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What Does an Editor-in-Chief Buy Herself When She Gets a Promotion?

For Town & Country’s Stellene Volandes, it comes from Verdura and involves *a lot* of gold.

Fashion
What Does an Editor-in-Chief Buy Herself When She Gets a Promotion?
Alec Kugler
Laurel Pantin

When you’re a bona fide jewelry expert (Rizzoli approached her to write a book on the matter), not to mention the newly minted EIC of one of our all-time favorite magazines, and you’re universally beloved within your (notoriously un-friendly) industry—what do you do to treat yourself? We might say, “Eat an entire pizza while soaking in the tub and binge-watching old episodes of Friday Night Lights,” or perhaps “Grab our two best girlfriends and head to Miami for the weekend.” Stellene Volandes, the editor in chief of Town & Country, has a much, *much* better plan.

When she secured the top spot at T&C and nabbed her book deal, she purchased herself a Verdura Maltese cross necklace, which she now wears every day. With more and more women buying themselves jewelry (a trend we’re 100 percent behind), we can’t think of a better way to celebrate your own accomplishments—otherwise known as treating yourself.

And that cross is in excellent company. From stacks of Sidney Garber rolling bracelets to a pair of Nina Runsdorf opal earrings (apparently opals are just now being used in jewelry again—for over a century they were thought to be bad luck based on a misreading of a 19th century novel...this is the kind of serious jewelry knowledge Volandes spouts), we’ve never seen anything like the contents of her walk-in closet.

Click through to hear about her personal collection, what sets Town & Country apart, and what buying yourself a piece of jewelry can do for you.


16/22
“Verdura was this wildly collaborative and very, very social jeweler. He was at every important 20th century party. He famously collaborated with Coco Chanel on these amazing Maltese Cross Cuffs, but also did a wonderful collaboration with Salvador Dali. This year, Verdura brought back some of those pieces, and of course snakes and surreal creatures were very much a part of it. My favorite thing about those snakes is, when you wear them, they do jut out a little bit and there is a tiny little diamond in the mouth.”
Part of the series:

Diamond Week

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