A Look at Bario Neal and the Rittenhouse Hotel’s Jewelry Collab
The Queen Village jeweler created a one-of-a-kind locket to honor the hotel’s 35th anniversary. Here’s how you can customize your own — and the $10,000 experience that comes along with it.
Bario Neal worked with the Rittenhouse Hotel on this locket. / Photograph by Nell Hoving Dixon
The team at Queen Village jeweler Bario Neal had always wanted to handcraft a locket but needed a reason to commit to the tricky process of designing the hinge and locking mechanism. That reason? The Rittenhouse Hotel’s 35th anniversary.
The resulting piece draws on the destination’s Rittenhouse Square-inspired logo, with diamonds on the back, a gold case, and a hand-fabricated chain — all made from recycled materials. The glass enamelwork is by local artist Joan Strott Alvini. “The locket communicates a vintage aesthetic you don’t see people make much anymore,” says Bario Neal co-owner Page Neal. The necklace is displayed in the lobby for guests to admire, but if you book the hotel’s Timeless Treasures package, you can customize your own.
The package, by the way, includes a suite at the hotel, 24-karat gold-leafed macarons, a dining experience at Best of Philly-winning Lacroix, transportation to Bario Neal, a spa treatment, and, of course, your new Rittenhouse Heirloom locket. The price tag: a glittering $10,000.
Another gem to keep on your radar? Bario Neal and the hotel have launched an heirloom concierge program, so you can refashion a beloved piece of your own jewelry (such as a ring or bracelet passed down from your grandmother) or create something completely new. Feels like a holiday must-have, don’t you think?
Package from $10,000; concierge program pricing varies; 210 West Rittenhouse Square, Rittenhouse.
Published as “Clasped Together” in the November 2024 issue of Philadelphia magazine.
