A wall covered in thousands of peacock feathers, mirrors for days and, of course, some extraordinary pieces to wear
Laurence Graff, OBE, is known for procuring the most amazing diamonds on earth – legendary beauties that his jewellers turn into some of the most magnificent and expensive jewellery in existence. But walking into Graff’s new store on Paris’s Rue Saint-Honore, a block from the Place Vendome where Graff has another boutique in the Paris Ritz, it becomes instantly clear that the company is hoping to attract a new audience. One able to spend in the lower five figures instead of the upper six or seven.
The nearly 370-sq-m store is a beauty, decorated with unabashed glam by Peter Marino. There’s an abundance of shimmering surfaces, whether gold-dusted marble flooring, silvery velvet upholstered furniture, sparkling rock crystal chandeliers, mirrored walls worthy of Versailles and glass vitrines resembling faceted gemstones; the burly guards at the door should hand out shades.
The store is arranged in rooms – there’s one devoted to bridal; its ceiling is domed and faceted like an engagement ring. There’s a room that can be closed off for private appointments. There’s a treasury room with little doors that open, like an Advent calendar, to reveal special treasures inside. The walls of the room are solidly covered with peacock feathers, thousands of them, all applied by hand.
And then there’s the entrance gallery, with its seven-metre high ceiling soaring over vitrines stocked with its highly decorative watches and more modest mini-takes on some iconic Graff jewellery designs. A small pendant of one carat’s worth of diamonds set in the cross-cutting jig-jag pattern of the new Threads design costs a mere S$11,272.
But Graff being Graff, the statement pieces are the stars. Here are five of the most stunning that were unveiled in time for the haute couture:
A new version of the Threads collection featuring a 17-carat bracelet, 13-carat earrings and dazzling 60-carat necklace of pave and custom-cut diamonds in the edgy new pattern.
The house also offers its high-end clientele a new tiara. The latest features 17 carats of diamonds in the modern new Threads motif.
Statement earrings feature 10.09-carat Pear-Shaped Diamond Drops. But these aren’t any old diamonds – they’re cut from the famous Lesedi La Rona, which, at some 1,100 carats, is said to be the largest gem-quality rough diamond to be discovered in over a century. (Read: Laurence Graff bought it for S$72.8 million in 2017.)
Graff is also known for the exceptional quality of its emeralds. These new drop earrings feature 183 carats of Colombian emeralds dripping from seven carats of diamonds on the ear.
Laurence Graff collects modern art. The calligraphic nature of contemporary American artist Cy Twombly inspired this collection. The latest piece features a 12-carat sapphire surrounded by 20 carats of diamonds for a bracelet that’s a work of art.
