Aspen in August is the perfect anecdote to your end-of-summer blues. In the weeks after the summer vacation rush and before the ski season kicks off, Aspen’s skies stay clear and its temperatures remain mild—ideal conditions for strolls through its shop-lined streets, which have blossomed with jewelry boutiques in recent years. Here are three must-see shops for your late summer sojourn.
Lugano Aspen interior. Photo: Courtesy Lugano Aspen
Lugano Diamonds
Located just steps from Aspen’s bustling Main Street and a stone’s throw from the gondola lift is Lugano Diamonds’ new 2,000-square-foot salon. The airy blue-and-gray-toned space opened last month and is the Newport Beach–based brand’s first location outside California. Inside, clients can sit on silk- and cashmere-covered couches and discuss custom pieces with design experts, or browse the shop’s selection of one-of-a-kind pieces, which include the incredible pearl and colored-diamond designs for which the 12-year-old brand is best known.
Photo: Courtesy Cyrus Antia
Betteridge
Very near to Lugano’s shop is the Betteridge boutique inside The Little Nell on East Durant, which recently expanded to include a Patek Philippe watch salon inside the resort’s lobby. Betteridge, a 120-year-old, family-run jewelry house founded in New York, is renowned for its sterling inventory of unique vintage jewels by iconic artisans—from Cartier and Chanel to Bulgari and David Webb. A treasure trove of pieces rotate through the Aspen store—but you might be lucky enough to land one of the showstopping pieces shown here.
Photo: Courtesy Betteridge
Buccellati
On East Hopkins Avenue—a five-minute walk from the Lugano and Betteridge shops—sits Buccellati’s Aspen outpost, which was among the first high-end jewelry brands to arrive in town a decade ago. Since then, the 98-year-old Milanese brand has found a steadfast fan base in Aspen’s seasonal visitors and year-round residents. Buccellati houses its ornate, handcrafted jewels in a 951-square-foot shop behind a red-brick façade.
Within its walls, guests can special-order designs or peruse its collection of exquisite pieces—the Aspen store’s current inventory includes this versatile ruby pendant brooch (perfect for layering), colorful chalcedony earrings from the Hawaii collection, and these leafy, artisan-engraved silver pendant earrings.
