Sandra‘s Closet

Louis Vuitton announces its participation together with Lucara Diamond Corporation and the HB Company of Antwerp, in a unique collaboration to transform a rare and exceptional diamond specimen, a 1758 carat diamond, the second largest rough diamond ever discovered.

April 19th, 2019 will go down as a history-making moment in the long story of the divine diamond: the day when the monumental 1758 carat rough diamond, now named Sewelô, meaning Rare Find in the Setswana language, was recovered at the Lucara Diamond Corp.’s 100% owned Karowe mine, Botswana. It is the second largest rough diamond ever discovered and the largest to come out of Botswana.

Roughly the size of a tennis ball, measuring 83mm x 62mm x 46mm, weighing 352 grams, the Sewelô is the second largest rough gem diamond in recorded history, eclipsed only by the Cullinan, at 3106 carats, discovered in South Africa in 1905, and fashioned into historic diamonds that are now in the British Crown Jewels and royal collection. The Sewelô is also the largest, exceptional rough diamond to be recovered from Lucara’s state-of-the-art Karowe mine in Botswana.

Remarkably, the diamond remained unbroken thanks to Lucara’s high-tech XRT circuit, a highly advanced recovery process that avoids crushing the diamond-bearing rock, a drawback of previous processes. Initial analysis of the Sewelô characterises the stone as ‘near gem quality’ with ‘domains of high-quality white gem’, while detailed studies of the stone, its composition, qualities and potential will continue for several months.

The Sewelô is spectacular not only for its immense size but also for its intriguing characteristics
of shape, colour, formation and composition. The rough crystal is largely covered in a very thin layer of black carbon, enveloping yet hinting at the 2 billion-year-old secrets hidden within; the full extent of variations in colour and clarity of the diamond yield is still unknown. This was exactly the kind of extreme rarity, unconventional and challenging, to appeal to Louis Vuitton’s sense of adventure and creativity: an extraordinary, idiosyncratic diamond specimen, a wondrous miracle of Mother Nature, mesmerizingly mysterious, with its contradictions of darkness and light, and hidden depths of beauty and lustre, waiting for the right expertise and sensibility to be revealed to the world.

Karowe, meaning ‘precious stone’, is Lucara’s 100% owned diamond mine that is situated on the northern fringes of the Kalahari Desert and came on stream in 2012. It is renowned for the quality and size of the diamonds it produces, specifically superlative Type IIA diamonds – chemically pure, and with exceptional limpidity – of over 10 carats. These have included the 1109 carat Lesedi La Rona, and the 813 carat Constellation.

Karowe uses the most advanced processing technology in the world, and puts corporate and social responsibility, sustainability and the safety and welfare of its workers, at the heart of the business. Boasting a workforce which is 98% comprised of Botswanan nationals, the huge success of the mine has brought great economic and social benefits to local communities. Lucara is committed
to ensuring the Sewelô has a positive, lasting impact on Botswana. As part of this mission, when the astonishing 1758 carat rough diamond was discovered last year, the mine invited the people of Botswana to submit ideas for a name. The winning submission, Sewelô, or Rare Find, one of 22,000 entries, was announced and the stone officially named at a gala event last summer in the presence of the President of the Republic of Botswana.

Louis Vuitton is working closely with master diamond cutters, HB Company, from Antwerp, studying the Sewelô in minute detail, using the very latest scanning and imaging technology to assess the final potential of the stone, and plan the optimum yield of individual finished, cut and polished diamonds. The first step is to open a window onto the stone, in order to gain visibility into the heart of the Sewelô, and plot various permutations of size, colour and shape. Diamond-cutting is an age-old, near-mystical blend of art and science, expertise and intuition. Advanced, cutting-edge technology will play a crucial role in the entire process from initial scanning and planning to the cutting and polishing which is estimated to take a year to complete. The unique properties of the Sewelô, its size and black surface coating, mean that new nano-technologies have to be used in place of standard equipment. In a spirit of creative collaboration with HB Company, Louis Vuitton will be involved at every stage, ensuring that the maximum light, life and fire, character and charisma will be unleashed from the magnificent rough crystal. The size of the diamond will enable production of Made-to-Order Louis Vuitton Cut diamonds, each complex, each skillfully fashioned in the form of one of Louis Vuitton’s emblematic Monogram, the rounded flower and star-shaped motif.

