Fine Jewelry & Timepieces – South Coast Plaza https://www.southcoastplaza.com Wed, 13 Apr 2022 17:30:23 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.1.1 Visit the New Hermès Boutique https://www.southcoastplaza.com/stories/2022/03/hermes-has-opened-a-new-boutique/ Tue, 08 Mar 2022 00:10:14 +0000 https://www.southcoastplaza.com/?p=72026

VISIT THE NEW HERMÈS BOUTIQUE

The expanded location at South Coast Plaza reflects French craftsmanship and the Southern California landscape

 

Twenty-five years since it first opened at South Coast Plaza, Hermès has debuted a much-awaited new and expansive boutique. One of the largest locations on the West Coast for the luxury French house, the 7,100-square-foot store showcases a more complete vision of Hermès’ collections and reflects Southern California’s landscape and lifestyle.

“2022 marks our 25th year in South Coast Plaza and we cannot think of a better way to celebrate this moment than by moving into a beautiful new home,” Robert B. Chavez, Hermès USA President and CEO, said. “A significantly larger space will allow us to expand our offering of hand-crafted objects, as well as enhance our services and comfort to all our guests and clients.”

 

The boutique merges the colors and textures of ocean, sand, sky and mountains with Hermès’ French spirit at the new location on level 1 in the Nordstrom wing. Designed by the Parisian architecture agency RDAI, the store features organic curved structures, soft gradients of earth tones and natural materials.

“

2022 marks our 25th year in South Coast Plaza and we cannot think of a better way to celebrate this moment than by moving into a beautiful new home.

”

ROBERT B. CHAVEZ, HERMÈS USA PRESIDENT AND CEO

The exterior and main entrance – one of three entrances – features a dramatic mural of gradient clay and terracotta tones that connect to the store’s interior palette. From inside South Coast Plaza, guests can access the boutique through two entrances – one on each end of the U-shaped boutique. An undulating glass façade framed in terracotta with wood claustra partitions creates an effect of light and shadows. Across the threshold, the terrazzo floor is made from mother of pearl and red marble with a stone mosaic illustrating the iconic Hermès Faubourg pattern.

Hermès’ signature scarves floating on wooden grids welcome guests, a prelude to the leather salon. An intimate women’s jewelry space is connected to a VIP area with walls covered in silver larch wood marquetry and a carpet inspired by visions of a misty sunset walk on the beach. This space leads to salons for ties, shoes and women’s and men’s ready-to-wear. The bag and clutch salon is bound to be a favorite among devotees of Hermès icons – the emblematic Kelly bag, the coveted Birkin bag, and the large bag that started it all, the Haut à Courroies. Near the home and equestrian collections is a bar where guests can relax, a space infused with a warm and welcoming ambience. Rounding out the interior spaces are the salons for the perfume and beauty collections, defined by rich terracotta ceramic walls and terrazzo flooring, and a new salon devoted to after-sales and repairs.

Throughout the store, sand walls with an earthen palette add texture, while artwork – including commissioned pieces by Filipe Jardim, Suzel Caspard and Marion Dubier Clark – enhances the boutique’s connection to marine motifs and the Hermès vernacular.

Together, the design elements of the boutique and the collections within are a unique juxtaposition of legendary French craftsmanship and artistry with a contemporary expression of Southern California through the lens of Hermès, no doubt an exciting new must-visit at South Coast Plaza.

Hermès

LEVEL 1, NORDSTROM WING
714.437.1725

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]]> Visit the Newly Opened Buccellati Boutique https://www.southcoastplaza.com/stories/2022/01/visit-the-newly-opened-buccellati-boutique/ Mon, 31 Jan 2022 18:27:50 +0000 https://www.southcoastplaza.com/?p=69860

VISIT THE NEWLY OPENED BUCCELLATI BOUTIQUE

The Italian jeweler brings its intricate and ornate collections to South Coast Plaza

Buccellati, one of the world’s most prestigious Italian jewelers, has opened at South Coast Plaza. Designed with clean lines to showcase the opulent collections for which the Milanese luxury brand is known, the Orange County exclusive boutique is home to fine jewelry, precious watches, silver centerpieces, décor, objets d’art, flatware and tableware.

As a young apprentice in the early 1900s at Beltrami & Besnati, a jeweler and goldsmith, Mario Buccellati was drawn to antique techniques dating back to the Renaissance – his favorite period, the Middle Ages and ancient Greece. Using engraving and chiseling techniques, he parlayed his ideas into jewelry that evoked the sumptuous fabrics and delicate damasks of the Renaissance and Venetian laces. He opened his first namesake boutique in Milan in 1919.

More than a century later, Buccellati jewelry has become synonymous with lavish and luxurious designs and the ultimate in craftsmanship. The founder’s artistic and artisanal legacy shines at the South Coast Plaza boutique, realized through the devoted stewardship and creativity of the Buccellati family through the decades, including his sons Luca and Gianmaria; grandson Andrea, President and Creative Director of the Buccellati Group; and great-granddaughter Lucrezia, Co-Creative Director.

