A Swell Party-One Missing Guest !

It was one of the smartest bashes Sydney has seen for some time.

The 75Th Birthday party for one of the top producers of pearls in the world-the famous Paspaley Pearls who dominate the industry in Darwin and Australia.

Thrown at the magnificent Great Hall (part of the snooty gel's school SCEGGS) in East Sydney.

Models stood very still in nice poses on marble plinth's wearing beautiful pearl and diamond creations valued at millions of dollars and a host of well heeled Sydney-siders and Paspaley customers trotted out for the evening to view the gems, scoff Darwin oysters and quaff the finest French champagne.

We counted ten multi-millionaires in the room including the Man From Uncle-publisher Matt Handbury , (he's Rupert Murdoch's fabulously rich nephew) hotel csar Terry Schwamberg and heiress Anna Lisa Klettenberg who quietly informed us that she has just purchased a few chalets in her favourite skiing town Aspen, as one does-"so much nicer than hotels my dear". Quite.

But there was an undercurrent coursing through the room. The magnificent decor had been put together by designer Edward Coutts Davidson.

For the unenlightened Coutts Davidson swept into town from London eighteen months ago, took up residence and brought his well thumbed CV to impress the locals. That includes designing and decorating houses for Madonna, Kate Moss and George Michael and a dozen glitzy magazine articles told us all about it.

Paspaley's 75th was to have to been a superb showcase for Coutts Davidson's exceptional talents with it's genteel guest list, wonderful location and the Chiparus tableau living statues in a 1920's hall decorated as a speakeasy complete with a lively floor show of black musicians specially flown in from Harlem for the evening.

In a town where the party decorator James Gordon reins supreme, Gordon may have found a rival to his unique talents. But it seems it isn't to be. Coutts Davidson appears to have vanished and was certainly not at the party he designed which was a credit to his skills.

It seems Mr Coutts Davidson has fled these shores unexpectedly and some prospective clients are a tad unhappy, others extremely disgruntled. Something about large deposits paid, goods undelivered and so on. There is talk of Inspector Knacker getting involved.

Apart from that minor detail, we can assure you that not only do Paspaley's deserve their reputation as one of the world's finest jewellers-they know how to give a memorable party !

Marylynne Paspaley poses with a bunch of hoofers from Harlem