On the Fifth Avenue

Depressing, Nostalgic, Stimulating–my adjectives will deplete if I describe Fifth Avenue thoroughly

For the past two days, New York has been meekly trying to get on my nerves-it is deceiving me. The weather is great. The lines at the Empire State Building were shorter than I expected (yes, I am complaining that), thus depriving me of essential Soviet Uni-I mean-Big Apple experience. Both Metro (dirt cheap at 25$ for a week pass) and taxis (to whose ostentatious and signature yellow hue I don’t approve) prove to be accessible and annoyingly quick. It was just not what I had in mind.

I have been to New York once before. But behind the glasses of the limousine my mother’s company provided, and of the Millennium Hilton (also a courtesy extended to my illustrious mother), I barely witnessed the actual New York. Hotdogs, fashionable commuters, subways, that sort of stuff. (Our suite at the Millennium Hilton oversaw a depressing and drab Ground Zero and equally drab skyline of Jersey at the horizon).

So I forayed back to the familiar territory–Fifth Avenue. Yes, with my mom, I got to see the 5th Avenue. But I don’t remember it at all, and so I went back there again today. I am surprised (and almost shocked) to realize that I practically know all the names on the 5th Avenue, from famous (Cartier) to exclusive (Harry Winston) to exotic (Van Cleef & Arfels). But the jewel in the Crown of Fifth Avenue is the original Saks. Yes, Saks Fifth Avenue derived its name from the street.

I am a little disappointed in Saks too. Despite being the premier couturier to the rich and the famous (I am tempted to put the prefix in- in front of that word), Saks didn’t have bowties. After being directed from section to section (which included a foray into a men’s fashion salon on 6th Floor, occupied entirely by guys who I suspect are gay), and after being guilted into squandering my two months’ worth of allowance, I finally gave up. Also, I learnt a curious thing-although 2nd level of Saks in titled “Designer clothes & Fur” (or something along those lines), I didn’t seen a single animal hair, let alone mink or vicuna stoles. We cannot let those PETArrorists win!

Outside the stores of the 5th Avenue are not raving PETAs, but small vendors who sell everything from T-shirts to ‘designer’ eyeglasses to what-they-claimed-to-be Venetian silk. It is almost a sacrilege to see these shops there (local flair be damned); it is like seeing a brothel or a witchdoctor’s next to a Church. But I must not be too judgmental because that is what exactly the 5th Avenue is.

Cohabiting the 5th Avenue with the very abodes of the decadent luxury they denounce are Churches. At least three famed Churches coexist with the cathedrals of fashion. Cartier is just a building away from St. Patrick’s Cathedral-the largest Catholic Cathedral in the United States.

The best ways to end your Fifth Avenue Adventure exist at, surprise, surprise!, the Central Park South end of the shopping district. There are novelty horse carriages (highly reminiscent of Vienna if only the Viennese were more gaudy) on one corner, and novelty glassy Apple store on the other. [I didn't like the store that much, but at least I was in the glass elevator. Thank you, Steve, for fulfilling my Roald Dahl fantasies].

However, I didn’t end my ambulatory (writing that word is almost as tiring as the act itself) sojourn with Apple. I ended it with a well-deserved dinner to recuperate from walking and shopping at the Plaza, one of Manhattan’s best hotels which is also conveniently located at the end of the 5th Avenue to.

I won’t make a Plaza Hotel product placement here, but I will say although the choices are limited, the meal at the Rose Club restaurant there is perfectly affordable. Their appetizer is addictive to say the least, and their dessert is, there is only one word for it, sumptuous. The lobster was one of the best I have ever eaten.

May be I am little partial because my appetite was whetted (and my judgment clouded) by the hotel’s signature cocktail, the Plaza Manhattan. Created to mark the inauguration of Gov. Samuel Tilden at a Manhattan Club party way back in 1874, the Plaza Manhattan is served with Jim Beam Rye Whiskey stirred nimbly with Noilly Prat Sweet Vermouth and Angostura Bitters-which I found a touch more stimulating (my codeword for intoxication).

But hey, don’t blame me. Blame it on the person who depressed me to drinking five Plaza Manhattans. And it is not Maitre d’.

All About You Forever

 

“All About You Forever.” So runs the slogan of Trinity de Cartier, one of the famed jewel house’s signature pieces. A friend of mine just got that $1,200 ring for her 23rd birthday (oh, not from me, who won’t even remember her birthday if facebook doesn’t remind me) which piqued my interest in this pinnacle of jewels.  

Made from three bands (white gold, rose gold, yellow gold), each band of the uncomfortable looking ring represents friendship, love and fidelity according to its creator, French artisan Jean Cocteau. Cocteau, who also popularized the ring by gifting many copies to his friends extravagantly, was inspired by the rings of Saturn and Russian traditional marriage rings, but Trinity de Cartier’s significance has moved on from martial scene.  

[Of course, when thinking about a wedding band, a three-band entwined ring is the first thing that come into one's mind. This reminds me of the quote, "There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded," by Princess Diana, who once also was a proud owner of Trinity de Cartier.] 

The Trinity ring was introduced in 1924 but it remains one of the most enduring symbols of creativity, timelessness and elegance.  

