Festive opening of Alex & Ani, a flagship jewelry boutique at the Hacienda Mall, on Palm Beach

We were invited to a swanky party for the opening of Alex & Ani, a flagship jewelry boutique at the Hacienda Mall, on Palm Beach. The event was very well attended by town’s movers and shakers, probably because owner Reena Chugani oversaw all aspects of celebration, and it showed. There is a generous payoff when the owner is engaged and engaging.

Of course, Vibration Media & PR also did a great job on the invitee list, and chef Erwin Husken dazzled us with his bite size hors d’oeuvres.

The Alex & Ani jewelry brand – I even have a bracelet, have been wearing it since last Christmas  — is very popular among my bohemian, chic girlfriends, who love to stack bracelets promoting the gypsy style.

I just learned that besides being nicely designed, the brand is also eco-friendly, with jewelry made from recycled metal parts!

Alex & Ani was born in 2004, created by Carolyn Rafaelian, and her initial designs received world class promotion when Beyonce and Selena Gomez started wearing some of her unique pieces.

The brand’s name, a combination of the designer’s two daughters’ names, strikes a friendly note, and the pieces themselves tell stories, related to flora, fauna, the celestial constellations, country flags, icons and symbols, in bracelets, bangles, charms, rings, necklaces and earrings, with or without crystals and semi-precious stones. The brand flaunts a number of fully developped themes, which lend themselves to mix and match, or mix and mismatch stacking, and all pieces relate to each other, in color, material or design.

Because the Alex & Ani brand is dedicated to sustainability, charity is strongly linked to sales. And at the opening party, Stimami-Sterilisami, the dog and cat spay / neuter campaign initiated by Bucuti &Tara Beach Resorts, received a generous donation, which was collected by Tisa LaSorte.

It’s good to mention that the brand products are handcrafted in America and designed for durability, with a classic look that lends then a vintage feel, and propels us to collect them.

The Alex & Ani Boutique is open Monday to Saturday 12noon to 10pm and Sundays from 6pm to 10pm.  Our dynamic friend Brigitte Wauben is store manager, she has strong sales and people skills.

At the opening, Omar Ajaj, Vice President of International Business Development for Alex & Ani received even more compliments than the jewelry. The handsome, tall brand ambassador, mixed and mingled, collecting long looks from his newly acquired female admirers on the island.

Incidentally, Reena’s husband, Tesh Chugani, is also the owner of Kay’s fine Jewelry. I wrote about the couple before, when we visited the Acoya Villa Resort & Spa in Curacao, owned by Reena’s parents.

Reena went to the Wharton Business School and started her career with her family’s real estate business in Curacao. She moved to Aruba four and a half years ago after marrying her husband Tesh. Reena and Tesh recently became parents to an adorable liltle girl, I bet she already wears Alex & Ani.

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October 12, 2016
Rona Coster