On picturesque West London shopping street, tucked neatly between Kensington High Street and the now famous Notting Hill is Manguette, a not so well-kept secret. Opened over 30 years ago by Belgian designer Michelle Manguette, this independent jewelry boutique is unique in its attention to detail, compilation and presentation of jewellery. As well as making a new collection each season in her ‘petit atelier’ in the back of the shop, Michelle travels the world keen to find new and interesting designers and the right stones for her exclusive creations.
For years Michelle was too timid to admit it was her who had made these beautiful combinations of semi precious stone, gold beads, pearls and amber. Even as they were selling out and people were begging for the name of the designer so they could order more she was too shy to say it was she! Over the years her collections have grown to include earrings and bracelets. Michelle is also curator, hand-picking an eclectic mix of young and established designers to show their work in her shop.
I am clearly not alone in thinking that this gem of a store, full of charm and most of all beautiful jewelled treasures deserves to be recognized. Not only is it a favorite of journalists, stylists, mothers, daughters, power women and very good (read well trained) husbands and boyfriends, I have spotted royalty (complete with lady in waiting) and many a well heeled celebrity (both Tamara Mellon and Lulu love to pile on the Phillipe Audibert cuffs) exchanging their gold coins for golden treasures but Manguette has recently been nominated for the Telegragh Magazine Best Small Shop in Britain Awards. You can vote for Manguette, 40 Gordon Place, in the women’s fashion category here.
Manguette was one of the first to be seduced by the distinctive style of Turkish award winning designer Gurhan. His work is favored by a host of A-list names including Angelina Jolie (above) Jennifer Lopez and Queen Rania of Jordan who has been photographed wearing several different gold designs. Always championing his exclusive designs, Manguette is delighted that Gurhan has recently launched a new line combining white silver, and oxidized dark silver with small amounts of gold. The collection is far more affordable but no less beautiful made using the same skilled craftsmanship.
Manguette is holding an event to celebrate the launch of Gurhan’s Silver collection this comingThanksgiving, on November 24 from 4pm to 8pm. Guests will receive 10% off Gurhan Gold, Silver and all other designers in store all day.
Manguette is the exclusive UK retailer of a few high profile American designers including Margo Morrison and Steven Vaubel, Brooklyn based founder of Vaubel Designs. MARGO MORRISON NEW YORK jewelry not only appeals to women of all ages, it appeals to celebrities of all ages as well! Blake Lively (below), Debra Messing, Julia Roberts, Julianne Moore, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sharon Stone, Brooke Shields, Karen Allen and Blythe Danner are all part of Margo Morrison’s growing celebrity clientele, wearing her jewelry on camera and off.
I definitely recommend a visit to Manguette if you find yourself in London Town. There you will find an exceptional blend of jewelry for all budgets from the romantic mélange of semi-precious stones and 22kt gold in earrings by Adeline, the prolific Parisienne designer to gold or silver plates hoops by Italian designer Anticoa. Coralia Leets’ ‘mother and daughter’ pendant below would make a great gift for any woman this holiday.
If you cannot get to the shop, Manguette also does mail order and the girls in the shop have started doing what they call “Manguette Monday”. They choose an item of jewelry to post on the blog each Monday and for that M.M. day all orders will be processed FREE of postage and packing INTERNATIONALLY! Perfect if you can’t get down to the store personally! I also discovered that the Facebook account has more updated photos than the website and for a peek into the constantly evolving treasure box check out Manguette’s naughty little sister blog miss manguette and @missmanguette on twitter.
Please come back soon for more ‘International Specials’ from me, Coralie Rose, your Positively Celebrity London girl! Don’t forget to follow my pleasure hunt @tropical_rose on twitter.
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