NOBLE JEWELERS GOES OVER THE TOP

In the early day, Kan Jewelers and Spritzer & Fuhrman dominated the market of fine jewelry and luxury watches. We made pilgrimages to these bastions of craftsmanship every anniversary and birthday, scoring big, sometimes small, but always in good taste. Then the main street welcomed a newcomer, Ram’s electronics, and Ram’s Jewelers and my humble, hard-working girlfriends in the tourism business were all of a sudden transformed into Cinderella, dripping with jewels and gems, real ones. I soon learned there was a commission system put in place that rewarded the girls for their promotional efforts, once they directed visitors to that particular jewelry store, on the main street. I have to admit I never participated in the mush plan because I could not see myself wearing the oversize baubles, but many friends did, apparently business was good, and Nash Melwani became the undisputed King of Bling for many years, with oversized adz and billboards promoting his face, his brand, as he morphed into Noble Jewelers in the 90s. Fast forward to Thursday last week, Nash introduced Love Opulence to a small but select crowd at a reception street-side at Noble Jewelers, across Royal Plaza. As you realize, Nash has been designing fine jewelry on Aruba for over 30 years, and by now you understood he is a show-off and a dandy when it came to diamonds and gold. His wife, Dinisha, he told his invited guests at the reception, always accuses him of dressing her up to look like a Christmas tree. Kudos, the man has a healthy, self-deprecating sense of humor. Anyway, this time, with his new line Love Opulence Nash really went overboard. The pieces combine silver and Swarovski crystal. They were fashioned to resemble the crown jewels of Queen Elizabeth and/or the jewels commissioned by the House of Romanov, they are unapologetic, shameless huge pieces of sparkle, guaranteed to get you robbed, but then you can afford to replace every bit of your collection, because the pieces are super reasonably priced. I saw a pair of pearl earrings that Princess Di must have worn for $500 before discount. Nash reported to his guests that they get a discount, and the privilege of exchanging pieces every year. Yes, they may trade any Love Opulence item in, for a bigger or newer Love Opulence item. Only Nash can come up with a plan that good. I enjoyed the reception, the samosas were delicious, the wine nicely chilled, the store looked beautiful and I met some of Nash’ veteran employees who have worked for him for donkey years, which is a huge compliment. Where is the tiger I asked, eluding the old days, and the incredibly tacky images of the Bengal Tiger and family members in striking Bollywood compositions. You have to grow up sometimes, Nash said, and I now have a wife who is even fiercer than the tiger!

 

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February 28, 2016
Rona Coster