There was an attractive blond lady sitting right across; one peculiar detailed in her wardrobe immediately attracted my attention- it was a stand- alone, breathtaking ring on her finger that I HAD TO GIVE A CLOSER LOOK!
We all had short speeches presenting ourselves, and this ladynamed Arina Pouzoullic happened to be Russian, an ex-executive from the same international company I work for, that lives in Paris running a company with a peculiar product – a vintage jewelry with unique provenance, called Second Petale.
Needless to say, that right after the dinner we two have had a long conversation, and since that day Arina turned into my fair-lady and we two are having a wonderful magical, sometimes mystical friendship with her.
Any fairy-tale story has always a happy ending - that acquaintance resulted in me having my own collection of unique vintage pieces and me being a proud owner of that exact frog ring, the one that has caught my eye at the Ritz’s dinner.
As any proper fair-lady, Arina passes her wisdom, knowledge and true passion for jewelry and beyond to me, because there is so much more than just buying a new ring – you can get a whole new fairy-tale story behind it! I already collected some of mine fascinating stories and no doubt I would like to share some reflections with other Cinderellas:
Attitude
Vintage jewelry has got a story, some of those may captivate you so much that you would want to be part of it yourself; so carefully study the provenance and choose only the pieces you feel will become a part of your personality.
Passion
I truly have never seen anybody being so passionate about that one does! Arina treats the jewelry she tirelessly hunts at the auctions so dearly; she gets very attached to some of them. The frog she gave me was one of her favorite piece and I was given quite a number of instructions to treat her like she was alive and even kiss her good-night! My reflection: it is like in love – if there is a chemistry between you and the piece of jewelry that you want to get – buy it! There is definitely a long-lasting love affair between you two that will follow.
Audacity
I absolutely admire the boldness and the taste Arina has got, to mix the classic jewelry with bijouterie, to make a daring shows with renown fashion-houses using her collections and make herself part of those shows. Never say never: she taught me to make the combinations of plastic pieces with high jewelry that I would not ever dared to imagine to wear myself before! So be bold and try those combinations yourself – there are so many ways you can keep the antique jewelry out of bank-valts and use them on a daily basis.
Unlike a fairy-tale any true friendship does not end on the last page: it enriches both parties bringing so much more to everyday routine; we support each other, share our concerns, learn something valuable with every conversation we have got with each other. And, of course, there is one more frog that came into my collection- a modern piece, crafted from the 60 000 years old mammoth tusk! XXI century combined with the Ice age - what a story to tell my daughter in law at her wedding day!
Jewelry Photo: Top, from Left to Right- Tsavorites garnets vintage rings. Frog ring by Eva Segura in gold, tourmalines, diamonds and malachite. Photo by Simon Martner for Second Petale