Maya Brenner

WELCOMING US TO HER ‘GEM’ OF A HOME, JEWELLER MAYA BRENNER ON MAKING THE MOST OF THE ‘MEGHAN EFFECT’ AND FINDING LOVE WITH HER OWN PRINCE CHARMING

- Tracy Schaverien

As the Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrive in Cape Town this week at the start of their ten-day tour of southern Africa, the eyes of the fashion world will be focused on Meghan’s wardrobe.

The clothes and accessories the Duchess wears routinely sell out in hours and few know the value of this so-called “Meghan effect” better than jeweler Maya Brenner. Her business sky-rocketed in late 2016 after the future Duchess was pictured wearing one of her designs while buying flowers in Toronto.

“Within hours, the phones were ringing off the hook,” says Maya. “Every news outlet in the world was trying to get information about the necklace – it was insane. Then the orders started coming in. It’s like a Las Vegas slot machine when you pull the handle and the reels start spinning. I could just see the orders coming in fast and furious.

“Eventually we had to shut the website down because we couldn’t cope with the demand. It was an exciting time, overwhelming and a little nerve-racking.”

LADY OF LETTERS

The piece in question was a delicate gold necklace bearing the initials H and M. Meghan – then best known as one of the stars of hit US drama Suits – had been dating Prince Harry for a few months and the letters appeared to confirm that the relationship was getting serious.

Today, as Maya invites hello! into her beautiful home in Los Angeles’s trendy Silver Lake neighborhood for this exclusive interview and photoshoot, she says the business is still enjoying the “Meghan effect” with a record turnover of $5m (£4m) last year.

“I don’t know how Meghan came to be wearing the necklace,” Maya says. “We have a mutual friend, Abigail Spencer [Meghan’s co-star in Suits] but it wasn’t through her. I think someone probably bought it for her.