Eastern Influences

Pearls of laughter or pearls of wisdom? Guests at a party hosted by the New Yorker magazine and Mikimoto jewelry store were expecting both recently at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa.

Mikimoto, a maker of fine jewelry, showed off its holiday collection while the New Yorker’s West Coast Editor Caroline Graham traded quips with actor Tony Curtis, Mikimoto President Kikuichiro Ishii, Henry and Renee Segerstrom and others.

Graham apparently enjoyed the event marking her magazine’s first pairing with the international company that claims to have originated cultured pearls a century ago.

“It was a spectacular occasion,” says Graham. “The party went on for five hours. It was one of the longest cocktail parties I’ve ever been to. It was a good combination: people who love pearls and people who loved the New Yorker.”

And how did it compare to a New York bash?

“Hmm, instead of comparing, I’d like to say that the fun and excitement of South Coast Plaza is always being discovered,” says Graham. “It’s the meeting place of the world. It’s different than New York. New York is New York, and this has a more global feeling.”