Finally, in a characteristically barrier-breaking initiative of innovation and individuality, Louis Vuitton plans to use the extraordinary variety and abundance within the Sewelô to offer clients the opportunity to create bespoke, custom-cut diamonds. This industry disrupting move allows for the ultimate personalisation and exclusivity, remaining entirely in tune with Louis Vuitton’s heritage of special, made-to-order commissions. In this way, the client will be intimately involved in the entire creative process, in the life and story of an extraordinary, magnificent diamond from its source in the famous Karowe mine in Botswana, Africa, to a refined masterpiece, conceived and crafted in Paris, Place Vendôme – from the centre of the earth to the heart of High Jewellery.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Louis Vuitton

After this week’s post about the 20 most important runway trends, you know that we will be wearing tropical prints, bermuda shorts or gypsy dresses. But what about our shoes, bags and accessories? The fashionable additions to the season’s best outfits have an equally polished attitude. A lot is to stay from the F/W 2019 season, such as chain necklaces, single earrings, head scarves, belts and platforms. Furthermore, the runways were mastered by XXL bags, Mary Janes, and vibrant sunglasses that complemented the looks. On the new side of things, I spotted rope belts and hats on many runways.

Enjoy this season’s unbridled fun and catch up on the season’s most covetable accessories below.

LoL, Sandra

The single most popular material of the entire season was humble raffia, plant-derived, biodegradable, promising that your new It bag will have less of an environmental impact.

If there’s one accessible trend to cop next season, it’s the rope belt – at least you can find one at your local hardware store.

Gold buckles, set with rhinestones, embellished with animals as lucky charms, belts play an important role. If you are among the fashion-forward, opt for colorful choices.

Flower pins elevate every summer look to new heights.

This summer, brighten up your wardrobe with sunny shades of yellow and green, or an unexpected shade of blue.

Dust off your silk scarf collection for the next season, as they were worn around the head on several runways.

When it comes to choose your new bag, think big and soft. Many beautiful XXL editions large enough to fit all of your life’s belongings.

This season, chains get bigger and bigger.

Earrings are going solo next season. Just look for a statement-making piece enough to stand on its own.

Hoop earrings never really left, but get ready to see them multiply in size next season.

Hats make a grand comeback and guarantee that all eyes are on you.

With the preppy trend all over the runways, loafers were seen modernized in different shapes.

Thanks to Bottega Veneta’s Daniel Lee for making strong square toes, the decade’s most experimental shoe silhouette are trending more than ever.

Another trend thanks to Daniel Lee, chain accents are a must for your summer footwear, consider them built-in anklets for your shoes.

Sunglasses come in all shapes with a focus on major color, enjoy those new fantastical shades in every hue under the sun.

If sneakers have lost their luster on the runways, ever-practical platform and flatform sandals have emerged as fanciful and comfortable alternatives.

The classic Mary Jane pumps have taken a backseat over the last decade, now they are making their comeback in bold, whimsical, and playful designs.

From espadrilles to sexy sandals, lace-up shoes are the move come spring and summer. If you really want to be trendy, lace them up right over your pants to be ahead of the fashion tribe.

Photos: Courtesy of the Brands

Today I would like to show you the most exceptional jewelry boxes for the connoisseur in your life this Christmas. If you like to collect jewelry, it is also important where you keep it. Security aside, beloved treasures deserve a home as beautiful as they are… and below are some very sophisticated choices to choose from!

