White House Event Planner Jung Lee Infuses Wow Factor in Verstolo Jewels for Rent
The bling effect that event architect and Fête founder Jung Lee brings to weddings and White House state dinners will now be available in notes of precious gems and stones.
Lee, a former real estate developer-turned-event planner and designer, started her registry service Slowdance in 2018. She’s now infusing that custom flair into a capsule earring collection with fine jewelry rental specialist Verstolo. It will launch Monday on verstolo.com.
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In an interview with WWD, Lee said that she started recommending Verstolo to clients looking for high-impact pieces without the commitment. “I loathe waste. I want to maximize every moment,” she added.
Born in South Korea and raised in New York City, Lee ventured into the world of design, architecture and construction while building and managing gourmet food shops.
Jung Lee
The Jung Lee x Verstolo Fine Jewelry earrings are meant for multi-use, day-to-night customizations with interchangeable gemstone charms. Precious gems and stones include aquamarines, garnets and South Sea pearls set with marquise diamonds — named Ocean, Autumn and Pearl respectively.
The array allows brides to change up their diamond cluster with different charms throughout the wedding weekend. The pieces are meant to be paired with a variety of wedding looks.
The additional gems and stones can be attached to Verstolo’s bestselling Kate, Grace and Lucy cluster earrings.
Jung Lee x Verstolo Collection
“We’ve seen such a huge trend for weekend-long wedding festivities with our brides. We’re so thrilled to be able to offer them a multiwear earring option for all the events of a wedding weekend at one price,” she said. Ocean, with a pear-shape aquamarine, and Autumn, with a pear-shape garnet, retail on their own for $5,000 per pair, and are priced at $150 to rent. Pearl, which features South Sea pearls with marquise diamonds, are priced for rent at $200. Ocean, Autumn and Pearl can be added to Verstolo Grace, Lucy and Kate clusters, which rent for between $550-$575 for the weekend. The full retail value of each pairing (drops plus cluster combo) is more than $25,000.
In addition to her own eponymous, upscale home and decor concept store located on 25 West 29th Street, Lee has worked in the wedding-planning space for more than 15 years. Her registry business Slowdance seeks to render the registry experience a more dynamic, process — less uniform and allowing her clients the possibility to pair more affordable pieces with a high-ticket investment piece.
Verstolo got its start as a small New York City business catering to predominantly local clients. Its founders saw its business pivot during the COVID-19 pandemic, as they introduced virtual styling consultations for both rentals and custom diamond jewelry. “Our brides often look to us to design versatile custom diamond jewelry for their own permanent collections, so we are excited to introduce our day to night designs through our rental program” said Lauren Grunstein, vice president of Verstolo.
Looking ahead, the company said its aim is to position itself as the premier diamond rental company for brides, while continuing to design classic and innovative fine pieces.
Jung Lee x Verstolo Collection.
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