To buy or to gawk at Trinity de Cartier, go to Cartier.com 

Rich and Famous: Bejeweled and Bewitched

Looking the Look and Talking the Talk:

A Primer Into the Glamourous World of Jewels

One important factor of being rich and famous (in short being celebrated) is based on appearing to be rich and famous–outward appearance, superficial though it may be, matters a lot. Well that is why people like my mother still have their jobs, despite clothes they design now cover less than half of what they should be covering. What they lack in sartorial coverage, the rich make up with jewelery one. Here are the names they mention (and drop) when they talk about jewels: 

Operating 17 salons (7 in the U.S alone) is Harry Winston Corporation, the current fad-favorite accessory provider for the celebrities and actresses. Harry Winston designers also work closely with another American diamond behemoth, Tiffany & Co., whose clientele is more refined: it include famous US families (the Astors, the Vanderbilts, the Morgans, etc), Hollywood stars, and European royalty. Tiffany & Co. is also the patent owner of its signature Tiffany blue color. [On the left is the famous Tiffany blue box which contains a surprise every woman dreams to acquire.] In Truman Capote’s short story, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, the protagonist Holly Golightly mentions Tiffany & Co. as “the best place in the world, where nothing bad can take place.” 

In 2004 film, The Phantom of the Opera, the protagonists performed under a chandelier composed of Swarovski crystals (right). Swarovski is now the luxury brand name when it comes to crystals, glass and crystallized jewelry–the rich and the famous are sporting Swarvoski-studded accessories, which range from sunglasses to magazine covers. Yes, magazine covers. 

The fashionable jewellery reaches its pinnacle with Chopard, Geneva-based company which also has a considerable gravitas in watchmaking too. Chopard became the name after it started sponsoring the Cannes Film Festival in 1997, and redesigned the festival’s top award, Palme d’Or. Through its cooperation with William Goldberg Diamond Corporation (NY), Chopard dresses every celebrity on the red carpet at Cannes with its jewels and watches. 

Yet, the time-honored firm for the aristocracy in Europe has always been the Parisian firm, Cartier–which is appropriately referred as Joaillier des Rois, Roi des Joailliers (Jeweller to Kings, King of Jewellers). It is now not only the official royal warrant holder for many a royal court of Europe, but also the number one seller of luxury jewelry  in the world. Its famous slogan ”Les Must de Cartier” (Cartier, It’s a must!) paid off. 

Another Parisian firm Baccarat is the late comer into the jewelry business, but it has been supplying glass and crystalware to creme de la creme o Europe since the days of Louis XV. In Paris, it boasts the Musée Baccarat which displays many of its finest productions. Italian firm Bulgari is quite a reverse story; started by a Greek (in the days when most well-regarded jewellers are Mediterranean in origin). Bulgari’s jewels, watches and accessories are very bold, minimalist and brutal (in one word, distinctive) thus making it more of the most counterfeited luxury goods in the world. (A tip: Genuine Bulgari items have a unique serial number registered with the company.)

In the olden days, people go to Antwerp, Hatton Garden (London) or 47th Street (NY) to peer behind the drab facades of the imposing buildings to scout diamonds; since 2001 they don’t have to. In that fateful year, the diamond behemoth (and former monopoly power) De Beers entered into a retail joint venture with Louis Vuitton to establish De Beers diamond jewellery company. Like De Beers, the House of Graff symbolizes the highest craftsmanship when it comes to diamond, and it still prroduces polished diamonds from rough stones. 

Christian Bernard Group is the leading manufacturer and distributor of watches and jewellery in Europe. The skill of its jewelers (especially in its diamond section, Damiani), quality of materials and faultlessness of design render it not only accessory of fashion but also its legislator in Europe. The group’s wide-reaching range (its products are on sale in 4000 boutiques worldwide) helped too.  

It was once considered improper to wear pearls in the daytime or to afternoon-evening tea parties. However, it has changed since the days of Wallis Simpson, who like pearls so much that she defied the snobbish society (as she would later do again with her marital choice) by wearing them to daytime activities. The Duchess of Windsor would approve of Mikimoto, the name when it comes to pearls. The originator of the practice of cultivating spherical pearls, Mikimoto is also a shrewd business model too. When Japan was facing oversupply of pearls, Mikimoto decided to expand its markets to Europe and America, but popularizing pearl in the Occident. Now, it is the official jeweller of Miss USA and Miss Universe.

These are the exceptional jewel firms, but there are very few legendary firms, but one of them is Van Cleef and Arpels, Parisian jeweler whose output is very limited but whose designs and concepts are creative. It has won particular acclaim for a groundbreaking gem-setting procedure known as the Mystery Setting. My personal favorite? Its ‘Snowflake’, to which appellation jewellery is an understatement akin to dismissing van Gogh’s Starry Night as a mere painting.  [Snowflake, right]

If jewels are like paintings, you need to know the masters too: Jeanne Toussaint of Cartier and Renee Puissant of Van Cleef and Arpels once dominated the jewel world. Oher who’s who of jewel fashion include Suzzane Belperron, Seaman Schepps, David Webb, Fulco di Verdura, Paul Flato, Raymond Templier, George Fouquet, Jean Schlumberger, Andrew Grima and Fred Leighton. No one but fashion gurus can remember those names, so the tip is to just remember the firms, not the designers.