[I]t was a perfect night. The air, so warm and sticky the way summers on the east coast play back like flickering memories of an old movie scene. Cartier had come to Miami to unveil the newest precious pieces of their high jewelry collection “Cartier Etourdissant” along with priceless vintage creations of years past and dazzling standards of this modern era.

Being invited to galas such as these are always personal princess moments. An armed guard, not unlike a fairy godmother, shows up and adorns you in diamonds for the evening leaving you swanning around the room as if you were floating in a glass of champagne. I don’t know what it is about diamonds at night, which sparkle off our warm bodies so alive with breath and wonderment, but I just always feel as if they look like someone caught the twinkling stars and wrapped them around us in a cloak of fairy dust.

This collection is especially sentimental to me. Not only for the history of Cartier, who most notably made the setting for the Hope Diamond and adorned the heads of Royalty for some of their biggest moments in history, but because it was inspired by the French Riviera, one of my favorite places on earth. There is nothing like the light and artistic inspirations of France and in the designs of these pieces they transform light like a quiet afternoon dancing in the sun along the Côte d’Azur. I could stare into the pieces forever remember the best moments in life and dreaming of all the ones I desire for the future.

It was glamorous. Hosted at the new Faena Saxony Hotel in Miami along the turquoise sea it felt like a modern reenactment of a Jay Gatsby party which must have been the inspiration for director Baz Luhrmann when he designed the interior of the hotel.  Faena Miami has been waiting for this moment to be brought to life, to be filled with the sounds of champagne bottles popping, distant laughter, models poised in priceless jewels, jazz music and the salty taste of caviar. Maybe it was the setting that made me feel so nostalgic or the glittering private crowd there mirroring the moonlight off the ocean but I looked around the room wondered how could anything bad ever happen in a world that can create this much beauty out of human vision and love.

In a red Dior dress I watched the room ebb and flow and thought of that line from The Great Gatsby: “In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars.” and smiled, for I can always go back to this memory on a cold winter day and recall that life can really sparkle if we open our eyes.

Below, I invite you to experience some of my favorite moments and unforgettable pieces from the gala by Cartier~

  

For the Gala Cartier adorned my neck with the Diamants Légers de Cartier necklace in 18k rose gold with a waterfall of spinels, pink sapphire, and diamonds. My wrist was sparkling in the Panthère de Cartier bracelet in 18k yellow gold with diamonds, emeralds, and onyx details. The Trinity de Cartier ring in 18k yellow gold, 18k rose gold,  and 18k white gold covered in diamonds danced all night long around my ring finger. 

Kevin wore Panthère de Cartier Cufflinks in 18k yellow gold with tsavorite and onyx details and the Clé de Cartier watch in 18k yellow gold

Above & Below~ Cartier Tradition necklace from 1929 in platinum, sapphires and diamonds. 

Below~ Etourdissant Cartier Collection necklace in platinum with a 34.96 carat diamond surrounded by a sea of diamonds. 

Above & Below~ Etourdissant Cartier Collection necklace and earrings in platinum and diamonds. 

  

Above~ Cartier tradition necklace from 1906 in platinum, 18K yellow gold, emeralds and diamonds. 

Above~ Etourdissant Cartier Collection bracelet in platinum, 18K yellow gold, 55.91 carat peridot, with onyx and diamonds. 

Above~ Etourdissant Cartier Collection necklace in platinum with a 34.96 carat diamond surrounded by a sea of diamonds. 

Below~ Etourdissant Cartier Collection bracelet and ring in 18K yellow gold, rock crystal, emeralds, onyx and diamonds. 

Above~ Etourdissant Cartier Collection bracelet in platinum, sapphires and diamonds. 

  

Below~ Cartier tradition necklace from 1910 in platinum, pink pearl, grey pearl and diamonds. 

Below~ Etourdissant Cartier Collection ring in 18K white gold, pink diamonds, brown diamonds and white diamonds.