Fashion
Waris Ahluwalia's 2-Million Dollar Pendant
ALESSANDRA CODINHA
Forevermark, a diamond brand from the De Beers group of companies, launched its newest campaign, “The Center of My Universe” on Tuesday night (July 31, 2012) with a cocktail party co-hosted by Waris Ahluwalia at the National Arts Club. A jazz band was on hand for the fete.
The
campaign celebrates the idea of “a woman as the emotional center of
those around her,” according to Forevermark press materials. In an
almost sci-fi touch, the stones are inscribed, at 1/20th of a micron
deep, with a Forevermark insignia and an individual number invisible to
the naked eye.
“Well, you know the two things that always inspire
me are love and history,” Ahluwalia said amid greeting guests like
Sophie Theallet, Bibhu Mohapatra, Marco Brambilla, Bill Powers and
Cynthia Rowley and leading them to a glass vitrine, holding the pendant
he had designed for the occasion. The 14.58-carat oval Forevermark
diamond radiated gold and pavé spokes and rested atop a pile of
first-edition ornithological texts.
“[Forevermark] said they were
doing something on ‘center of my universe,’ and they just said that and
‘Make something nice for us,’ and that’s what I did,” Ahluwalia
explained. “The idea behind a Forevermark stone is rarity, beauty and
that it is responsibly sourced -- and that goes along with everything I
believe in. I source everything responsibly … from my shoes to my eggs,
it’s a way of life for me.”
Olivia Chantecaille, Yigal Azroüel
and his fiancée, Laura Vidrequin, peered over Ahluwalia’s shoulder at
the case. The designer snapped a photo of the piece on his phone. Casey
Neistat kept his hands very carefully folded in front of him as he
surveyed the pendant.
“I’m just so tempted to try and lift the
case off to see what happens,” Neistat grinned. “In fact, I’m probably
going to leave soon to ensure that doesn’t happen.”
Darshan Kaur Ahluwalia
was wearing several of her son’s pieces from his House of Waris line as
she greeted guests in the foyer. Toward the back of the building,
Forevermark had whitewashed a room and lined it with large placards
touting the brand, as well as a case of jewelry for guests to try on,
guarded by a brand representative and a pair of men in black suits.
“Do you think this is a little much?” one guest asked of a pair of large diamond stud earrings.
“Why
have less when you can have more?” the representative trilled, which
brought to mind another question: How much was the pendant Waris had
designed?
“It’s a little under $2 million,” Ahluwalia said before
leaving for the after party at Amy Sacco’s No.8, adding, “I will
hand-deliver it to whomever buys it. That is a promise.”
[Courtesy: Women's Wear Daily]
August 3, 2012