Inside: A Boodles High Jewellery Moment, Inspired by Africa

The first Monday of the month played host to the Boodles x TWE luncheon, a preview of Boodles’ incoming high jewellery collection for this year, ‘A Family Journey: Around Africa in 10 Days’. Against the elegant backdrop of The Salon at Spring Restaurant, twenty of London’s most esteemed names gathered to toast the collection, inspired by the vibrancy of the African continent, from the proud majesty of its wildlife to the epic richness of its cultural heritage.

The styling masters at Studio White transformed the oasis-like courtyard space at Spring into a technicolour vision of the African sky. A colour palette of saturated burnt oranges and pinky reds was brought to life through the sculptural shapes of Kangaroo Paw, Dahlia, Anthurium and Prothea, the brainchild of peerless floral designer Fiona Fleur. Menus were designed in the creative imagination of Charlotte Wilmore and printed on the finest 700 gsm card by Lemming Brothers. Maison Margaux linen lined the tables with stunning motifs of flora and fauna, a tropical visual cue that continued down to the minutiae of bamboo cutlery. And with the employment of thoughtful burgundy accents, from woven napkins to dappled tumblers, the spirit of the savannah was bottled.

With audible oo-ing and ah-ing, guests gathered to try on the glittering Ashoka-cut diamond Victoria Falls earrings, the game-changing detachable Elephant necklace (resplendent with a stunning pink 26-carat pear-shaped morganite), and the dazzling Green Mamba design ring with tsavorites, diamonds, and mother of pearl, among the forty-two other high-octane pieces in the collection. James Mason snapped away at guests illuminated against the brilliant gleam of the jewels, including models Annabelle Hoy and Adhel Bol, influencers Emily Blackwell, Ambar Driscoll and Sophie Moulds, and industry mainstay Sarah Royce-Greensill.

As guests sat for lunch, Sarah chatted with the Boodles team to tell the tale of this forty-four-piece collection, designed to embody and amplify the joy of discovery and the singular beauty of the African landscape. Continuing the #AFamilyJourney story, first inspired by the Boodles grandfather’s grand tour in the 1960s, this collection was inspired by a special adventure the Boodles Marketing Director, Honour Wainwright, and her uncle Nicholas Wainwright, Boodles Chairman, took to Africa. There, they witnessed the splendour of Masai Mara lions in Kenya, spent time with local craftspeople, and sourced many beautiful stones used in the collection, including a 34-carat tsavorite purchased in Tanzania. As ever, traceability and sustainability are at the top of the Boodles agenda, with all gold sourced from the sustainably run Sabodala-Massawa Mine in Senegal.

And then for a pared-back, supremely seasonal, produce-driven menu from Skye Gyngell. Guests feasted on starters of chilled pea and mint soup and a salad of sheep’s milk ricotta with courgettes, yellow wax beans and datterini tomatoes; main courses of grilled lamb, courgettes, borlotti beans, and cumin salsa verde and River Test trout with pickled aubergine, pak choi and lemon butter sauce; finishing with dessert of lemon verbena posset with blackcurrant and rye shortbread. Lit by the gentle low light of soft burgundy-clad lamps dotted along the table, guests chatted happily, comparing notes on the most enviable, awe-inspiring pieces from the collection.

As lunch drew to a close, it was time for carriages. Guests took with them a gifting bag dotted with exquisite goodies, including enchanting Blanche Bête perfume from Liquides Imaginaires, Paper London’s sustainable and fabulous Maldives Cheetah bikini, timelessly elegant pure silk scarves, handmade in England from HALCYON DAYS, velvet Elizabeth Scarlett pouches with stunning tiger embroidery, and the ultimate illuminating mega-watt glow from Charlotte Tilbury’s Beauty Light Wand. As guests made their exit, they left a world of imagination, colour, and character, dreaming of the transformative possibilities made real by Boodles.