LoL, Sandra

Facettes Jewelry Box by Hermès

Beauvais velvet jewellery box by Aerin

Grosvenor leather jewelry box by Smythson

Flora print jewelry box by Gucci

Studded leather-trimmed striped jacquard jewelry box by Fendi

Monogram Canvas Jewelry Box by Louis Vuitton

Mara printed croc-effect leather jewelry box by Smythson

Botanical Heirloom Jewelry Box by Jenny McCormack (comes with the jewelry)

Photos: Courtesy of the Brands

This morning, luxury giant LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE confirmed that it has reached a $16.2 billion deal to buy American jeweller Tiffany & Co. There had been rumors for a long time about this blockbuster purchase. The largest luxury deal gives the famous French group, that is the world’s largest luxury conglomerate and Europe’s second-most valuable company, a bigger presence in jewelry and strengthen its position in the US.

Object of desire: An engagement ring by Tiffany & Co.

Jewelry is one of the best-performing luxury categories and is predicted to grow. The deal also allows LVMH to compete further with Swiss conglomerate Richemont, which owns Piaget, Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, and a lot of watch brands.

Nevertheless, Tiffany & Co. has been facing weak demand and will likely need heavy investment to revamp its business. It will be an interesting journey we will surely follow… stay tuned!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Tiffany and © Sandra Bauknecht

Creative director Clare Waight Keller began her zodiac jewellery line for Givenchy with a piece reflecting her own sign, Leo, before expanding into the eleven remaining signs and these gold-tone brass earrings are the captivating result.

My sign: Aquarius Earrings by Givenchy

They’re sculpted in Italy as matching figures with dangling drops and come with a black grosgrain ribbon, allowing them to be alternatively worn as pendants. Style them as the focal point to a muted evening edit.

TO SHOP THE GIVENCHY ZODIAC EARRINGS, CLICK HERE TO BE TRANSFERRED DIRECTLY.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Givenchy / SSI

In 2016, CHANEL Joaillerie presented COCO CRUSH, a collection entirely dedicated to the iconic quilted pattern, the emblematic motif of the House since 1955. The jewelry pieces are available in beige gold, yellow gold or white gold (plated with thin layer of Rhodium for color), all in 18K, with or without diamonds. Gadroons, or the rounded contours of COCO CRUSH jewelry, are combined with alternating incisions to replicate the beautiful quilted pattern.

Each piece is hand-polished to perfectly reflect light. In its simplicity, the contemporary spirit of the COCO CRUSH collection expresses all the values ​​of modernity and refinement that distinguish CHANEL’s jewelery since its origins. Stack them or combine the different gold colours to create a modern and sophisticated look.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © CHANEL 

Venezia è un film – Venice is a film – I was thrilled to be invited by Atelier Swarovski to Venice for a beautiful night at the Baglioni Hotel Luna, during the 76th Venice International Film Festival, to celebrate this grand event of Marie Claire Italia for their September issue.

Daniele Luchetti, Sveva Alviti, Alessandra Mastornardi, Manola Moslehi, Marco Maccarini, Antonella Bussi, and Fotinì Peluso.

Indulging in the silence of nature, away from the crowded squares, set in the lagoon, Daniele Luchetti, a director who becomes a fashion photographer for the first time, tells the story of traditions and Venetian crafts, of landscapes to be preserved with the help of female protagonists, four Italian actresses, Alessandra Mastronardi, Sveva Alviti, Fotinì Peluso, and Benedetta Porcaroli, all dressed in the new season.

Oysters and champagne waited for us in the hotel’s stunning Marco Polo salon, while Antonella Bussi, editor-in-chief of Marie Claire Italia, took the stage with Manola Moslehi and Marco Maccarini, announcers of Radio Italia, who were also the presenters of the beautiful evening. Thanks to Atelier Swarovski, the night was even more sparkling and brilliant, with the beautiful fine jewelry on display in a stunning showcase.

Atelier Swarovski stands at the forefront of a global conscious luxury movement with Swarovski Created Diamonds that mark a new step forward in the company‘s brilliant history of innovative man-made materials. Identical to mined diamonds, they possess the same composition, hardness, brilliance and fire – just as a greenhouse-grown orchid is identical to one found in nature.

