WHAT A GEM: After a seven-month search for a Madison Avenue location, Sanjay Kasliwal celebrated the opening of his signature boutique with friends like Beatrice Stern, Hunt Slonem, Liliana Cavendish, Susan Gutfreund, Annette Tapert Allen, Bob Colacello, Muriel Brandolini, Molly Duffy Burns, Priscilla Rattazzi and Nina Griscom. As a co-owner of The Gem Palace, Kasliwal said he went with a saffron silk interior to liven up Madison Avenue. His designs, including more sizeable pieces, are sold in The Gem Palace’s four freestanding stores, as well as in its outposts in five-star hotels.
While his family has been designing megawatt jewels in India for centuries, he wanted to create something more contemporary for his first U.S. store. Having 250 workers and craftsman in Jaipur is an advantage for The Gem Palace, Kasliwal said. Another bonus is having his daughter Shalini running the New York store, he added.
As is the norm with most jewelry stores, earrings and rings should be the bestsellers, said Kasliwal, adding that 22 carat gold designs with precious or semi-precious stones should be the most popular ones in New York. The Gem Palace’s creative director Kasliwal, an eighth-generation member of the founding family, plans to spend more time in the new location at 971 Madison Avenue until he returns to India next week.
“My basic concept is that everyone entering my store should leave happy,” Kasliwal said. “I think jewelry makes a woman glow.”