News From London
London is having a glittering summer season after early June Platinum Jubilee parties and pageantry set the tone and style. Post Covid London is back and buzzing. Theatres are full with new offerings and concerts have an exciting roll out. Jewels, gardens and concerts all have a festive air.
Prologue to a Glittering Summer Season
Among the new exhibits in June was Sotheby’s Jubilee show, Power & Image: Royal and Aristocratic Tiaras. This was a stunning collection of over 40 glittering tiaras and diadems. Photography was allowed and I moved from case to case mesmerized by the collection, and size of diamonds and precious stones.
The 40 tiaras, mostly from royal and aristocratic families are handed from generation to generation. The Spencer family tiara worn by Princess Diana at her wedding was a big draw. She is said to have liked to wear it on formal occasions because it was light. Some of the other creations with huge diamond clusters did look incredibly heavy.
Theatre and Concerts
The National Theatre has a roll out of enticing plays. I saw The Corn is Green in which Nicola Walker gave a superb performance. The Burnt City with Andrea Carrucciu was recommended. I did not see it, hard to get tickets.
I did go to three of the nights when Sir Andras Schiff played Beethoven’s Piano concertos. It was an incredible experience. I was there for Concertos 1 and 2 on Monday, and 5 on Thursday. This was the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment at its very best. Playing at the Queen Elizabeth Hall to sell out audiences. Sir Andras played a movement from the Third piano concerto as an encore on Monday – so I covered most of this three night program! He received an enthusiastic standing ovation on each night.
Opera was in full swing with countryside performances at Garsington in Buckinghamshire and Glyndebourne in Sussex. In London Holland Park Opera was in full swing in the open air auditorium.
Getting Around
London is an easy city to navigate, and this summer it is easier than ever. Many London taxis are now electric which has cut down on noise and fumes. It is easy to rent a bicycle or scooter thanks to new technology. As for public transport, passengers on buses and underground no long need tickets, just tap your credit card and you are on your way.
There is now a large fee for cars to drive into London which means less traffic. Also strict speed restrictions are now enforced. All of these steps, while maybe irritating to Londoners, seem to have eased the flow and congestion.
And Then There Were More Jewels…
Celebrating Tiffany’s 150th anniversary in London is a stunning exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery called Vision & Virtuosity. Covering five floors, it showcases everything from window displays from the Fifth Avenue store to some of the most iconic Tiffany’s jewelry. It is part history of the legendary house, which began in New York in 1857, and part celebration of new beginnings as Tiffany’s is now under of the LVMH empire umbrella. The exhibit is divided into seven chapters, covering four floors of the gallery.
Chapter Three, Vision and Virtuosity
This chapter is dedicated to extraordinary pieces of jewelry which were featured in the Tiffany Blue Book. Jean Schlumberger, the iconic designer who was inspired by nature, designed the Hedges and Flowers necklace, seen above. This is crafted with platinum, gold, diamonds, turquoise and rubellite tourmalines. “Each necklace takes a minimum of 1,000 hours to craft”, said Jesus Martinez who has crafted these necklaces. The gold, yellow beryl, turquoise and diamond version, seen at the top “..is one of only two in existence,” said Martinez. The other recently sold at Bonhams, Style and Substance Sale, New York, for a whopping $529,575.
Chapter 5 Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Chapter 5 is all about Breakfast at Tiffany’s 1961 movie. Here is Audrey Hepburn’s original working script, annotated in her signature turquoise blue ink. There are clips from the movie. Her Givenchy black satin gown, worn in the opening sequence as she gazes into Tiffany’s windows sipping her coffee and nibbling a croissant, is here. I hear the strains of Moon River and I am on Fifth Avenue in New York, not the Kings Road, London. I must watch the movie again!
Time to Try On the Jewels…Really!
Having looked at all these gorgeous cases filled with amazing jewelry what could be better than trying on! Here is the Tiffany yellow diamond, all 128 carats of it, set on a necklace of shimmering white diamonds. This yellow diamond is one of the largest in the world. It was discovered in South Africa in 1878 and purchased by Charles Tiffany. Originally 287 carats, it was cut into the cushion shape by a gemologist who studied it for a year before working on it.
Only four people are know to have worn this diamond. Mrs. Sheldon Whitehouse wore it at the Tiffany Ball in Newport, RI in 1957. Then Audrey Hepburn wore it, followed by Lady Gage, Beyonce and now me!
Except I wore it virtually. Thanks to modern technology there is a place in the exhibit to virtually try on the iconic pieces. I wished I had Audrey’s black satin gown to show it off!
Then, after that, I was able to sit in one of the iconic Tiffany Blue Boxes, this time for real, not virtually. What fun and what a great exhibit!
Time for Tea in a Glittering Summer Season
After all that fun and bling at Tiffany’s it was time for tea or bubbles even. Fortnum and Mason’s Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon is always the perfect place for tea. Time too to sit and catch my breath and think about all I have seen and done. (How about that one day I walked 11 miles!)
There is so much going on in London this glittering summer season. From Beethoven to bling, and I enjoyed every moment.
London is back with a huge buzz after the pandemic. I can’t wait to return.