The event culminated in a live performance of Italian singer Paola Turci. Playing the guitar, she immediately started singing her famous song «Volo così». You don’t need to be Italian to feel the emotions of the language and the power of this amazing woman.

After ending her performance with a cover of «Hallelujah» by Leonard Cohen, we moved up to the terrace on the third floor overlooking San Giorgio Maggiore, one of the most romantic postcards of Venice. All dancing with a musical selection designed for the event by Radio Italia DJ Paolo Negri, we enjoyed cocktails and dancing until late at night.

On the terrace: Marion and Laurence Kaelin and Marc-Henri Debluë, Marie Claire Suisse

Filming before the event

With Paola Turci at the after party.

Beautiful outfit: Fotinì Peluso in a red Valentino gown and earrings by Atelier Swarovski.

With Marion Kaelin in David Tomaszewski and Catherine Poulain in Tony Ward Couture.
For all details of my look, click here for yesterday’s post.

On the occasion of the event Marie Claire launched the social hashtags #MCCinema and #MCFutureVisioni. Below are more photos of this fabulous event!

LoL, Sandra

 Photos: Courtesy of Marie Claire Italia and © Sandra Bauknecht

With this new high jewelry collection, LOUIS VUITTON pays tribute to the powerful vision that impelled so many medieval heroines to transcend their limitations and forge their own destiny. These women made a lasting mark on the man’s world they inhabited, shaping their fate. They are the very embodiment of determination and independence, values that reflect the LOUIS VUITTON woman.

In homage to them, the House conjured up a suit of armour made of light, a luminous blaze that expresses the inner radiance of she who wears it. It irradiates outwards in a luminous choreography of glittering gems and diamonds – tens of thousands of them, initially in a line of some fifty designs, to be extended in due course with fifty more pieces.

One jewel foregrounds a beautifully velvety royal blue sapphire weighing 19.31 carats, set against a luminescent mesh woven with some 1,600 diamonds. The Royaume has refined, architectural lines that borrow from design components of a medieval fortress, such as a portcullis, chains, and a drawbridge.

With a shape inspired by the gorget – a special piece of armour designed to protect the throat – the Royaume is remarkable for its exquisitely delicate enamelling and the supple way it drapes against the skin. A richly vibrant royal blue sapphire – the most regal of gemstones – takes centre stage to symbolise the protection of the Kingdom.

Another piece, the Cavalière necklace, showcases spinel, a precious gem that symbolises ardour and courage. Here, it is cut after setting to contrast with diamonds. Spinels are distinctive for their deep red colour, infused with flashes of orange.

This amulet features a central medallion of Lapis Lazuli, polished to an infinitely silky finish that sets off the emerald’s crystalline brilliance and highlights the lapidary’s painstaking work. A carefully crafted complementarity between round – and baguette – cut stones amplifies the play of light, while the intricate delicacy of a bracelet’s settings conceal the promise of love. It took many months to assemble the 70 sapphires and 100 emeralds that combine
to encircle the neck.

The narrative force of this collection gives free rein to design, in a sculptural collection that overturns all frames of reference. With its visual vocabulary of pure lines, chiaroscuro light-play, sensual loops, and rigorous symmetries contrasting with asymmetries, it directs the spotlight firmly at the spectacular gemstones.

On the Reine necklace, nine dazzling aquamarines of a Santa Maria – like blue – combined weight 153 carats – evoke the magnificence of dynastic jewels and sovereign power.

The bezels are handcrafted to precisely fit each of the stones. They feature a unique symbol, sculpted and mounted on a pavé chain set with 24 carats of diamonds. La Reine – the Queen – was a leading figure in Medieval times, and appears in this collection as an independent and determined woman in control of her own destiny.

A wealth of detailing distinguishes this new opus, attesting to such virtuosity as only the most accomplished of jewellers possess. The Riders of the Knights collection achieves an immersive aesthetic drawn from medieval codes of chivalry and heraldic crests.

