Carrera y Carrera @ Starhill Gallery

Courtesy of Ju, who we first met at the Tiffany’s Formula One dinner this year, Elisa and I attended the Carrera y Carrera event today in Starhill. Wow, there was some amazing jewellery there! (along with plenty of Datins :D)

Let me start off by saying that although I don’t really “get” fashion, I am a fan of Spanish designs in general – when mum and I holidayed in Madrid a few years ago, I surprised myself by shopping the most I’ve ever shopped on any holiday. I only have good memories of Madrid and really enjoyed the city as it wasn’t overrun with tourists whilst we were there. Since I understand a wee bit of Spanish, it wasn’t too hard to get around either. Mum and I spent our days in a very relaxed fashion, which was nice after years of financial problems and my working two jobs; for the first time in ages, money wasn’t an issue anymore. Add that to the fact it was just the two of us and we had ample time there with no set itinerary, so what we did was entirely up to us. The weather was lovely, the food was great and the buildings were gorgeous…along with Den Haag, it’s a city I could quite happily live in.

Okay fine, I’ll admit it – if it weren’t for Rinpoche and his work here, I’d move to Europe!

But let’s bring things back to Malaysia. There was a presentation today about Carrera y Carrera’s work, during which their director Mink Ong said something that later proved to be true – the more you look at their work, the more you fall in love with it (her analogy about marrying first then falling in love later was a bit awkward though). Ong described their work as miniature sculptures with little surprises every time you revisit them. Being a Spanish brand, Carrera y Carrera is highly influenced by Spanish culture and nature motifs which is evident throughout their work. There are plenty of animals, flowers, references to Spain’s Moorish past and bullfighting traditions…

Whatever we picked up to examine, it was all very intricate, unusual and very, very unique. My personal favourite was (predictably) the Gardenia ring! I like big, chunky jewellery and the ring was exactly that, but also very wearable at the same time. I didn’t take a picture of it (too shy! Hehe) but I did take pictures of Elisa wearing her favourite pieces, to give you an idea of what they’re about 🙂 the pieces weren’t cheap though! Although Ong did say that their jewellery appreciates in value, and what they produce definitely are inheritance pieces, I’m not sure I could justify spending 2 and a half year’s of an average person’s salary on a watch…even if it is an extremely beautiful watch!

Yes, this dragon piece is gorgeous and my picture doesn’t do it justice but on the whole, I found Carrera y Carrera to be a little disappointing on the precious stones front. They seemed to lack a lustre and brilliance I’ve seen with other jewellers. I’m still a fan of Tiffany’s diamonds which I find to be more well-cut than the stones I saw today. Having said, I’ve definitely become a fan of this Spanish brand’s signature matte gold finish…to be expected since I’ve never liked yellow gold that much! I find yellow gold ostentatious and associate it (wrongly?) with Cinapeks and Ah Long’s (loan sharks) hehe

Other feedback – I found the service to be a little too intrusive and hard-selling. They weren’t rude or anything – on the contrary, they were very pleasant and helpful – but it would have been nice to browse without being constantly reminded of the name of the collection, or being asked to notice how intricate it is. It would also have been nice to browse without being informed that the jewellery cost this much but just for today only, there is a discount. I guess I expected something service that was a little more refined, considering the boutique was in Starhill? But the service didn’t detract from the jewellery, these were just teething problems which I’m sure they will sort it out. The boutique is still very much worth a visit, if only to gawk at stuff that you hope a rich boyfriend will get for you / a well-deserved bonus will help you to afford 😉

Your thoughts on the jewellery? Are you a fan of Carrera y Carrera? Let me know!

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