A diamond in the rough no more.
Now polished, gleaming and glittering, Cartier unveiled it’s brand-new three-story jewelry salon on Rodeo Drive with a star-studded bash–Teri Hatcher, Debra Messing and Kristin Davis topped the guest list-that both celebrated the opening of the long-awaited new store and the jeweler’s 25th year in Beverly Hills.
And the new Cartier is as spectacular as any of the gems it offers. The first floor was filled with a treasure trove of glittery rings, bracelets, earrings, pendants and watches under glass cases in every direction; the second floor was more of a balcony to overlook the first floor, while the third floor rooftop was a private lounge area where a liquor bar was set up on one side and a caviar bar on the other. I jokingly told the director of the Chanel boutique across the street, that she was going to have to keep the blinds drawn on her store’s private lounge directly across the street, or the paparazzi might suddenly be lining up atop Cartier to snap pics of the star customers slipping in and out of their Chanel gowns.
It was a cleavage kind of night: Kristin, Debra and Jewel were among those showing off some daring décolletage that evening, usually with some dramatic diamonds dangling on display just above. L.A.-relocated Kristin, who recently joined her visiting NYC gal pal Sarah Jessica Parker on a recent outing to an eatery (“People get very happy when they see us out. It’s adorable–very flattering and sweet,” she explained), was dazzling in her Cartier earrings from the jeweler’s Lace Collection.
The former Sex and the City actress said she’d been a connoisseur of Cartier ever since “about six years ago when Sarah Jessica told me that this was the place, really, that I was allowed to buy any significant pieces from…I was intimidated. I came to the Beverly Hills store, and they were wonderful. I’m not like my character. I’m inquisitive, but not acquisitive. You know, I’m more about a special something every once in a while to commemorate something or to remind me of something. I’m not a wild buyer of things.”
I asked local gal Tori Spelling if she remembered the first time she set foot inside the Beverly Hills Cartier salon. “I don’t remember my very first trip,” grinned Tori, “but I do remember being a little girl sitting with my mother and she had these HUGE diamond earrings on, and I remember just staring at them and saying ‘Those are too big!’ And she’s like, ‘Oh, honey–one day you will love these. Just remember the word ‘Cartier.'”
Tori told me she was impressed with the recent renaissance on Rodeo Drive. “I think people come to L.A. and they think ‘Rodeo Drive'” she said. “It’s a huge tourist attraction and people want to come and it’s great that it’s having this resurgence. And for people who already live here in L.A., the Prada store, the Cartier store–everything’s redeveloping itself to make it new for people who already live here. It draws them back in, so it’s great.”
Outside the new store, a half-block of Brighton Way was blocked off to create a party patio with cushy banquettes, a back bar, a dance floor and tables full of extremely tasty sushi and shrimp from Nobu. On an ivy-covered elevated stage at the east end of the patio Lauryn Hill and her band played midway through the evening. They came out on stage after a loud “thunderstorm” complete with a dramatic lightning effect before the music came raining down.
Sheryl Crow was shockingly hot in a tiny pale yellow dress and blonded locks. The woman looked about 15 years younger than her age and made men’s heads turn wherever she went. After warmly greeting Matt Dillon with a hug, gray-at-the-temples Laurence Fishburne boogied to Lauren Hill with his beautiful wife Gina Torres (who recently shot an ABC pilot with Kristin Davis). I overheard a party guest say “Morpheus pointed me to the sushi bar.”
The couple everyone was whispering about: Desperate Housewives star Teri Hatcher (resplendent in a gorgeous, glossy red gown) and retired basketball champ/Best Damn Sports Show, Period regular John Salley. The former Laker, in a natty brown suit, arrived early at the new jewelry salon (alongside early arrivals including Erika Christensen, L.A. Confidential publisher Jason Binn and former MTV VJ “Downtown” Julie Brown) and when Teri arrived about 45 minutes later, she and John stood at the center of the boutique and chatted animatedly for several minutes and spent a lot of time talking and laughing together inside the store.
Later in the evening, during Hill‘s performance, Teri and her friends were huddled in both at the very back of the party when John came over and joined Teri again, and again they seemed to launch into a very friendly and high-energy dialogue. They talked with their heads very close together–but then again, that may be because John is about two feet taller than Teri and the music was very loud, and he had to get his ear closer to her lips to hear her. Suddenly, John led Teri away, her arm wrapped around his as she signaled her girlfriend that she was heading to dance at the foot of the stage.
Of course, later a furor erupted over the two stars. New York Post’s Page Six reported the next day they were spotted at Justin Timberlake‘s hot nightspot Chi on Sunset Blvd. “full-on making out” on the dance floor to Beyonce‘s “Crazy In Love.” Both, however, subsequently insisted they are just friends. To my eyes it was awfully hard to tell if it was canoodling or just two friendly people who were enjoying each other’s company.
Lindsay Lohan, Nicole Richie and Nicky Hilton have taken to traveling in a bouncy pack, all of them uber-lean and mean for the summer. They burst into the store midway through Lauryn Hill’s performance and shot directly to the store’s single second floor restroom, where they were allowed to cut in front of the long line of waiting guests. The girls then descended to the party patio, commandeered a banquette and proceeded to smoke, drink and shimmy to the hip-hop diva’s music. It looked like these girls were moving in fast-forward motion–and as soon as Lauryn Hill finished her set, they jetted out of the party immediately.
Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi worked the party hand-in-hand, as is becoming their custom. They were also dressed alike with similarly messy blonde ‘dos and simple black shirts and pantsuits. Meanwhile Marisa Tomei seemed in shop-til-you-drop mode. Every time I saw her, she was gazing wide-eyed into the glass of some new jewelry display.
Also spotted strolling through the party–which benefited Project A.L.S.–were Andy Garcia, Jerry Bruckheimer, Wilmer Valderrama, Amber Valletta, Ananda Lewis, Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin, Elizabeth Banks, Courtney Peldon, Lauralee Bell, Jaclyn Smith, Stefanie Powers, Wolfgang Puck, Eunice Shriver, Robert Kennedy Jr., and even NYC’s high society “Lion Woman” Jocelyn Wildenstein, proving that Cartier delivered a ROARING good time.
