It is amazing how certain songs, smells, sounds, and places can transport you to a place you may or may not have been in before. One such place is the Strand Arcade, Sydney.

The Strand, Sydney

I imagine myself getting ready to go shopping in the newest city mall. Choosing to dress in my Sunday best – hat included, I catch a tram into town to see what all the hype is about and to see for myself the electric lights – one of the first malls in Sydney to be lit by electricity – in this much-talked about modern, four-storey shoppers’ paradise. The year – 1892.

Built in 1891

The Strand Arcade was the fifth and last of the arcades built in Victorian Sydney in 1891. It opened the following year. One hundred and twenty years, two depressions, two world wars, and two major fires later, it is the only one that remains in it’s original form, after going through careful restoration for it’s 100th birthday in 1992. None of its original beauty and charm has been compromised. Walking through it today brings you back to the days when everyone “dressed up” to go into town to experience the grandeur and elegance The Strand Arcade epitomised.

Where there used to be milliners, jewellers and original stamp and book specialists working in the windows of their shops, you now find an outstanding mix of Australian top designer fashion shops, a vintage watch shop, Strand Hatters for Akubra Hats and specialty jewellery stores, among many other specialty shops.

      

Click on image to enlarge

If your weary shopped-out body needs a break, there are many options. You may want to stop at The Old Coffee Shop – a tenant since 1892 that still serves coffee from an authentic “Bezzera” coffee machine. The nut shop that stands there today is the original nut shop that was opened in 1939 by the same family that still runs it .

Mondial by Nadia Neuman

One jeweller that stands out among many, is Mondial by Nadia Neuman – a truly unique, award-winning Australian jewellery designer. In the 1950s, Nadia’s father Fred Neuman, started selling jewellery for a Melbourne based jeweller. In 1961, with his wife Maria, he opened their own business – Carina jewellers – in Sydney’s Kings Cross. In the late 70s, the Neumans began importing and distributing some of the world’s most premium quality jewels to prestigious jewellers country-wide. In 1993, Fred opened Mondial: Pink Diamond Gallery in the Queen Victoria Building, Sydney. Pink diamonds, the most precious of all diamonds, became his specialty. They came from the Argyle Diamond Mine in Western Australia, which is the largest producing pink diamond mine on the planet (90-95% of the world’s supply) and was featured in Oprah’s Ultimate Australian Adventure in the last season on the Oprah Show.

(L) Nadia Neuman with (R) Bettina Johnson-Green

Nadia with her colleague, Sonia, at Mondial

Fred’s daughter Nadia obviously inherited this passion from him. She dabbled with jewellery designs that were “different” and through the years, in between and during various careers including owning an organic café in trendy Bondi Beach, found much success selling her own pieces through different jewellers around the country. After much resistance, she settled down and did what she was born to do and opened Mondial by Nadia Neuman in November 2009.

    

    

Please click on thumbnails to view.  Images courtesy of Nadia Neuman used with permission.

Her talent for designing unique jewellery is evident the moment you walk into her shop. She has won many awards, and since words would not do justice to her designs, let the pictures speak for themselves.

images courtesy of Mondial by Nadia Neuman

View more  images of Nadia Neuman’s lovely designs as well as additional images of Strand Arcade in Sydney on the video below.  If you find yourself in our beautiful city, here’s where you’ll find Mondial.

Mondial by Nadia – Shop 15, Strand Arcade
412-414 George Street
Sydney, NSW 2000
T. (02) 92222776
F. (02) 92222787
E. nadia@mondial.com.au