Antwerp & Mauritius with Tiffany and Co


In October we headed to Antwerp, Belgium with Tiffany & Co. to discover the journey of a Tiffany diamond & learn all about how they ensure traceability in the sourcing of the stones to promote social and environmental responsibility!
It was so fascinating to learn the history of Antwerp and its diamond culture, & how Tiffany & Co. came to be in Antwerp, along with the past history of the company, a brand I’ve known of since forever; every girl dreams of receiving that little blue box with perfectly tied white ribbon.
Click here to learn more about the story behind Tiffany & Co.
We stayed for 2 nights at the Hotel De Witte Lelie, which was a beautiful boutique hotel that you can see pictured above, us having breakfast in the courtyard. The first day we headed to the diamond district of Antwerp to see the early processes of rough Tiffany diamonds, it was the first time I’d seen a rough diamond & I found it so fascinating to learn about what it takes before being packaged in those little blue boxes! Especially learning & seeing all the different characteristics of a diamond which helps to evaluate the value. Plus, through their technology & expert craftsmanship, planning the pathway for those rough diamonds, including what cuts and sizes they can produce.
We took lunch at Graanmarkt 13 which was a short walk from the diamond district and spent some time in the gift shop next door. It was a stunning day in Antwerp, and far warmer than I expected, I think we were blessed with some beautiful weather!
We then headed back to the diamond facility for some hands-on learning. We got to get one-on-one with an artisan who took us through the sorting, where we checked the colouring, fluorescence & crystal stress checking.  Next was the marking stage, using both microscopes and computer software to understand the process of marking where the stones will be initially sawn. Lastly, we visited the cutting room and watched that stage of the process.
We had some free time in the afternoon before heading to Dinner at an amazing restaurant called Het Pomphuis.

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On our second day in Antwerp, we spent time on a walking tour of the city with the incredibly interesting and knowledgeable Tanguy Ottomer. We saw so many beautiful sights including the architectural tour and shopping tour of ‘Antwerp 6’. We stopped for a traditional Belgium lunch and, of course, ended it with a chocolate shop visit, because you can’t go to Belgium and not taste their chocolate! 😛

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Next up, we headed to Mauritius; to get there we took a train from Brussels to Paris and then an overnight flight directly to Mauritius! We arrived in the mid-morning and were spoilt with a helicopter transfer to our hotel – The Shangri-la. The helicopter took around eight minutes, compared to what would have been an hour drive. It was such a special way to welcome us to Mauritius & see the beautiful island from a different perspective!
We had champagne waiting on arrival and were taken to our beautiful rooms, complete with ocean views. The afternoon was a relaxing one as we headed to the spa for signature treatments. I know right, spoilt!! That evening they set up a private BBQ beach dinner surrounded by candlelight, it was really special!


The following day in Mauritius we spent time onboard a catamaran sailing along the coast from the hotel. We had a fresh BBQ lunch cooked onboard and spent the day laying in the sun & swimming in the pristine Mauritian waters, we even got to try parasailing, surprisingly, something I had never tried. We spotted an eagle ray from up in the sky and it was a reallllly beautiful view! It was the perfect day and we ended it with an even more perfect dinner at the Le Cafe des Arts! I highlyyyy recommend this restaurant, but you must book in advance, the husband and wife make it such an intimate and personal experience; its an art gallery as well as a restaurant, I’ve linked their site here to get more of an idea of the concept.





And finally, our last day in Mauritius with Tiffany & Co. We headed to the Tiffany diamond facility on the island and the day began with learning more about the Tiffany brand. This time, we learned even more about their sustainability efforts and The Tiffany & Co. Foundation, which supports non-profits in both coral conservation and responsible mining.
After lunch with some of the Tiffany & Co. team, we then had some hands-on experience. We all got the chance to polish a diamond; I was initially really nervous to have such a precious stone in my hands and control, but soon learned what a long process it was to polish a diamond and it would have taken a lot of work for me to screw it up! We then got to see some finished diamonds under microscopes and learn about all the different cuts, ranging from Princess to Round Brilliant.
It was a really incredible experience with Tiffany & Co., and I am so honoured to have been invited along to be able to share what I learned with you all. These are the kinds of unique experiences that I am so thankful for! I feel such a level of respect for the brand Tiffany & Co. and can’t wait to hopefully one day own a Tiffany diamond of my own 😉
Click here to learn more about their sustainability


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Watch our Youtube video from the trip!

38 thoughts on “Antwerp & Mauritius with Tiffany and Co

  1. That is one awesome experience you guys had. Definitely every girls dream to get a Tiffany & Co. box alright!
    Mauritius looks amazing. Is that where the diamond production ends or is it sent elsewhere to be turned into jewellery?
    And this is a well detailed post – do you take notes while you are traveling such as where you eat etc so that it’s easier for blogging about?

    1. It sure was a cool experience! 🙂
      Yeah they have facilities all over the place that specialise in different parts of the Tiffany production! I don’t take notes, I really should try to more, I usually end up on google finding out the names of places if I forgot! Haha

  2. Wow, everyone of your photos and videoes are amazing and I really love to follow your travels 😍🌍
    When you pose for a photo, is there then anything you do? Do you have a routine or some special pose you know always work? 📷 Because you look stunning in all of them, of course that’s also because you’re a really beautiful girl, with a very nice style, but I would love to learn how to pose on photos ☺️🌸
    Also I would really love to know, which kind of cameras and video camera you use? And what do you do to find all these amazing locations? 🙈
    Keep up the amaing work ❤️

    1. Hey! Oh thanks so much! There’s no particular pose, I guess over time you learn what you like and what you don’t! There’s always photos in between that I don’t like so much, it’s not a one photo- got it situation. Haha!
      We use 1dx for video and sometimes for photos, and 5dmk4 for photos usually!
      Usually find locations through suggestion, research, Pinterest, instagram :)) xx thanks again.

  3. Hye I love your photos and everything seems so much fun. You two also make a great couple! Is your life really so amazing as we think?? Xxx

    1. Hey!
      Thanks so much! Life is really amazing, but what people don’t realise is how much work goes into this, and what people see online is basically a highlight reel! As good as it is, we have our bad days, we put in a lot of hours to create this content and maintain our careers. Hope this helps 😘😘

  4. Always adore your photos and so jealous of what you do!! Antwerp is really close to my house in holland , but would much rather go to Mauritius haha. I saw your instastory and I was wondering what kind of workouts you do while traveling

    1. Hey! I usually do a combination of cardio and body weight and guides, I find following apps can help, like fit Nation, sweat app! I try to do 30-60mins on the treadmill and then these apps are usually 30 min workouts 🙂 can be hard at times! But just got to do it when you can !!

  5. Really delighted to see you do what you do!! Wanted to know whats your favourite beach given you’ve been to almost every damn beach on this planet :p!! PS: You once asked for suggestions on what places to visit in Singapore(via Snapchat) if you’re there for a day and I suggested you Marina Bay Sands and some other place, you replied me saying ‘Thanks’ and it made my day lol. Enjoy ya life amigo!! Love from India

  6. Awesome blog! You ever coming to the Netherlands? If so, visit Groningen! It’s a very nice city where I’ll live with beautifull canals and buildings!

  7. Hi Lauren!
    Your pictures are always beyond amazing. Could look at them for hours. I saw on your instastory that you were on some sort of talkshow in Istanbul, is there any way to watch a video of this? Would love to see it. Thanks!

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