LOVE CONQUERS ALL
BEVERLY HILLS — For some guests at the annual Cartier party, the question was not whether to linger at the extensive caviar bar the store had laid out for the occasion. The real question was whether to go gold or not. “Fashion is not gold anymore,” said Marc Bohbot, husband of designer Michele Bohbot of Bisou Bisou fame. “It’s white gold now. Everything yellow is old.”
Marc Bohbot solved the problem by purchasing a platinum Cartier necklace for his wife for the holidays.
Cartier’s annual bash is one of Rodeo’s most coveted invitations, and this year the party marked the 15th anniversary of the store in Beverly Hills. A few guests — including Rosemarie Stack, Gary Collins and his wife Mary Ann Mobley — have attended every party since the boutique opened.
Another one with perfect attendance: Maryam Saghatelian, the store’s manager who has worked there since the beginning. Simon Critchell, president and ceo, described Maryam as his secret weapon and said she is the reason for the store’s success.
Ralph Destino, chairman, said a human emotion also has helped the store thrive despite well-publicized challenges of the past several years: “People fall in love in recession, in boom times and even in earthquakes. The jewelry business isn’t about recession or disasters or balance of trade.”