Vogue India July 2016

Richard Burton
gifted a 1969
Bulgari sautoir to
Elizabeth Taylor

in

dusters; a 400-year-old silver coffee table at her

Mumbai home, which she acquired from an old

palace in Udaipur and refurbished. Or, for that

matter, the Suvigya Sharma painting that

hangs on the wall behind me (“I always like gal-

loping horses—I think of my career like that”);

the gold Gunjan Gupta thali she once launched

at the Taj Mahal Hotel; the two rings that she

wears on her left hand, one with a serpent mo-

tif and another of goddess Saraswati; the gold

inlay work on the tiles in her powder room; or

even a pair of 11-carat Asscher diamonds that

cover most of her earlobes.

“Everybody wears round solitaires, so why

should I wear the same? The moment I saw

them I convinced myself I wanted them, that I

wasn’t going to talk to people and get 10 differ-

ent opinions,” she says. “It’s strange how, in

India, when we buy jewellery the entire family

is involved. You don’t mind buying a 50 lakh

Birkin bag on your own, but when you’re buy-

ing jewellery worth 50,000 the entire family

comes to see. Maybe it’s about trust...”

For someone who rarely leans towards cos-

tume jewellery, an exception came in the form

of a pair of earrings she spotted on a fellow

diner in Milan. “I was at a restaurant, and

there was this woman sitting across me. She

was beautiful, and with beautiful women you

tend to look at the face, but the earpiece she

was wearing was stunning! When she was leav-

ing I walked up to her and said I loved the piece

and she told me it was by somebody from New

York but she couldn’t remember the label. I got

RQWRWKHLQWHUQHWWRÀQGRXWEXWWRQRDYDLO,

get sleepless QLJKWVLI,FDQ·WÀQGVRPHWKLQJ³,·P

one of those people. Then I went to New York

from Milan. And do you know what I found

across the hotel I was staying in? A Reem Acra

store—with those earrings!”

What has Mumbai brought to her aesthetic, I

ask. “Glamour,” she says, “I grew up in Juhu,

surrounded by Bollywood and glamour. I think

one should bring glamour to even the bhel you

eat. I have mine in a martini glass. I can never

do anything that has no style.” Q

“It’s strange

how, in India,

when we buy

jewellery the

entire family

is involved...

Maybe it’s

about trust”

Most travellers

experience a country

and its history through

its relics and ruins, but

Amanda Triossi and

Karen Talwar’s curated

excursions of er an

alternative reading by

putting the spotlight

on its art and jewellery.

Titled Adventures in

Art, the tailor-made

luxury travel service

curates an educational

itinerary for a group

of 12-15 like-minded

art and jewellery

enthusiasts. “People no

longer travel purely for

leisure, they also want

to learn and educate

themselves,” says Talwar.

Talwar, an art

consultant, met Triossi,

a jewellery historian,

while the two worked

at Sotheby’s albeit in

dif erent parts of the

world. “We have known

each other for 25 years

now,” says Triossi. “We

were attending art

fairs and biennials, and

organising art-led tours

the world over, when we

came upon this idea.”

In 2013, the

duo curated their

fi rst jewellery tour.

Bypassing tourist traps

like the Empire State

Building, Times Square

and Statue of Liberty,

their group explored

New York through its

dazzling jewels—on the

itinerary was a

private tour

of an ongoing

jewellery

exhibit at

MoMA, access

to jewellery

ateliers as well

as dinners and

talks with private

collectors. “It’s

jewellery-focussed

travel that connects

connoisseurs with

collectors,” adds Talwar.

What makes their

tour special, due to

their extended network

of contacts, is that the

group gets access to

pieces that are often

not open for the

public. Triossi lists the

18th-century gem-set

corsages exhibited at

the Kremlin’s Diamond

Fund as well as a 1969

sapphire and diamond

sautoir by Bulgari

(gifted to Elizabeth

Taylor) as some of the

most exquisite pieces

she’s ever come across.

Currently exploring

Russia through its

Fabergé masterpieces

and Czar jewels, the

duo, who visited India in

January, are planning a

tour that previews jewels

at the Grand Palais in

Paris in September and

then focussing on Italian

antique and period

jewels across Milan in

December. To see a

list of upcoming tours

and to register, visit

Adventuresinart.com. Q

—Megha Mahindru

TREASURE

HUNT

http://www.vogue.in VOGUE INDIA JULY 2016 107

Marrying travel

with jewellery,

KAREN TALWAR

and AMANDA

TRIOSSI of er

immersive jewellery

tours around the world

Talwar (left

and Triossi)

Fabergé egg

from the Kremlin

Museum collection

DISCOVER

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