Town & Country October 2022

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH BULGARI Five oval cabochon emeralds, 25 pear spinels, and 102 fancy-shape diamonds sit, loose but together, on Lucia Silvestri’s desk in Rome. Bulgari’s creative director begins to play. How to take these brilliant natural wonders and turn them into a modern marvel? Two things guide her. First, the words of Mr. Bulgari: “Don’t be shy.” Then, the quest for balance and harmony within the design. Bulgari Eden the Garden of Wonders High Jewelry collection is certainly not shy, and yet its exuberant beauty is balanced with Silvestri’s acute sensitivity—to how a collar of gold might sit perfectly at the nape of a woman’s neck or where, exactly, that one drop drilled briolette-cut paraíba tourmaline should be placed to hang perfectly. Because why would anyone want that to…

In 1950 T&C commissioned Jacques Frank to paint a picture of Hôtel Lambert, one of Paris’s most exquisite mansions. Built in 1643 by Louis le Vau, it had “sheltered the great, been the magnificent background for splendid and brilliant parties.” A rotating cast of high society has called it home, including Voltaire, Mona von Bismarck, the Rothschilds, and, until recently, the Al Thanis, Qatar’s ruling family. They are moving out—a French telecom billionaire bought the residence for $226 million—and so are some 1,300 objets d’art. A stork-shaped candelabra owned by Madame de Pompadour, a silver soup tureen that belonged to Catherine the Great, and a sofa from the Duke and Duchess of Windsor’s Paris residence are among the items that will go up for auction in a five-part sale at…

Historians may debate how dark the Middle Ages actually were, but I think it’s acceptable to say that we have, over the past few years, lived through some version of our own. So if history does in fact repeat itself, up next: the Renaissance? We see evidence of hope. Meet the rising creative aristocracy on page 92—curators, writers, designers, creators, and performers who we believe are leading us into the next era of art. Some you have read about before, some have written what you’ve read, others you may have already seen onstage, on gallery walls, or onscreen, and some names will be new, for now. We salute them and invited their mentors to do the same. It’s the kind of story where we know in years to come we…

WHERE ARE WE GOING? John Singer Sargent found fame (and scandal) in the salons of Belle Epoque Paris, but it was in Spain that the portraitist discovered his most divine inspiration. He absorbed the techniques of Velázquez and was enthralled by Spain’s dance and architecture, the people and traditions. He immortalized all of it in 120 works now on view at the National Gallery of Art in DC. THROUGH JAN. 2, NGA.GOV WHAT ARE WE WEARING? Do as the Spanish do and turn a crisp Washington evening into a tapas crawl. Start at José Andrés’s Jaleo for a plate of ibérico, then make stops at Barcelona Wine Bar and Taberna del Alabardero, an institution since 1989. In this town you never know who might be at the next table. An…

DAY AUCTIONS, OCTOBER 21–23 EVENING AUCTIONS, OCTOBER 20 ONLINE AUCTIONS, OCTOBER 10–25…

To Whom It May Concern: For the potential next wives of men like Rupert Murdoch, it’s important to confront the very real possibility that your tycoon might someday leave you. He’s a wild romantic, too in love with being in love for any real relationship to measure up. So how will you put your life back together when your husband dumps you over email, as Murdoch—who is 91 and not getting any younger—reportedly did recently to Jerry Hall, his fourth wife? This only six years after they wed at Spencer House in London and he tweeted “Feel like the luckiest AND happiest man in world.” Here are some tips. USE YOUR HEAD, NOT YOUR HEART When you get that breakup email, no matter how many sad emojis it contains, do…