Glasses to see success up close. They are those of Tiffany & Co. customized in 18-karat gold, with 61 round brilliant diamonds for over 25 carats, and two small emeralds. Wearing them was Pharrell Williams, a Grammy-winning musician, who attended the presentation of the first collection of Kenzo’s creative director Nigo at the Galerie Vivienne in Paris.
The glasses are identical to those put up for auction at Sotheby’s in October 2021 (are they the same?). The history of these glasses begins in Mughal India in the seventeenth century, at a time when imperial wealth, scientific knowledge and artistic effort reached their peak at the same time. Commissioned by an unknown prince, an artist carved a diamond, weighing over 200 carats, and a brilliant emerald, weighing at least 300 carats, used in place of lens glass. Evidence of the technical skill involved, the existence of any comparable example of both is not known. Around 1890, the lenses were inserted into new frames, decorated with rose-cut diamonds.
