Last Wednesday evening marked the return of The COUTURE Show to the Wynn Convention Center, and with it, so many of my favorite people—talented jewelry designers and their representatives from Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Portugal, Singapore, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, the UAE, the UK, and every corner of the USA—once again proving my theory that living in Las Vegas allows one to be the very laziest of friends.

And while I’ll be examining a number of the following designers in detail over the coming months, here are my notes from the various appointments I had at this year’s show, broken down by day.  Enjoy!

Wednesday, May 31: Preview (5:30-8:30pm)

While the opening night is intended as a very mellow ease-in to the high energy ‘work’ that comes in the following days—as most vendors are still setting up and merchandising their booths, and many are still fighting the jetlag resulting from their flights from Sakura, Sao Paulo, Seattle, Sharjah, or Stockholm—I took the opportunity to book a few appointments.

BUSATTI 1947:  Since first meeting the dynamic brother-and-sister duo of Davide and Lalla Busatti at COUTURE 2022, the Milanese siblings have amicably split from their cousins at Busatti Milano (founded by their grandfather, Antonio Busatti, for which Lalla had been the house’s artistic director for many years) and have launched Busatti 1947.  I’d been wow-ed, last year; so, I was thrilled to see that they’ve really poured their respective hearts and souls into this collection that was at once innovative (whether through shape, cut, or fabrication) and comfortable (by way of fit and the colors, including their proprietary hue, ‘Royal Zest’).  The pieces that resonated the most with me included the quartet of bold, stackable, geometric ‘Infinity’ bracelets— that when held at a certain angle, are each a three-dimensional abstract sculpture of the infinity symbol—made in gold and coated with the Maison’s proprietary blend of resin and carbon fiber.  And if these bracelets weren’t already high-tech enough for you, they contain magnets that attract only when the bracelets are stacked in the correct position (and repel when they aren’t).  Further, while highly stylish when worn one-or-two at a time, when worn as a stack of four, they combine to make an amazing statement cuff.  But wait: There’s more!  The 20.32ct elongated cushion-cut pale-yellow diamond encrusted in milky quartz on a shank featuring the Maison’s signature ‘Venice’ setting was notable not simply for the size and clarity of the stone, but for the delicacy of its hue, made all the more distinctive by that milky quartz surround; and the incredible two-stone ring featuring a pair of rare, perfectly-matched carré-cut VVS diamonds (totaling 11.48cts) that meet in a peak and are set in black titanium and palladium gold.  Simply put, last year’s “wow” for the Busattis has blossomed into a full-throated “Yowza!” 

STEPHEN WEBSTER:  Long considered one of the rock stars of the fine jewelry world, Stephen Webster returned to The COUTURE Show with new versions of the Thorns and Knots and ‘Crystal Haze’ we know and love; and added to the mix his new ‘Jitterbug’ pieces (Webster’s takes on the Egyptian scarab by way of Toro Beetles and Horse Flies).  As imbued with fun as they are with beauty, this unisex collection is gonna have you whistling “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” as you view them on your finger, your lapel, or hanging around your neck.  All the while, his 'Sworn Enemies' series of limited-edition high jewelry brooches—depicting duos of dualling animals that fight amongst their own species, including ‘Ramification’ (rams), ‘Rock Brawl’ (crabs), ‘Cock Fight’ (roosters), ‘Flight Encounter’ (hummingbirds), and ‘Master & Serpent’ (cobras); these are numbered and will only be issued in editions of three—are sure to find themselves battling it out on lapels and gowns on red carpets, in the coming year.

SICIS JEWELS:  I’m no stranger to micro-mosaic, and therefore know that this painstaking technique requires an incredibly steady hand as well as sharp vision and attention to detail.  So, when a representative of SICIS Jewels reached out to invite me to their booth at COUTURE, I accepted. When looking at well-executed micro-mosaic—and the pieces by SISIC Jewels are nothing if not exquisitely executed—it should almost (but not quite) appear as enamel or hand-painted stone.  It’s only upon closer examination (or, in my case, when wearing my ‘readers’) that the individual tesserae can be discerned.  I was at once struck by the technical mastery and the precision wielded by SICIS’s craftspeople, in order to bring their intricate pieces to life, whether exotic fauna (leopards, quetzals, koi, and scarlet macaws), brilliant flora (Flowers and foliage and ferns: Oh my!), or abstract arabesques.  Heck, those wacky kids at SICIS have even produced a micro-mosaicked icon of Empress Theodora that, studded with and framed by diamonds, hangs from a rather regal double strand of pearls on a necklace of gold with diamonds and quartz.  This was SICIS’s first COUTURE and based on the particularly photogenic qualities of the jewelry and the intensity of the technique and its execution, it’s only a matter of time before the stylists and editors come calling. *

COUTURE 2023: Preview Night
Wynn Las Vegas
Click HERE for info

Get into it!
#COUTURE2023

[Editor’s Note: * A saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church as well as the Oriental Orthodox Church, Theodora was a Byzantine empress who ascended alongside her husband, Emperor Justinian I]