Going For Gold

“We want to make our clients feel like members of our family,” explains Pedram Iraniasl, the boutique’s manager, when we sit down to chat during a quiet moment between appointments. “We know everything about them, while respecting their privacy, of course.” Pedram gives me an example telling me about a client who was getting married in Barbados soon and on the look-out for a necklace. A piece came in Pedram thought would be perfect, so he picked up the phone. Needless to say, upon seeing it, the client bought the necklace.

It is this personal touch that is noticeable in every step of the FOPE experience. Whether a client has an appointment, is a loyal customer or this is their first time at the FOPE boutique, Pedram noted that the emphasis on the personal touch remains the same. The boutique team are all highly trained in haute hospitality with values rooted in generosity and reciprocity; where being hospitable is naturally inherent in the way a person is treated. “We like to try to get to know all our clients,” he says. “It helps us to recommend pieces to them and build a friendly rapport.”

This emphasis on hospitality is no doubt enhanced by the calm boutique interior of its Bond Street address, which was opened in partnership with Watches of Switzerland in 2019. The brand’s signature colour, a beautiful green hue, covers the walls, complemented by the touches of gold that are the brand’s trademark. FOPE’s gorgeous 18-ct gold pieces are tastefully displayed, each design given space to luxuriate, so, despite all ten of the brand’s men’s and women’s collections being available in the boutique, nothing feels cluttered or overwhelming.

So popular have its Flex’It designs become FOPE has curated a line of five of its most successful flexible bracelets – Prima, Eka, Solo, Vendôme and Panorama of which Watches of Switzerland stablemate Goldsmiths will stock the first three – which it is, rather wittily, calling Must Have. Each one now updated with the FOPE logo on the gold roundel with a dainty diamond set in the O. The line is ideal for those who want to dip their toes in FOPE’s gold-saturated waters. Each piece is playful, petite, and perfect present material.

FOPE’s new Luna collection is a brilliant reimagining of the Flex’It technology. Whereas previous designs using the Flex’It technology have been tightly knitted ropes of 18-ct gold, this is chunkier, more tactile, stretchy. Comprising just necklaces and bracelets in 18-ct yellow, white, and FOPE’s proprietary shade of rose, gold, the pieces are deceptively light, the larger links passing through the hands like luxury worry beads; it’s a collection that plays with the senses, sitting softly on the skin making it an obvious choice for every day.

Also available at Goldsmiths, and the boutique, will be Aria, a delicate collection designed for layering. Nothing is flexing its muscle here; this is a collection of elegantly slim gold chains and dainty diamond details. There are no rings or bracelets in this line, it is all about the necklaces and earrings There’s a gorgeous choker, a very tactile lariat design and an opera length chain as well as a drop earring, which converts in size to be worn multiple ways. This collection also has the new FOPE signature – its logo written on tiny gold cylinders with a diamond set into the O. This is very much an everyday collection that manages to still be intrinsically FOPE even if the aesthetics are a little different.

It's wonderful to be allowed to while away some time in this outpost of Vicenza in London’s Bond Street, but my time is up and, unfortunately, I must walk away empty handed. I’m not sure many people who come into this boutique can say the same.