As a new wave of bespoke shopping experiences takes things to the next level, Grace O’Neill investigates how the 1 per cent buy jewellery in 2019
A Private tour of Catherine the Great’s bedroom in Moscow; a vintage speedboat to take you art shopping on a Venetian island; shutting down the Tower of London for a one-on-one afternoon with the Crown Jewels. No, this isn’t the world’s most lavish Lonely Planet guide, but rather a taste of the varied bespoke experiences that Brian Purkis has created for his clients. As the newly appointed high jewelry manager at Bulgari, Sydney-based Purkis is tasked with giving his clients the most luxurious shopping experience imaginable — a job that sees him fly high-net-worth individuals and their family first class to locales as far-flung as Italy, the UK and Russia. The relationship he builds with these clients is so close that they often consider him part of the family — he has stayed at clients’ homes and attended their children’s weddings, all while helping them secure one-of-a-kind, bespoke Bulgari pieces, many with price tags well over $1 million.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Grounded In Gotham
As she acclimatises to life under lockdown in her adopted city, model Victoria Lee reflects on fear, family and the fortitude of New Yorkers
Woman Of Influence Ingrid Weir
With a knack for elevating creative yet quotidian spaces and a love of bringing people together, the interior designer is crafting a sense of community among young artists.
CODE of HONOUR
At Chanel’s latest Métiers d’art showing, house alums Vanessa Paradis and daughter Lily-Rose Depp reflect on the red-carpet alchemy of Coco’s beloved bow, chain, camellia and ear of wheat.
Stillness in time
Acclaimed Australian fashion designer Collette Dinnigan’s new life in Italy has been a slowing down of sorts — but now, with coronavirus containment measures in play, life inside the walls of her 500-year-old farmhouse in Puglia has taken on a different cast, she writes
In the BAG
Aussie expat Vanissa Antonious from cult footwear brand Neous on going solo and stepping up her accessory offering.
uncut GEMMA
Forging her own path while paying it forward to the next generation, actor Gemma Chan is the (very worthy) recipient of the 2020 Women In Film Max Mara Face of the Future Award. She reflects on fashion, the Crazy Rich Asians phenomenon and red-carpet alter egos with Eugenie Kelly
THE TIME IS NOW
Esse Studios founder Charlotte Hicks’s slow-fashion model may just blaze a trail for the industry’s new normal. She talks less is more with Katrina Israel
COUPLES' THERAPY
Brooke Le Poer Trench ruminates on the trials and tribulations of too much time together
CALM IN A CRISIS
Caroline Welch was a busy woman who wrote a book on mindfulness for other busy women. Now, in the midst of a worldwide pandemic, she has started to take her own advice
ACCIDENTALLY RETIRED
As we settle into the new normal of lockdown, Kirstie Clements finds a silver lining in the excuse to slow down and sample the low-adrenaline lifestyle of chocolate digestives, board games and dressing down for dinner
