Is luxury jewellery rental a serious business?

Is luxury jewellery rental a serious business?

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Preparing for her elegant 2017 wedding at New York’s Plaza Hotel, Blake Geffen had hoped to rent a few luxury accessories to complete her bridal look. Except, she couldn’t. While lower-end rental options were abundant online, she discovered a gap in a fragmented market for high-end luxury loaners.

Sensing a sparkling opportunity, Geffen, who had worked in fashion PR, and her husband Wayne, who had a background in finance, spent their honeymoon putting pen to paper on a business plan. From this, they founded Vivrelle, a luxury accessories service that rents out designer jewellery and handbags.

As shoppers shed their social distancing habits and get back into the swing of weddings, parties and other special events, demand for luxury jewellery is trending upward. Antoine Belge, analyst at investment company Exane, expects a growth rate for the fine jewellery market of 10-12 per cent per annum over the next five years. A new generation of younger customers expect to be able to rent as well as buy.

However, unlike other rental products, jewellery faces insurance challenges, higher logistics costs from repeat shipping and returns of expensive items, a purchase rate aligned to one-off events and high expectations for top customer service.

Margins are likely to be low too. It’s hard to generalise about rental prices, but Hurr, another rental company, based in London, states that its rental fees for jewellery average around 8-10 per cent of the recommended retail price – for example, a pair of Susan Caplan Chanel earrings can be rented for £83-£227, while the retail price is £1,075. Verstolo, a fine jeweller in New York that offers some pieces for rent, says its fees are between 2-5 per cent of the retail price: rentals tend to be $275-$625 per item, with brides typically spending around $1,000 in total on jewellery rental. Vivrelle uses a membership model with different tiers of access. It also spreads the risk by renting out handbags too.

These 16-Year-Olds Are Out to Change the World

Photography by Aaron Wynia

Kiara and Cleo just finished grade 10. They like music and bike rides and swimming in lakes, and are very particular about their footwear. Kiara considers herself a sneakerhead, while Cleo has a thing for Dr. Martens loafers. “Once you go through the pain of breaking them in, they can elevate your fit, but still feel casual,” she says. (“Fit,” if you didn’t know, is short for “outfit.”)

They blew out their 16 candles during a global pandemic—metaphorically, of course, because of said global pandemic—and traded classrooms for Zoom. At an age where your friends are your everything, a conduit to independence and identity outside the family nucleus, to be in lockdown is to be robbed of your most formative experiences.

“It was really tough—full disclosure,” says Kiara. “It felt counterintuitive, like naturally, I didn’t want to be at home. I just wanted to be out and fully living.” Cleo shares that it got so stressful and isolating, she began accepting that things would never get better. “I think that speaks so much to where I was, mental-health-wise.”

Their self-awareness is startling. Both girls credit this trying time with helping them grow and reflect. Kind of like a new pair of Docs: uncomfortable at first, but worth it in the end. They speak of the restriction of confined spaces driving them to expand from within. They are TED Talkers in tank tops and baggy jeans.

For all the evils blamed on social media, its ability to stretch horizons can’t be denied. These are teens whose gaze extends far beyond the four walls of their high school or the politics of popularity. They are acutely attuned to the world around them, aware of its problems and invested in their resolution.

That’s what brought them together in the first place. They bonded over their experience as people of colour in ballet and a shared yearning for representation. “It’s conflicting when you love something so much, but it doesn’t love you back,” says Kiara, who slipped on her first leotard at age 2. Cleo nods: “It was so validating to talk to someone who could relate to that. It’s difficult when you don’t see yourself on stage or in your teachers. It makes you feel like this isn’t the place for you.”

So they decided to do something about it. Last year, they got in touch with Canada’s National Ballet School to start a dialogue on diversity and inclusion. “We’re working with them to help build bridges with the BIPOC dance community, specifically youth,” Cleo explains. “The NBS has been an amazing supporter and elevator,” adds Kiara.

The girls recently launched an Instagram account together called _syncopated, which focuses on ballet inclusion work. Their hope is to connect with BIPOC dancers across the country and maybe one day even choreograph a piece together for the National Ballet. “We always talk about having an all-BIPOC show, BIPOC-run, everything,” Cleo says, with a twinkle in her eye. Their dream collaborator would be newly minted principal dancer, Siphesihle November. “He’s amazing,” says Cleo. “We text about him all the time!”

But their ultimate goals span larger than any stage or venue. “I want to be a part of the collective work to dismantle racism, colonialism and patriarchal norms in education, in the art industry and in ourselves and our society,” Kiara declares matter-of-factly.

They are at an age when anything feels possible. But don’t mistake their earnestness for naïveté. Like young girls before them, they are used to having their interests trivialized. They are the arbiters of cool, the shapers of culture—remember, teen girls consecrated The Beatles and Beyoncé long before critics saw their genius—and yet society continues to treat them like mindless minions whose only concerns are crushes and lipgloss.

It’s something Harry Styles addressed in a now famous Rolling Stone interview, defending the taste level of his young female fan base. “How can you say young girls don’t get it?” he asked. “They’re our future. Our future doctors, lawyers, mothers, presidents. They kind of keep the world going.”

If the world is helmed by teens like these two, we’re in very good hands. “We prove people wrong every day who underestimate our power and how intelligent, innovative and capable we are,” says Kiara. “Our minds and our opinions are still developing, so we aren’t afraid of change. It’s actually familiar to us.”

