THE STEADFAST TIN SOLDIER COLLECTION LAUNCH. KENSINGTON PALACE ORANGERY. NOVEMBER 2014

The dazzling splendour of the Kensington Palace Orangery was the backdrop for a night of fairytale enchantment with the launch of the new collection by Sybarite Jewellery - ‘The Steadfast Tin Soldier.’

Hosted by Sybarite founders Margarita Prykhodko and Alyona Gasimova, and model and fashion icon Lena Perminova; guests including Saffron Aldridge, Emilia Wickstead and Sarah Harris were transported to a shimmering world of wonder and curiosity.

Inspired by Hans Christian Anderson’s classic tale, the collection is an homage to the love between the paper ballerina with her brooch-pinned sash, and her brave, Steadfast Tin Soldier, cast with one leg missing when his maker ran out of metal. The dancer pirouettes alongside her beloved soldier, as he looks on, proudly besotted in his glittering epaulettes and belt.

Guests were taken on a flight of imagination, from the moment they were greeted by a ballerina who danced and twirled on a pole, a line of smartly braided soldiers in custom-made uniforms and a Jack in The Box that concealed a contortionist within.

Sybarite wanted to give the tale of a doomed romance a happy ending, and so a new rendition of the tale unfolded with beautiful images projected onto the walls, while stars glowed on the ceiling, completing the dreamlike atmosphere.

Among the many guests, Alessandra Rich, Caroline Issa, Amber Le Bon, Philippa Cadogan, Kim Hersov, Lady Kinvara Balfour, Will and Lohralee Astor, Martha Ward, Mila Anufrieva, Natasha Zinko and Sacha Forbes all fell beneath the spell of the exquisite Sybarite collection. Emeralds, rubies, diamonds and sapphires twinkled and beguiled, enticing Amber le Bon to reveal that a Sybarite piece is firmly on her Christmas wishlist!

To complete the evening, Cirque du Soleil’s Craig Cohon was so captivated that he suggested a future collaboration with Sybarite designer Margarita Prykhodko.

Cirque du Soleil and Sybarite? What a scintillating idea! Watch this space, as they say.