CREATING THE BUCCELLATI HONEYCOMB EFFECT

TRACING
PIERCING
SAWING
SETTING
POLISHING
ENGRAVING
BURNISHING

Five themes pervade the jewelry collections, all a testament to the artisanship of the Buccellati house: silk, a nod to the striated surface that resembles silk shantung; nature, designs inspired by flora and fauna; plait, which references hand-twisting precious metals; lace, marked by elaborate openwork; and honeycomb, an intricate style that pays tribute to the hexagonal engineering work of bees.

Among the most popular collections that embody these themes are Macri, Ramage, Rombi, Opera and Hawaii.

THE MACRI COLLECTION

The Macri features the “rigato” effect, the result of handmade engraving. Brilliant-cut diamonds set in star-shaped rosettes and tiny gold beads gleam on a striated surface reminiscent of silk shantung.

THE RAMAGE COLLECTION

Inspired by the Renaissance, the Ramage features a silhouette of branches and tiny leaves accented with diamonds, created by boring a 1-mm. gold plate by hand.

THE ROMBI COLLECTION

Also inspired by the Renaissance, white and yellow gold and diamonds in the Rombi are fashioned to resemble lace or arranged to form a scalloped-edge geometric band.

THE OPERA COLLECTION

Resembling a flower, a medallion-like motif epitomizes the Opera, created with gold, diamonds, and in some cases, colorful enamel.

THE HAWAII COLLECTION

The most modern of the popular Buccellati collections, the Hawaii is crafted with hand-twisted white, yellow or rose gold threads to form intertwining circles, a design that dates back to the 1930s and yet looks timeless to this day.

A piece of Buccellati jewelry is a work of art, a notion that no less than the Smithsonian Institution underscored when it held a retrospective titled “Buccellati: Art in Gold, Silver and Gems” in 2000.

The late Gianmari Buccellati understood this profoundly, acknowledging the original inspiration that led his family’s foray into jewelry: “Botticelli, Brunelleschi, Donatello or Benvenuto Cellini left us with works of elevated goldsmithing to admire and emulate. To this heritage…Buccellati simply added its own inspiration and dedication.”

BUCCELLATI

LEVEL 2, NORDSTROM WING

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]]> 15+ Years of James Bond and His Omega Seamaster https://www.southcoastplaza.com/stories/2021/10/15-years-of-james-bond-and-his-omega-seamaster/ Mon, 11 Oct 2021 14:26:06 +0000 https://www.southcoastplaza.com/?p=61895  

15+ YEARS OF JAMES BOND AND HIS OMEGA SEAMASTER

Daniel Craig returned as 007 one last time with his trusted Omega.

When Daniel Craig returned to the big screen for the last time as James Bond on October 8, he had a faithful companion to mark the moment.  For more than 15 years, 007 has been battling the bad guys, drawing the attention of gorgeous women, racing sexy cars through streets around the world, hurtling through the air, or diving in deep waters – and almost always with a special incarnation of an Omega Seamaster encircling his wrist.

It’s fitting that after inhabiting one of the most rugged yet dashing characters onscreen, Craig had a say in what he wore for his final outing as the world’s favorite spy. In the latest Bond movie, “No Time To Die,” he wears the Seamaster Diver 300M 007 Edition chronometer.  One could easily surmise that the new design – a burly case with a sleek bracelet – echoes Bond’s physicality and enigmatic persona.  

Lightweight yet strong by virtue of its Grade 2 titanium materials, the handsome watch sports a brown tropical aluminium bezel ring and dial and is slightly slimmer than the standard Diver 300M models because of its domed sapphire-crystal glass. The 007-edition Diver is powered by Omega’s Co-Axial Master Chronometer 8806, which has achieved the industry’s highest standards of precision, chronometric performance and magnetic resistance.

This fall, the Omega boutique at South Coast Plaza offers the Seamaster 300M 007 Edition identical to the model Bond wears in the film, as well as a version with a NATO strap.

Join us for a nostalgic look at some of the Omega watches worn by Craig in James Bond movies since 2006, and the Omega watches that they inspired – for fans to own:

NO TIME TO DIE (2021)

Seamaster Diver 300M 007 Edition chronometer with a titanium case and bracelet

SPECTRE (2015)

Seamaster 300 SPECTRE Limited Edition with rare lollipop seconds hand and black and grey NATO strap (no longer available)

SKYFALL (2012)

Seamaster Planet Ocean 600M steel on steel chronometer  (contact the boutique for availability)

QUANTUM OF SOLACE (2008)

Seamaster Planet Ocean 600M steel on steel chronometer pays homage to Omega’s dive watch heritage (no longer available)

CASINO ROYALE (2006)

Seamaster Diver 300M steel on steel chronometer, the first Omega model worn by Daniel Craig (no longer available)

The Daniel Craig era of Omega 007 timepieces could not have begun more definitively than in a buzz-worthy scene in “Casino Royale” when femme fatale Vesper Lynd meets Bond for the first time. She walks down the aisle in a train and sits across from him, engages him in a lively repartee, then notices his watch and inquires about it.

“Omega,” he says.

“Beautiful,” Lynd replies.

 The rest is Bond –  James Bond – history.

OMEGA

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