Inside Cult Jeweler Taffin’s Airy New Showroom in Miami
“You should see the sunsets.”
James de Givenchy stands before the floor-to-ceiling windows in his new showroom on the upper level of a building on Miami’s Bayshore Drive, gazing west. “You just get the most amazing sunset,” he says, momentarily mesmerized by the view.
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Givenchy—the French-born, New York-based jeweler beloved by the cognoscenti for his elegant, sumptuous and unconventional style—is talking about his new 2,000-square-foot salon, which soft-opened in May but had a grander reception for press and clients during Art Basel Miami in December.
It’s easy to understand why he’s charmed by the space, and the second life that comes with it. (Givenchy’s New York showroom, high above Madison Avenue, remains the headquarters for his brand, Taffin.) Technically, the salon is located south of Miami, in the community of Coconut Grove, a historic enclave on the shores of Biscayne Bay that’s long attracted artists and nature lovers.
Givenchy, who lives a short walk from the showroom, deliberately chose the neighborhood because it offers something the gleaming glass and steel towers of Miami do not: a village vibe. “It’s so sweet,” he says.
The Coconut Grove location represents the culmination of a two-year odyssey that began in 2021 when Givenchy, who’d remained in New York during the height of the pandemic, ventured south to the Sunshine State in part to understand why so many of his clients had flocked there. “As soon as things kind of relaxed, we did a show in Palm Beach,” he tells Robb Report, “and that was a revelation.”
When he returned to New York, Givenchy began to ponder the idea of opening a second location. “I was going to be turning 60 and it had always crossed my mind. I was going to do California for a while. But you know, California, it’s a very strange market. I kind of knew Los Angeles because I lived there for three years when I worked at Christie’s, but I didn’t really know the market.”
With half of his clients in Palm Beach, Givenchy considered it “the obvious place,” he says. But ultimately, he wanted something more international. Miami proper didn’t feel quite right, but Coconut Grove did—so much so that Taffin is planning to open a second workshop here in the spring and will fly his bench jewelers down as needed.
The natural light that floods the art-filled showroom is a major selling point. As he walks around the space, Givenchy plucks jewels displayed inside tomato red lacquer forms and highlights the details that have made his work sought after by tastemakers: gemstones so limpid, inviting, and large, you want to dive right in, paired with unexpected materials, including rope, wood, pebbles, and Taffin’s signature ceramic, rendered in a rainbow palette of delightful hues.
A dramatic necklace featuring twin aquamarines weighing more than 80 carats each offers a trademark example of Taffin’s deft combination of colossal gems and minimalist styling. As Givenchy holds the piece in his hands, he seems as bewitched by the stones, which come from Brazil, as the necklace’s eventual owner is bound to be.
“This material—it’s crazy,” he says. “The crystal is so pretty.”
Another, more subtle necklace showcases Givenchy’s talent for giving new life to old stones. What is, a first glance, a simple diamond pendant reveals itself upon further inspection to be an antique gem that Givenchy purchased at auction, placed on a backing of mother-of-pearl inscribed with the Arabic word for “love” and framed in black ceramic.
The sentiment embodied in the piece is a fitting comment on the renewed sense of optimism Taffin’s new Coconut Grove address has instilled in him.
“I’m excited to see how this new view is going to inspire me,” he says. “I mean, this is really new. I enjoy being here. I know that I’m working in a slightly different way. The stress of New York delivered certain pieces. And I think here is a very different pace. So once the manufacturing is here, I’m very excited to see what comes out of it.”
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