Her clients and supplier contacts are split between wealthy individuals and client brands who consult her about business development , and are drawn from China and Hong Kong , the USA and Canada , Europe , Asia , and the Middle East .
And though she has a website Julia Castelli Lifestyle Management ( juliacastelli . com ) with the strapline ‘ A Life Beyond Luxury For You ’, she says business runs on word of mouth after a sales career working for super luxury brands like Chanel , Chopard , Asprey , Leviev and Sotheby ’ s .
She admits this belies her early life in Bulgaria , but she dismisses any suggestion that life was tough behind the ‘ Iron Curtain ’ before the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 .
Julia , 47 , grew up in a small town , Radomir , and said : “ We didn ’ t feel any sense of rich and poor ; I had a beautiful calm childhood , but things changed after the fall of the Berlin Wall .
“ My parents then had to be more agile with work and there were periods when we didn ’ t have very much , but we opened a family coffee shop , another that sold lamps from Canada , and my father ran a taxi service and then imported and sold used cars from the West . I suppose that ’ s where my entrepreneurial skills come from .”
Julia later worked in the USA for five years but has spent the past 17 years in England and now lives in Wimbledon , when not travelling the world sourcing the rarest jewels and other items for her discerning clientele .
She recently visited three continents in a month : after an event in China , she returned to London and took her children to Lapland , before attending an auction in Geneva , flying to New York and then to the Dominican Republic .
Apart from her native Bulgarian , she is fluent in three languages : English , Italian and French and ‘ gets by ’ in Spanish and , after living in four countries and visited more than 60 , she said : “ I now consider myself a citizen of the world . As a young girl my dream was to be one of those independently successful heroines portrayed in books by authors like Danielle Steel .”
And , for a while , she lived that dream , working for top names like French fashion house Chanel , and Swiss watch and luxury goods house Chopard .
Latterly , she also worked for Sotheby ’ s in London : “ I was already working for myself and dealt with Sotheby ’ s – one of the world ’ s most famous auction houses . They then offered me the chance to write my own job description , but essentially it was to build relationships with top level clients .
“ It was an exciting career chapter . I saw , touched , and tried on some very historic and unique jewels , royal tiaras , huge blue , pink and yellow diamonds , and watches , worth many millions each .
“ I also placed telephone auction bids for clients , and it has been an exhilarating experience to see and hear millions being
spent in minutes – sometimes less than a minute .
“ But Sotheby ’ s and I later agreed to part amicably as my own outside work was growing and I wanted freedom to work with anyone rather than worrying that this might conflict with Sotheby ’ s , with whom I remain on good terms .”
Though she never refuses any assignment within reason , Julia has several clear business sectors : jewellery and fashion , real estate – with clients usually looking to spend many millions – and has a particular interest in experiential travel and wellbeing .
“ Clients now come to me about pieces of art too ,” she added . “ Something else where I have cultivated key contacts .
“ Though it ’ s an overworked phrase , I guess I have become a ‘ one-stop shop ’. I save time and money for my clients – it ’ s very convenient having one person to trust and deal with . I don ’ t pretend to know everything , but clients know I am in touch with the right specialists and experts and will be diligent about finding exactly what they want .
Issue 57 2023 THE ART OF LUXURY