Designing women and men, once again

More than a year later, the Bruce Museum’s “Art of Design” event returns.

If you’re regular readers of WAG, then you’ll remember that Marc Hruschka, CEO and president of Graff USA, was the last print cover – and the last in-person interview – we did before lockdown last year. At the time of that March interview, we were anticipating his appearance at the Bruce Museum’s fundraising “Art of Design” luncheon, which was postponed.

But not forgotten. More than a year later, the event took place Thursday, Oct. 28, at Greenwich County Club and may we say it was well worth the wait. Graff – whose area boutique holds pride of place at The Vault, part of The Saks Shops at Greenwich – is a vertical business success story, a company founded by Laurence Graff, who started in the jewelry trade as a 15-year-old. He was told he would never make it in the business, left and went to work for another business that folded. But he persisted. At 22, he bought out a subsequent partner and proceeded to build a company in which he and now also son Francois (global CEO) control everything from the sourcing of Graff diamonds at a mine in Botswana to the cutting and preliminary polishing of the stones in Africa and Antwerp, Belgium, to the designing of the pieces the stones inspire at Graff’s London atelier and headquarters. At 60, the company has discovered many of the world’s most famous rough diamonds, none more celebrated than the one that yielded the Graff Lesedi La Rona, a 302-carat stunner, the largest square emerald-cut diamond in the world.

How did Laurence Graff do it? By putting the customer first, as we learned in the conversation between Hruschka and Jill Newman, a jewelry expert and writer who serves as contributing editor, jewelry and watches, for Town & Country magazine. Laurence would even deliver jewels to clients on yachts offshore, such as Imelda Marcos, wife of former Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos. (There were rumors that Graff himself delivered more than diamonds to Imelda. Perhaps amour? “No,” one woman whispered waggishly to me at the luncheon, “shoes,” remembering the clotheshorse Imelda’s grand passion for footwear.)

Romantic rumors notwithstanding, such is Graff’s commitment to its clients that even amid the pandemic, the company brought jewels to purchasers while wearing protective clothing – the rich keeping up with gifts for occasions that had to be celebrated privately as well as new art purchases to grace their walls. That commitment is also why you won’t see Graff jewels adorning those who swan the red carpet – unless the celebrities own them. When you buy a Graff necklace or earrings, from, say its popular Butterfly collection, or the $3.2 million yellow diamond ring we spied in one of several vitrines that graced the luncheon, you’re not buying something that has been lent or worn by others.

“Our models are our clients,” Hruschka noted.

It was a fun conversation that took place as we dined on grilled chicken salad and then chocolate mousse while savoring wines and Champagne from Horseneck Wine & Spirits at tables festooned with centerpieces by Green of Greenwich.

Afterward, there was a raffle of a Prada handbag and a Graff Butterfly necklace and Graff’s Lesedi La Rona-inspired fragrance. But no one went home empty-handed. Each attendee received a copy of the Graff coffee table book published by Rizzoli.

What was even more heartening than that gracious gesture was to see a room of familiar faces who sparkled in dress and conversation. Many have appeared in the pages of WAG, including artist and Bruce board member Felicity Kostakis, who co-chaired the event with Romona Norton; Mary Jane Denzer co-owner Debra O’Shea; and portraitist Olga Sweet

Robert Wolterstorff, the Susan E. Lynch executive director and CEO of the Bruce, spoke about how good it was to see everyone in his welcoming remarks, which also updated attendees on the museum’s renovation and expansion, set for completion next year.

But such a building is the mere setting for the jewels of its programs and exhibits. On Sunday, Nov. 7, the Bruce returns from a construction hiatus with three new shows – “Natural Cycles of Our Land” in the Permanent Science Galleries; “The Fisher Dollhouse: A Venetian Palazzo in Miniature” (through Jan. 21); and “RESOLUTE: Native Nations Art in the Bruce Collection” (through Jan. 30).

So, good food and wine, good company, good conversation and now three shows to look forward to. Who says diamonds aren’t a museum’s best friend? – Georgette Gouveia

For more, visit brucemuseum.org.

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