We caught up with Pavan Anand, the world-renowned jewellery designer and connoisseur of luxury. Pavan undertakes commissions for royal families, and has a large following of Hollywood A-listers such as Goldie Hawn, Nicole Kidman, Megan Fox and Kate Hudson.
My car of choice
This would be the BMW 7 Series. The understated luxury element is a draw for me – it has all the frills and fancy, yet is retrained and sophisticated. It offers a powerful, yet smooth ride, boasts great leg room, and the technology is extremely simple to navigate. The drive is strong, yet very responsive to input and feedback, and there are also beautiful slick colour options for the interior detailing as well for the exterior.
My favourite holiday destination
Without a doubt, this would be the Baa Atoll Islands, Maldives. Having had, and continuing to have, a fairly quick-paced urban big city life, I find a strong personal draw to the infinite calm of the ocean. The Cocoa Islands at the Maldives would also be up there on the list. The resorts have the right sensibility and environment to make it an ideal vacation for me. It’s just the perfect balance of luxury and a spiritual experience.
My gadget I can’t live without
As cheesy as this answer will be, it would have to be my Apple iPhone. I have a fairly reclusive personality, even though I’m extremely social. This essentially means that I have designed my work life to function electronically, for a large part.
As a result, a lot of my global business, brand team, design team and management report to and with me electronically. It is hence imperative I have access to my phone all the time. I also do a large part of my design on the phone. Having said this, I do switch it off every night and on most Sundays.
My go to fashion brand
Fundamentally, I am not at all drawn to quintessential brands, logos and monograms, so anything with an obvious logo is a strict ‘no no’ for me, with a rare exception, maybe. In terms of fashion preference, for high fashion, I like Balmain, the haute couture men’s range. Olivier’s risqué and theatrical aesthetic is immensely suited to my personal liking and style. For my more casual looks, I enjoy Brioni Menswear, their timeless styling with a hint of sporty elegance is quite lovely.
My airline of choice
While some of my travel is private charter, when I do fly a commercial carrier, it would be Singapore Airlines, without a doubt. Everything, starting from their aircrafts, safety standards, food and beverage, overall service, interior design and connectivity, is quite exemplary.
My favourite watch brand
I seldom wear a watch, I don’t like the idea of being constantly reminded of how short the day is to achieve everything. I will, however, always have a piece of jewellery on, a ring or bracelet with diamonds. I typically replace wearing a watch with a piece of jewellery created by my own brand (Pavan Anand Fine Jewels). When, and if, another brand it would be De Grisogono, Graff or Mouawad.
My favourite restaurant
Yoshi at the Hotel Métropole Monte-Carlo by chef Takeo Yamazaki. The interior design is very fresh, disruptive and artful and the Omakase is the most delicious on the menu. There is a lot of aesthetic and artful thought gone into every aspect of the cuisine, service, plating and experience. It’s a very cohesive experience.
My guilty pleasure
Without a doubt, music, this is a great indulgence for me. A lot of my greatest achievements have, and are rooted in, inspiration found in music. Once a month I will allow myself an entire day to be consumed by just listening to certain music. It unlocks creativity, ambition and great drive within me. I have a very, very specific taste in music though, it has to be powerful and alluring.
My favourite way to give back
While I do hope to do much more work in this arena, there are certain causes that are close to me. I attempt to do my bit once or twice a year with these organisations. I think with a certain degree of advantage in the world it’s quite important to give, not only in material terms, but in the form of encouragement, guidance, support and inspiration.