Each of these figurative pieces – Le Royaume, La Cavalière, La Reine – tells a story where the House’s many creative facets find expression, whether in the architectural simplicity of a fortress, the luminescent transience of intuition, or the protective aura of a talisman.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Louis Vuitton

NET-A-PORTER hosted cocktails in Paris during Haute Couture Fashion Week to celebrate a collection of its high jewelry designers. Private gallery Hôtel du Grand Veneur was the setting for a beautiful mirrored spiral shaped installation which housed over 20 rare, one-of-a-kind pieces from the world’s most renowned high jewelry maisons, including Chopard, Piaget, Buccellati, Lorraine Schwartz, Boehmer et Bassenge, Boghossian, Giampiero Bodino, Nadia Morgenthaler, Ana Khouri, Repossi, De Grisogono, Bina Goenka and many more.

With my beloved Lupe Puerta, Global Director of VIP Client Relations at NET-A-PORTER

NET-A-PORTER offers great service for their EIP (Extremely Important Person) customers, now taking it one step further with EIP Privé. The new high jewelry pieces are part of this new concept that was introduced to a selected clientele during Paris Fashion Week. In general, the EIPs can request to see exquisite one-of-a-kind creations via private appointments and «try before you buy», so that the jewel might never be seen by another customer again.

With lovely Elizabeth von der Goltz, Global Buying Director of NET-A-PORTER.

To give the best service possible, NET-A-PORTER‘s dedicated team of personal shoppers receive comprehensive diamond and gemstone education from the Gemological Institute of America.

Amazing piece, a combination of ring and bracelet, by Bina Goenka.

Good to know is that the iconic online shopping destination adheres to the Kimberley Process, a certification scheme committed to the removal of conflict diamonds from the global supply chain. It was established in 2003 after the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution supporting its creation.

Jewelry creations by Chopard.

Since 2014, NET-A-PORTER has also been a member of the Responsible Jewellery Council – the only retailer to stake this claim. In addition, all fine jewelry sold over the site is tested, marked and certified according to the Hallmarking Act 1973, which guarantees the purity of precious metals.

A huge thank you goes to my personal shopper who does the best job! I am a huge fan of the EIP service and I can only recommend buying at NET-A-PORTER.

Enjoy more impressions of the night below!

LoL, Sandra

Alison Loehnis, President of NET-A-PORTER and MR PORTER, with actress Mandy Moore.

With Alberto Cibrario, Sales Department Operations Manager at de GRISOGONO.

On display: high jewelry pieces by de Grisogono.

Chabi Nouri, CEO, Piaget

Gaia Repossi, Jewelry Designer

Ana Khouri, Jewelry Designer

Photos: © François Durand / Getty Images for Net-à-Porter
© Sandra Bauknecht

«Women, with their intuitive instinct, understood that I dreamed not only of making them more beautiful, but happier too.» – Christian Dior

Victoire de Castellane continues the story of DIOR‘s «Rose des vents» collection with a new celestial lucky charm, so-called «Rose Céleste». A twist of grains encircles the medallion, which turns to switch between the moon and sun sides.

On the front, a mother-of-pearl moon and three small white gold stars have been embedded with infinite care in an onyx disc in order to reveal all their brilliance.

On the reverse, a majestic yellow gold sun, with nine rays of different sizes, stands out from the mother-of-pearl background. Its almond-shaped eye and its smile were defined with a subtle level of refinement. The ornamental stones have been polished to give them a rounded surface, while the gold that encircles them has been shaped to form a rice-grain effect.

Taking its inspiration from Christian Dior‘s highly superstitious nature and his passion for astrology, the new must-have jewellery pieces are available as a medallion, bracelet or necklace, these talismans offer a new invitation to travel through the Dior’s rich heritage, by day and by night.

Bracelet DIOR Rose Céleste €1900
Necklace DIOR Rose Céleste €2000
Médaillon DIOR Rose Céleste €4500

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Dior