Not only are they open to change, they’re actively seeking to spark it. Speaking up for what they feel is right and challenging the status quo. “We’re organized, passionate and committed to making the world a more equitable place,” says Cleo. “We’re the future.”

The Gen Z summer starter pack

The wheels

“My friends and I are always biking to places along the water and going to the pool,” says Kiara.

The movie

“I love the scenes from A Chorus Line so much,” says Cleo. “I watch that movie all the time.”

The tunes

“I’m loving Tyler, the Creator’s new album. He’s a great performer, true to himself, and so, so funny,” says Cleo.

The TV show

The girls are both big fans of Pose, a drama set in New York’s underground ball culture of the ’80s. Stream it on FXNOW Canada.

The kicks

“Right now, I’m on the hunt for retro Adidas Forum 84s and a rare colourway of Jordan 4s,” says Kiara.

The star

“Zendaya was one of my first human portals into Black girl magic,” says Kiara. “She made me feel beautiful.”

The refreshments

“My favourite treat on a hot day is a slushie,” says Kiara. She likes to make her own with grapefruit, mint and lime.

The role model

“I’ve looked up to Michaela DePrince since I was in grade 5,” says Cleo. “I read her memoir for a book report.”

Styling by Jaclyn Bonavota. Hair and Makeup By Ronnie Tremblay/P1m. Hair and Makeup Assistant: Kathy Nguyen. Shot on location at Retro Rolla, The Bentway, Toronto.

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More Inspiring People

Cannes: The Stunning Jewels Expected to Be Seen on the Croisette

Caroline Scheufele is a familiar face at the Cannes Film Festival, appearing on the red carpet in recent years with Julianne Moore, Cate Blanchett and other high-wattage stars. The Chopard co-president and artistic director has been instrumental in the jewelry house’s sponsorship of the festival since 1998.

After the cancellation of the 2020 festival during the pandemic, Chopard is set to return to Cannes, albeit on a smaller scale. “We are looking forward to hosting our friends of the Maison from around the world while respecting local regulations,” says Scheufele, who sketched the redesign of the Palme d’Or trophy in 1998. “Due to the current situation, we’ve focused on more intimate gatherings.”

A case can be made that Cannes is the most thrilling of all red carpets from a style perspective, thanks to its 12-day span and its global roster of attendees.

In addition to Chopard’s latest Red Carpet Collection — which combines elements of escapism and nature, Scheufele says — a variety of other houses will likely be outfitting actresses in high-jewelry designs. New collections include Magnifica from Bulgari; Sixième Sens (“Sixth Sense”) from Cartier; and Chanel’s 123-piece ode to its iconic No. 5 perfume, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary. Patrice Leguéreau, director of the Chanel Fine Jewelry Creation Studio, says the latest designs were conceived “like a journey through the meanderings of the No. 5 perfume’s soul, from the architecture of the bottle to the olfactive explosion of the fragrance.”

Look for some of these haute joaillerie pieces to be part of the Cannes-is-back vibe this year. Says Scheufele, “Now that things have opened up again in France, we look forward to seeing our new creations worn for the first time.”

Bulgari

High jewelry Serpenti necklace in white gold with nine emerald drops, two pear-shaped emeralds, 26 marquise diamonds and pave-set diamonds; price upon request, at Bulgari, Beverly Hills and New York.

Bulgari: Serpenti emerald-and-diamond necklace in white gold; price upon request, at Bulgari, Beverly Hills. Courtesy of Brand

Cartier

Sixième Sens high jewelry ring in platinum spotlighting an 8.2 carat cushion-shaped ruby and one 4.01-carat cushion shaped rose-cut diamond, surrounded by ruby beads, triangular-shaped diamonds and brilliant-cut diamonds; price upon request, at Cartier, New York

Cartier: Sixième Sens ring in platinum spotlighting an 8.2 carat ruby; price upon request, at Cartier, New York. Courtesy of Brand

Chanel

From Collection No. 5, which honors the 100th anniversary of Chanel’s legendary fragrance, the No. 5 Abstraction necklace features graphic elements that call to mind the scent’s bottle stopper, crafted in yellow and white diamonds set in 18-karat yellow gold and platinum; price upon request, at Chanel Fine Jewelry, New York.

Chanel: No. 5 Abstraction necklace; price upon request, at Chanel Fine Jewelry, New York. Courtesy of Brand

Chopard

The Dolphin ring from the Red Carpet Collection features a 59.33-carat oval-shaped tanzanite, highlighted by 10.67 carats of sapphires, 2.12 carats of diamonds, and .03 carats of onyx all set in titanium and 18-karat Fairmined white gold; price upon request, at Chopard, Costa Mesa.

Chopard: The Dolphin ring features a 59.33-carat tanzanite, plus sapphires, diamonds and onyx; price upon request, at Chopard, Costa Mesa. Courtesy of Brand

Dior

Dior Rose earrings featuring diamonds, multicolor sapphires, rhodolite, demantoid and tsavorite garnets, emeralds and paraiba-type tourmalines, all set in white and yellow gold; price upon request, at select Dior Fine Jewelry boutiques.

Dior

Gucci

From the second chapter of Gucci’s Garden of Delights high-jewelry collection, a wide bow bracelet is crafted of white diamonds, spinels and pink tourmalines set in 18-karat white gold; price upon request, at Gucci, Beverly Hills.

Gucci

A version of this story first appeared in the June 30 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.