Kalistan

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Kelsey Ryan featured in new Pictorial
Supermodel shows off Imperial Gem Collection
Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto
May 15, 5662


Supermodel Kelsey Ryan models a Ruby and Gold hairpiece from the Imperial Gem Collection, created by William Reed

In this month's La Moda, there is a stunning pictorial article that features Kaistani supermodel Kelsey Ryan, and shows off some of the pieces created by the Imperial Jeweler, William Reed, son of famous jeweler Melvin Reed (retired) for Her Imperial Majesty. The collection itself has been called stunning and priceless, but has never yet been seen by the Public. Until now.

"Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Mary I Ananto allowed me to model some of her clothes," said Kelsey Ryan, now 36. "This is a once in a life time opportunity. She never lets this stuff out of her vault, for obvious reasons. But we actually had the opportunity to take it to a studio in Eveari and shoot some photographs for La Moda, and you can see some of these things there." Ryan said that the Empress was on sight for the shoot, and wanted to see how fashion photography is done. "Maybe to also watch over her gems," said Ryan with a laugh. The Empress served tea to everyone there, so that the visit could qualify as an informal audience, and then mostly observed and took notes, along with Her Highness, the Lady Companion Victoria Jensen and Her Highness, the Minor Princess Nicolette Elizabeth Ananto-Collins.


Ryan models Reed Jeweler's famed Peacock Dress, made almost entirely of Polished Gemstones

The pictorial, which features only a tiny percentage of the necklaces, earrings, rings, head pieces and actual dresses made of select pieces from the House Ananto Gem Collection, focuses on Reed Jeweler, and its master craftsman, William Reed, who is the second generation Imperial Jeweler, based in Kaliburg. "William made such pretty clothes and different kinds of jewelry for Her Imperial Majesty," said Ryan. "I am certain she's been in those pieces at least once, but they are pretty fragile. Like, you don't want them worn maybe even more than twice, and they have to be tailored just perfectly, or else, you know, you bend over to pick something up off the floor, and your dress more or less shatters into 10,000 gemstones. It's really very wild, just crazy to think about."

When Ryan was asked how she felt walking around in the rumored Peacock Dress, which, as it turns out, is actually a thing, Ryan said, "Oh my god. Just the feel of the cool smooth stones on my skin was electric. I really... I can't even describe it. It really almost felt like it was too much for a person to handle. Like, I have never worn something on my body with is worth more than all the real estate in a five block radius combined. How does the human mind even process that, and yet the Empress just talked about it like 'Here is the Peacock Dress, the only time I wore it was when I was fitted for it, and then to something with my mom and the opera one night.' Like it's nothing special. Meanwhile, here I am, having just put the last clasp on in the back, this heavy crystal coated evening gown, standing absolutely stone still long enough for them to take the picture, and I almost was too afraid to keep it on even."


Thirteen Rings and a diamond Bracelet from the Imperial Gem Collection

Asked what she thinks of the designer, Ryan had nothing but praise for William Reed. "His father, who I worked with on a couple ads when I was younger, was far more subdued than Bill is. Bill has a flair to him, a sort of 'the gaudier the better' attitude which I think speaks very directly to the Empress. She has the stuff, she wants to flash it as much as possible. But Bill is also classy, and you might think that is a contradiction. He believes, I think that adornment, even excessive adornment, only adds to natural beauty. It's not the source of it. So he is going to go with a person's features, and what they want to say about themselves. If you're the Empress, you want to say you're rich and powerful. So he makes the Peacock Dress. If you're me, you want to say something like You're independent and free spirited, and so he'll make something that looks like it will hurt someone if they get hit with it. Of course, I don't have 40 carat rubies at my disposal, like Her Imperial Majesty has, so I have to scale down my image a little bit."


Kelsey Ryan models a 138 carat, eye clean, brilliant square cut natural ruby from the Imperial Collection

"I definitely enjoyed modeling the gems too," said Ryan. "The Empress has a ton of gems, but most of them are raw. When she needs a piece, she will have Reed go into the vault, select some options and then will cut them professionally to meet her specifications. She often presents them as gifts to her friends and to visiting dignitaries. The ones I got to play with in this shoot were mind-numbingly valuable, and the strange thing is, she didn't really even care about them. The one from the photo where I am biting the ruby? Bill Reed told me that stone is worth about ₭13.4 Million Imperial, roughly equal to half of what the entire Peacock Dress is worth, if you can believe it. I asked her if I could put it in my mouth, sort of like a strawberry. She thought that was a good idea and said 'you are the professional here.' I couldn't believe it. That was probably my favorite photo of the whole shoot, it was sexy and fun, and really, the whole thing was a once in a life time opportunity."

"I am so happy to got to finally meet her after all these years, and to help her show off her amazing collection to the world. This was probably the biggest thrill I've ever had in my entire life, and I hope I did her collection justice."

@LaModa