When you wear a piece of Damiani jewellery there is something quite special and unique about how it looks on the hand or neck. The engagement ring collection was truly exquisite and it was evident that they only use ethically mined diamonds with very high standards. I returned home feeling very inspired by what I had seen and reminded why the jewellery collections in my store are so very special and unique. It is wonderful to have some of the latest collections from Europe available here in New Zealand and I look forward to introducing these collections to New Zealand women. |