L.A.’s Pink Palace Shows Off Some Royal Visitors

How did a necklace and earring set that belonged to Princess Diana get to the Beverly Hills Hotel? Therein lies a tale:

At her last official appearance before her death in August 1997, Diana attended a June 3 performance of “Swan Lake” at the Royal Albert Hall. Around her neck hung a strand of 214 diamonds accented by five fat South Sea pearls. After the ballet, Diana returned the necklace to the royal jeweler, Garrard, so it could be matched to earrings, which were still being made.

Before the work was completed, Diana was killed in the car accident that stunned the world. Garrard consulted the princess’ family and Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, who instructed the jeweler to offer the “suite” (valued at more than half a million dollars) for sale. A portion of the proceeds would go to the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund.

The buyers, an English couple whose name is being withheld, have since decided their “life is centered in the countryside without suitable occasions for wearing jewels as prominent as these,” according to Guernsey’s Auction House which will auction the pieces Dec. 16 in New York. A portion of the profit will go to UNICEF’s Landmine Awareness Campaign.

Los Angeles, said Guernsey’s president, Arlan Ettinger, “was the other place . . . we thought there would be interest.”

Which is how the jewels came to be at the Beverly Hills Hotel, where they will be on view to potential bidders tonight from 6 to 8 p.m., and to the rest of the public Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Could be the holiday gift of the century.

Hint, hint . . .

*

It’s not enough just to sell clothes anymore. You’ve got to give the customers something more.

Kbond, a new Beverly Boulevard store, is combining cutting-edge men’s clothing (techno-camouflage print ponchos) with visual and performance art. It’s the concept of James Bond, 31 (yes, really), who was a New York-based commercial art director and prop stylist for five years before moving to L.A. this summer. Bond’s partner, performance artist Karen Kimmel, 32, is also a recent New York transplant.

“With the Internet making everything accessible from home, you have to give people a compelling reason to go out and shop by providing more of an experience,” Kimmel said. Art, she adds, can do just that.

The store alerts shoppers to special events or sales by changing the colors in its display windows. (A legend is given to customers when they walk in.) Dressing rooms have mini-disc players so customers can tune in while they try on.

At Kbond’s recent launch party, an example of Kimmel’s performance art took place on the sidewalk: A woman with pink penciled-on eyebrows unraveled a pink-and-orange banner from another’s backpack and then rolled the whole thing back up again. It was very “out there” in a SoHo kind of way. Further proof that Los Angeles is the new New York.

*

Gather the family around the computer. L.A.’s Union Rescue Mission’s Thanksgiving dinner for more than 5,000 folks in need will air on the Web from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday at https://www.urmusa.org.

“We want to give people the chance to follow up on their support by seeing what really happens at a special event like Thanksgiving,” said Michael Teague, the Mission’s president.

The site also invites online visitors to post messages about why they are thankful.