Bal Harbour

impeccable taste in the art world, having amassed a private collection of mostly modern art that includes rare and enviable works like Andy Warhol's Marilyn Monroe portrait in lavender, Pablo Picasso's L'Aubade (1967) (purchased in 2004 from Sotheby's) and Jean-Michel Basquiat's Untitled (The Black Athlete) (1982), which he reportedly purchased via phone bid at Sotheby's in 2015 for 3.5 million euros. He also sits on the boards of the Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Tate Modern in London, and once told Peter Brandt that he bought a Renoir at auction in the '70s because ÌÃÃ>Ãâi>Üi`ÌÃivÌwÌ>Ã>viÜÌÃ`>`ð So when Graff decided to introduce a collection of artist- inspired jewelry last year, the only surprise was that it didn't come sooner. Drawing from artists Paolo Scheggi, Kazimir Malevich and Cy Twombly, Graff created a series of statement earrings, necklaces, rings and bracelets that mirror the artists' famous abstract motifs. "The art world has long been an inspiration," Graff explains. "I don't see the worlds of art and jewelry as mutually exclusive. I appreciate >wi«>Ì}iÝ>VÌÞÌiÃ>iÜ>Þ>Ã`>Li>ÕÌvÕ`>`°» Graff's point of view on jewelry is a unique one that could only be molded through his decades of experience in handling gemstones by the thousands, one by one. When the jeweler started his business in a tiny room in Hatton Garden (London's jewelry quarter dating back to Medieval times), he was selling semi-precious rings for two or three pounds each. Now, he and his son François (the brand's CEO since 2004) handle stones in the 100-carat-plus category, VÕ`}ÌiÀ>vv6iÕÃ]ÌiÜÀ`½Ã>À}iÃÌy>ÜiÃÃi>ÀÌ shaped diamond at 118.78 carats. And in 2017, Graff purchased the 1,109-carat piece of Botswana-sourced rough known as the Lesedi La Rona for $53 million and is in the process of turning it into 67 diamond pieces. Graff's artist-inspired pieces are of no lesser quality than his famous mega-stones, and this year's additions to the Inspired by Twombly collection features stunners that capture the artist's whirls and twirls in a new way, using sculptural ribbons of stones—most of them diamonds. "The works of Twombly have a creative verve that really excites me," says Graff. "I wanted to capture the incredible vii}vëÌ>iÌÞÌ>Ì`iwiÃÃÜÀ°» ÀiëiVwV>Þ]Ì>ÌiiÀ}ÞViÃÌivÀvÀÜÃv invisible-set diamonds, many of which are punctuated by pear- shaped diamonds that mimic Twombly's calligraphic forms, originally done on large-scale canvases. "To achieve this free- yÜ}ivviVÌ]iÛiÀÞ}iÕÃÌLiVÕÃÌVÕÌ]»Ã>ÞÃÀ>vv]Ü admits that the task of achieving the three-dimensional swirls was ºiÝÌÀiiÞ`vwVÕÌ»>`ÀiµÕÀi`ºiÃiûvÀLÌà craftsmen and designers (the latter of which include design director Anne-Eva Geffroy). Graff isn't usually one to play favorites (how could he with the volume of diamonds and jewelry that has passed through his hands over the years?), but of the new Inspired by Twombly pieces he points to a 59.59-carat diamond bracelet with the collection's ribbon motif. "The swirls of diamonds extend all the way round the wrist—it's a fantastic creation," he says. There is also a series of looping earrings in four different styles (one of which is an all-diamond update to the original diamond-and-ruby iteration), an 8.13-carat ring designed ÜÌwÌÞ`>`«Ã>`>>`>`ÃÌ>ÌiiÌiV>Vi that features 25 pear-shaped diamond drops and totals 83.58 carats. The jeweler is tight-lipped on the brand's future creations with artists. "You'll have to wait and see," he says coyly. But Graff insists that art has informed many of the brand's most expressive jewels over the years, and will continue to inspire more. And of that oft-debated, original question: Is jewelry actually art? "Without a doubt," says Graff. Founder and avid art collector Laurence Graff sits in front of Pablo Picasso's 1967 work, L'Aubade. Graff's Peter Marino-designed salon at Bal Harbour Shops. 66 BAL HARBOUR

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