FRIDAY 18 NOVEMBER 2022 – Bond Street officially turned on its spectacular Christmas lights officially marking the start of the Christmas season on the street. A brand new scheme of over 93 thousand LED bulbs lights up the sky inspired by the resplendent magnificence of The Crown Jewels and the world-famous jewellery houses that have made Bond Street their home over the centuries.
The designs, which have taken over 12 months to create have replaced the much-loved peacock feathers, which were in situ for the past eight years.
Concept and planning for the new Christmas lights started in early 2021 to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee and our longest serving monarch, HM Queen Elizabeth II.
The new scheme is made up of 93,652 LED’s using recyclable, long-life materials, which are more sustainable, creating an efficiency saving of 75%.
The scheme’s design features:
- Four magnificent crowns which are visible at each of the key junctions on Bond Street. The design takes inspiration from The Imperial State Crown – one of the most important pieces in The Crown Jewels collection, symbolising the sovereignty of the monarch.
- The crossings, which run the length of Bond Street echo the shape of shimmering platinum, gold, diamond, and pearl necklaces and will be ‘strung’ across Old and New Bond Street, reminiscent of the stunning necklaces in the collections of the renowned jewellers on Bond Street.
- Gateways at the north (Oxford Street end of New Bond Street) and the south, (Piccadilly end of Old Bond Street), form a grand entrance into Bond Street ‘announcing’ the new lights as visitors pass under a grand ‘Tiara-like’ gateway, of sparkling gold, silver and luminous pearl lights.
Katie Thomas, Associate Director, Bond Street & Mayfair says:
“Bond Street is one of the most recognised shopping streets in the world, it is the global centre for luxury so our new lights scheme needed to reflect this, and how better than by taking inspiration from the resplendent Crown Jewels. The Christmas lights have been over a year in the making and feature four dazzling crowns, two magnificent gateways and over 216 translucent pearl globes. Visitors come from all over the world to see our lights, and catch a glimpse of the magical window displays created by the famous flagship stores that call Bond Street their home.”
Royalty runs through Bond Street’s history. Created by Sir Thomas Bond in 1686, who selected the site to be close to the palaces of St James’, Royal patronage played a key role in drawing the greatest merchants, artists and master artisans together to create the extraordinary designs of the day. Today, the street and its neighbour St James’ boasts more Royal Warrants than any other area in the UK.
Bond Street’s jewellery legacy stands proud and tall and is home to some of the world’s greatest houses such as Bulgari, Boodles, Cartier, David Morris, DeBeers, (which created a stunning diamond crown for the Diamond Jubilee) and Tiffany & Co, which was given the Royal Warrant by Queen Victoria in 1882.
Debuting this year Ralph Lauren has unveiled The Ralph Lauren Giving Tree for Bond Street in support of The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity at its flagship store located at 1 New Bond Street in London.
Celebrating the holiday spirit of togetherness and giving back, as well as the Company’s Pink Pony Initiative dedicated to cancer care and prevention, Ralph Lauren is helping to raise funds for its longstanding charitable beneficiary, The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, which exists solely to support The Royal Marsden, the largest and most comprehensive cancer centre in Europe.
Visitors to Ralph Lauren’s New Bond Street store will have the opportunity to make a donation to The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity and dedicate a personalised star ornament in honour of someone special that will be featured on The Ralph Lauren Giving Tree.
Encapsulating the charm and magic of the holiday season, the five-meter-tall Nordmann Fir tree is situated on Bond Street outside of Ralph Lauren’s flagship store. In addition, the store façade has been transformed into a festive winter wonderland complete with pine-adorned wreaths, hand-painted bear ornaments and tartan bows.
The Ralph Lauren Giving Tree for Bond Street in aid of The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity highlights the brand’s core values of togetherness and giving back, inspiring its communities to come together to celebrate and support one another.
To listen to more about Bond Street’s royal story, download our award-winning podcast, recorded during the Platinum Jubilee, Bond Street: The Queen & History of Style: A Right Royal History read Poppy Delevingne, which is available on Apple Podcasts.