Diamonds Full of Penny

Nearly half a century ago the society glossy Town & Country featured Montecito interior decorator Penny Bianchi in a cover article with the late comedy legend Bob Hope on the backlot of Universal Studies in L.A. in an iconic pose à la America Gothic, the 1930 painting by Grant Wood now in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Bubbly Penny was draped in more than $1 million-worth of diamonds from Laykin et Cie, whose salons graced the elegant I. Magnin stores nationwide, which shuttered its doors in 1994. The Santa Barbara store on State Street is now the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

Erik Laykin, the visionary grandson of the founder of the bling emporium, decided to celebrate the occasion, as well as the company’s 90th anniversary, with a socially gridlocked bash at the jeweler’s latest location at the Rosewood Miramar.

For the event, Erik had a larger-than-life reproduction of the original photo re-mastered by Washington D.C.-based restorer, Seth Kaplan, which is being framed and will hang permanently in the store.

“I remember well auditioning for the photo shoot,” says Penny. “I was already an interior decorator, but friends pushed to me to do the audition. When I got off the elevator I was confronted by 200 beautiful women, mostly actresses and models.

“I almost got back on the elevator, but somehow, I got chosen for the part. I wore a Halston gown and was absolutely dripping in diamonds. A security guard was just three feet away at all times!”