Plus Graff’s new salon at Saks and the Flannery sisters collab with Vrai
Words by CAROLINE CAGNEY and ELIZABETH VARNELL
Gold Standard
“Growing up in Mill Valley, there was a casual sense to style, but living so close to San Francisco added an elegance,” says stylist Petra Flannery. She and her sister, Meehan, collaborated with sustainable fine jewelry line VRAI on a new capsule of California-inspired pieces that reflect the sisters’ coastal upbringing and less-is-more ethos. The cuff bracelets, hoops, collars with pendants, and band rings — all made of recycled gold — are set with large diamonds in rare cuts, including half-moons and hexagons. “We wanted to enhance the brilliance of the diamonds and showcase their exquisite shapes by setting them in gold dome designs,” Petra says. VRAI’s diamonds, created in a certified zero-emission foundry with renewable energy and shaped by the company’s master cutters, add a bespoke element to the sisters’ offerings. vrai.com. E.V.
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Rome Coming
White Travertino Navona marble shaped to resemble the entrance portals at BULGARI’s Via dei Condotti flagship heralds the Roman jewelry house’s newly relocated and reimagined 5,000-sq.-ft. Costa Mesa boutique. The space itself, now introducing high jewelry, a watch salon, Le Gemme and Allegra fragrances, and a lounge with light refreshments, takes inspiration from the Eternal City itself. A Venini chandelier illuminates mandarin garnets, rubellites, and pink tourmalines in gold settings alongside core collections and Crystal Sparkle leather goods, while a red porphyry eight-point star nods to Sotirio Bulgari’s first shop in the Italian capital. Additionally, master perfumer Jacques Cavallier’s new Allegra Chill & Sole eau de parfum brings the Mediterranean Sea to the California coast in a nearby pop-up, where bottle engravings, fragrance masterclasses, and Italian sodas top the menu through May 22. 3333 Bristol St., South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa, 714-557-9600; bulgari.com. E.V.
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Diamond Days
GRAFF’s new Beverly Hills salon, in the reimagined Saks Fifth Avenue women’s store, is only the second of its kind to launch in the U.S. The space includes glass cases with angular lines evoking the possibilities of each stone. The interiors are done in a pale palette with walls covered in natural oak paneling and marble features throughout the shop. Baubles from Laurence Graff’s Signature Collection and fluid Tilda’s Bow shapes join hovering Butterfly pieces and lush Wild Flower assemblages. Also inside the boutique is a suite of recently completed jewelry set with yellow and white diamonds, including a radiant-cut solitaire ring and a necklace and earrings incorporating more than 83 glistening carats. 9570 Wilshire Blvd., Saks Fifth Avenue, Beverly Hills, 310-275-4211; graff.com. E.V.
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Lab Grown
For their second collaboration with jewelry designer JESSICA McCORMACK, L.A. artists the Haas Brothers referenced the biomorphic glass-and-marble mollusk sculptures in their Snails in Comparison series. The fraternal twins and London-based McCormack also discussed lifting inspiration from the koru fern, a symbol of the designer’s native New Zealand. “Jessica designs serious diamond jewelry. But she’s so adept at creating pieces that combine our weirdly wonderful aesthetic and her own iconic style,” Niki Haas says of the five-piece collection, which includes two rings, studs, an ear cuff, and a pendant featuring brilliant-cut diamonds and delicate seed pearls. All the adornments are set in yellow gold swirl forms, ideal for brides on the hunt for something unmistakably unique. jessicamccormack.com. C.C.
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Fab Lab
On the big day, all eyes are on the bride, and there is no better way to punctuate your look than with sparkling round-cut earrings to frame your face or a stunning mosaic-style necklace if you’re wearing something strapless or low-cut. At GROWN BRILLIANCE’s new boutique in West Hollywood, the New York brand’s first West Coast outpost, choose from a wide assortment of ready-made pieces, or exercise your design skills and customize your own creation. Since its launch in 2021, the woman-founded company has been pioneering sustainable, luxury lab-grown diamonds, which are optically, physically, and chemically identical to mined diamonds. 8483 Melrose Pl., L.A., 323-894-2625; grownbrilliance.com. C.C.
Feature image: BULGARI has a newly relocated and reimagined 5,000-sq.-ft. boutique in Costa Mesa.
These stories originally appeared in the Summer 2024 issue of C Magazine and C Weddings.
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