ML - Vegas Magazine

2013 - Issue 8 - December

Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.

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"Our entire learning curve is realized here." PHOTOGRAPHY BY BARBARA KRAFT (ENCORE); CHRISTOPHER DEVARGAS (BELLAGIO) —BENJAMIN COMAR heavy," he explains. "It's how you work the metal that affects the weight of the piece." The Lion Talisman group, meanwhile, combines several codes of Chanel jewelry, with one look featuring the lion's head crafted as a medallion, mixed with multicolored Chinese, Tahitian, Indonesian, and cultured pearls in a lengthy gold chain necklace that longs to be touched. "For me this is totally what Gabrielle Chanel was all about," Comar says, adding that the goal with this design was to create something that felt "very luxurious, very innovative, and yet very familiar." Two standout looks, however, offer a pair of key designs: the platinum-and-white-gold-set Lion Royal diamond earrings and necklace (the latter can be converted from a long, seductive sautoir into a shorter piece, a nod to Chanel's love of adapting your jewels to suit your mood and the moment) and the Lion Mosaïque, which Comar calls "the other masterpiece." This collarlike necklace is crafted to evoke the mosaics synonymous with Venice, and while you examine the intricacies of the seemingly abstract piece, you suddenly realize that the lion's head has emerged in relief from its center. Cirkva shares Comar's admiration for the necklace, calling it "a technical wonder. Coco Chanel said she loved to use diamonds because they represented the highest value in the smallest space. The artisans truly captured that idea with this piece." While Comar is always enthusiastic about these highjewelry debuts, one can detect a bit more elation this time. "They all touch me," he says. "But this one is brand-new for us, something we've never developed before. It's not a simple thing to take a lion and turn it into an icon of jewelry; it's not typically thought of as a jewelry element. But all we have done in the past 20 years with our jewelry is seen in this new collection. Our entire learning curve is realized here. So yes, I'm very passionate about it." You're sure to see Leo's presence in Las Vegas, with a trio of boutiques along the Strip (one at Bellagio and a pair at Wynn and Encore), plus a shop-in-shop at Neiman Marcus at Fashion Show mall. Chanel will most assuredly join the growing practice of high-end jewelers of bringing their finest one-of-a-kind pieces to the city to be showcased front and center dur ing Chinese New Year, which will be celebrated on January 31. Chanel executives seem confident that the lion will also find its way into other aspects of the label. And that's a highly significant thought in itself: After all, it's not often you get to witness the birth of an icon. Generations that arrived after Chanel's passing in 1971 missed seeing the debut of the little black dress, the bouclé jacket, the camellia brooch, and the 2.55 bag, each a romantic tale spun decades ago; we can only enjoy the fruits of these fashion triumphs. Is the lion next in line? Only time can answer that question, but to Comar—whether the lion is viewed as a symbol of astrological birth or a symbol of rebirth—Leo certainly serves its purpose: to nurture the legacy of the woman who loved it. "If you see that," says Comar, "then I am very happy." Chanel, Wynn Las Vegas, 702-770-3532; Chanel Fine Jewelry, Encore Las Vegas, 702-770-5468; Chanel, Bellagio, 702-765-5505; chanel.com V CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Chanel's fine-jewelry boutique at Encore Las Vegas; the 6,000-squarefoot Chanel boutique at Bellagio; the Collier Lion Talisman necklace; the Lion Astral bracelet. VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 133 130-133_V_Feat_Chanel_Dec13.indd 133 11/19/13 9:54 AM

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