My daughter Alexandra and I had a stupendous meeting, two years ago, with Elizabeth Gage at her charming Belgravia shop in London. The abundance of flowers surrounding the entrance door set the scene for the beautiful and bountiful collection of her stunning jewels inside.
Elizabeth Gage's Insight Into Jewelry Etiquette!
It was a grand pleasure and honor to host a dinner party at Fox Hall five years ago for Elizabeth Gage, the renowned, award-winning British jewelry designer! She came over from England to open “The Enchanting Jewels” exhibit, featuring 180 pieces of her gold and stone creations at The New Britain Museum of American Art in Connecticut. My husband Stuart and I have remained friends with her ever since. Her artistic gift has created the most divine “statement jewelry” that has been exhibited and admired globally.
The moment you meet Elizabeth, her genius is palpable and her delightful personality engaging. She is intoxicatingly captivating, yet humble about her MBE, the order of the British Empire award appointed by Her Majesty The Queen. Her patrons are discriminating and sophisticated, collecting her pieces with passion. Her gift for creativity in jewelry design is also evident in her interior design flair, that you will certainly notice in her gem-box store in Belgravia, London. Elizabeth has a charming country house outside of London, which is slated to be the next episode for my television series, as we search for a sponsor.
I asked Elizabeth to share her thoughts on the etiquette of properly wearing jewels at various English functions and venues, which I think you, too, will find alluring and insightful! (Please note that the English spelling is jewellery.)
Here are her charming responses:
"Jewellery is the ultimate expression of one's individuality. Wearing jewellery that you truly love is empowering. Curating a collection that does exactly that should be cherished and requires patience. My philosophy as a designer is wearability and timeless elegance. Jewellery should be worn from day into night, and become a second skin for its wearer. Jewellery, for me, has a talismanic quality which means that it should always be timeless, handed down and cherished through the generations to follow.”
Royal Ascot – if you are a keen racegoer then you are at the course for the horses and not to be seen; ergo jewellery should be understated.
Formal Event – if you are going and the Royals are attending, then any jewellery can be worn, but remember you cannot compete with Her Majesty The Queen.
Gala evenings – such as Royal Opera House or Royal Ballet – the blingier the sparkle the better. (I adore that remark!)
Weddings – guests can wear what they like as long as it goes with the outfit.
One tradition, that is continuing, is the gift from the bride and groom to the bridesmaids. This can be anything from earrings, to a pretty necklace, to a ring. (Note in England that groomsmen are not the norm. The groom has ushers, but they are not paired up with the bridesmaids for the ceremony.)
Since Queen Victoria’s reign, every royal bride has a sprig of myrtle in her wedding bouquet.
Diamonds - traditionally they were not worn until after lunch unless on the finger. Today, the trend seems to be that anything goes, and no longer does jewellery need to be worn as a set.
Hosting guests at home - depending on who the people are, whether they love diamonds or not, choose something unusual such as a fish pin hanging from the tube necklace. You can put any piece hanging from it, and it looks wonderful for any level of dressing up or down.
I personally advocate Elizabeth’s suggestion that jewelry should be cherished, handed down to future generations, and that it has a talismanic quality… which brings magic powers and good luck. Thank you, dear Elizabeth. We can all use a touch of that in our lives, along with the allure of sparkle!
New Sponsors!
It is an honour to have Elizabeth Gage, one of the most influential jewellery designers of the last five decades, as a sponsor. Elizabeth is an artist who uses gold and precious stones instead of brushes and paint. Her creations are magically magnificent!
Mandarin Garnet Kiss Pin