Actor Jessica De Gouw gets ready an evening with Cartier

It’s just after golden hour on Collins Street, and inside Cartier’s new Melbourne boutique, the energy is shifting. Velvet-lined rooms. Champagne in tall flutes. Diamonds catching light from every angle. But before the doors opened and the crowd rolled in, Jessica De Gouw was getting ready – somewhere between jazz and 90s pop, surrounded by skincare, silk, and sentiment.

“When it comes to big events, I always start with water. Hydrate, hydrate,” she says, perched on the edge of a dressing room chair. It’s skincare first – GO-TO’s Transformazing mask to get her glowing, a daily dose of Vanessa Megan’s Collagen Boosting Gel, and, her ride-or-die, Weleda Skin Food. “I’m obsessed. I use it before bed, on planes, after long shoots – it’s the one thing I won’t leave home without.”

Getting ready becomes a moodboard of sound. “It starts mellow – a bit of jazz to set the tone,” she says. “Then we build into 90s pop for makeup, and something electronic to get out the door.” The playlist? Curated with the help of her girlfriend and hairstylist Sophie Roberts – Verve Remixed, Groove Armada, the kind of tracks that quietly build confidence.

Her look for the night is a love letter to Cartier’s Clash collection – pieces that balance elegance with edge. “I wanted something to match the jewellery,” she tells us, referring to the onyx and diamond studs she’s chosen. “They feel refined but still a little rock and roll.” A Balmain blazer, Saint Laurent trousers and studded heels pull it all together. Hair twisted up, full of texture. “Sophie nailed it – it’s got structure, but it can also survive a dance floor.”

There’s a ritual to how De Gouw approaches jewellery – one that lives beyond red carpets. “I wear the same pieces every day,” she says. “They’ve all got stories. A necklace from my best friend, a bracelet from Soph, a ring I found in Scotland.” And her favourite? “My Cartier Tank watch. I’ve had it for years. It’s just… me.”

Walking into the new Cartier Melbourne store – all layered stone, oak, and quiet grandeur – it’s hard not to pause. Designed to reflect the softness of Australian light, the space feels like a private apartment above the city. “It’s so elegant,” she says. “Every detail has been thought through. Wandering upstairs, looking out over Collins Street with all those incredible pieces on display – it’s very tres chic.”

For De Gouw, fine jewellery isn’t about excess – it’s about return. The simple act of putting her pieces back on after wrapping a shoot. “It’s like saying goodbye to a character and coming back to myself,” she says. A ritual. A reminder.

And tonight, under Cartier’s soft spotlights, she wears that return well.