The shrieks of delight you might have heard in New Kingston last Tuesday, came from ladies gasping at the luxe Ippolita pieces at Bijoux’s launch of the Italian jewellery line. Indeed, there was fawning, and we’re sure we spotted a lady or two looking quite starry-eyed. All for good reason though, as the Ippolita line, boasting gold and silver jewellery designer pieces, made a dazzling display in their new showcase space at Bijoux.

The launch event — styled by Sharon Thomas of Eventful Design to reflect a contemporary Christmas theme through black, white and silver hues — brought out a mix of bankers, realtors, doctors, socialites and business magnates.

In-between entertaining a steady stream of guests through the front door, Bijoux director told SO: “We have a tradition at Bijoux of bringing in the best brand names available worldwide to the Jamaican market, and Ippolita this year follows in the footsteps of Roberto Coin, Pandora, Chopard, Breitling, Omega, Michael Kors, and many other great lines that we have done in the past.”

“Every year we try to bring something new and fresh to the table, and Ippolita is the hottest jewellery line. We think it is very much in line with the Jamaican fashion scene because Jamaicans are very cutting-edge through their affiliation internationally with the Diaspora and their travels; they know very fine merchandise.”

Chandiram revealed that while he had been tracking Ippolita for some time, the actual union began to take shape this past June after he had visited a jewellery trade show in Las Vegas. “We saw the line, made contact and eventually met with them, and decided to forge a partnership.”

“They came down and looked at our store, they thought it was appropriate for their standard and we are going to make it happen.”

Christina Cox, the US-based regional sales manager for Ippolita told SO: “We felt that Bijoux was a fantastic partner because they cater to fine designer jewellery. They have some of the finest brands and a team with a great eye for design. Bijoux has a clientele that loves and appreciates fine jewellery, so I felt it was a great home for Ippolita.”

“Ippolita is available in all the best stores in the US, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorfs, Bloomingdales, Saks Fifth Avenue, and we in Bijoux want to bring that to Jamaica,” Chandiram added.

Pieces from the line retail at Bijoux cost between US$150 and US $10,000.

SO features scenes from the Ippolita launch.