Only Natural Diamonds - Spring/Summer 2024

Nathalie Emmanuel

The Diamond of Legend.® 25TH ANNIVERSARY

AVAILABLE IN THE U.S. EXCLUSIVELY FROM

GABRIELNY.COM

Trends

14 THE TORTURED POETS Romantic and whimsical.

16 WESTERN GLAM

Be a natural diamond in a rhinestone world.

18 MID-CENTURY MODERN

Polished swans and decadent diamonds.

20 LOUD LUXURY

More is more for the maximalist mob wife.

22 TOI ET MOI

Two is better than one.

24 ROYAL JEWELRY MAKEOVER The British Royals transform heirloom diamonds.

31 BROOCHING THE SUBJECT A new era of men's jewelry.

34 MEMENTO VIVERE Diamond tokens that keep memories alive.

38 A DIAMOND LEGACY Satta Matturi of Matturi Fine Jewelry.

42 BEEN THERE, DO THAT Seeing diamond doubles on the red carpet.

46 THE LANDS COLLECTION

Fine jewelry that echoes its diamonds' origins.

48 OLYMPICS

Pressure but make it natural. Responsibility

50 THE BRILLIANCE OF BOTSWANA DIAMONDS How natural diamonds transformed the country.

56 A SONG OF ICE AND DIAMONDS Meet Lily James in Canada's Northwest Territories.

Features

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103 ROMANCING THE STONE Olivier Reza on what makes a modern heirloom.

113 LISA RINNA IS LIVING FOR THE SPOTLIGHT

128 FROM THE DESK OF Jacquie Aiche, Briony Raymond, and Ten Thousand Things.

OFFICIAL RETAIL PARTNERS

DAVID KELLIE CEO

KRISTINA BUCKLEY KAYEL Managing Director

SAM BROEKEMA Editor-In-Chief

SHANNON LYNCH Senior Features Editor

GRANT MOBLEY Jewelry & Watch Editor

JANE ASHER Social Media Manager

HANNAH MILITANO Web Editor

ANNA MCFILLIN Assistant Editor

NANCY GIAMBONA Head of Marketing

SHELLEY BROWN Industry Partnerships

ELANA ZAJDMAN

SOPHIE BULLINGER Public Relations

GRACE ISLEY Retailer Partnerships

SVEVA MARCANGELI

JULIA KNOX

BROOKE TUTTLE Media Performance Marketing

GLYNIS COSTIN Entertainment Editor At Large

CONTRIBUTORS

Raluca Anghel, Brandon Borror Chappell, Sarah Cristobal, Vincenzo Dimino, Mina El Hadraoui, Marion Fasel, Anthony Federici, Lucy Fox, Wanyi Jiang, Lisa Levinson, Maggie Morris, Jill Newman, Lizzy Oppenheimer, Josh Peskowitz, Andrew Werner, Lynn Yaeger

Nathalie Emmanuel wears Selim Mouzannar earrings, Maria Tash septum ring, Jenna Blake necklace, Fred Leighton ring, Jacquie Aiche rings. Rosie Assoulin dress. Photographed by Andrés Jaña.

Almost invariably when I admire a piece of jewelry that someone is wearing, they will reply, “Oh, this was my grandmother’s!” My mother’s! My great aunt’s. My favorite uncle’s. What makes it especially beautiful is the smile on the wearer’s face as they tell me the story of the jewelry piece.

Heirlooms hold a private history of family memories as well as inherited style. They also can contain a very public and shared history when the wearer is, say Queen Elizabeth II. This issue is devoted to heirlooms both personal and historical. Natural diamonds are the rarest and oldest thing one will ever touch, formed by the forces that created our planet. Since their discovery, we have been attempting to match their natural rarity with human ingenuity, cutting and setting them to express our values. Whether as rare as the reds and violet diamonds in our shoot with the rarest natural diamonds in the world or one of the stunning pieces available in our trend report, the natural diamonds here stand the test of time.

Actors are also formed over time through very different pressures, in Hollywood. Nathalie Emmanuel’s star has been on a constant ascent since delivering iconic roles as Missandei in Game of Thrones and Ramsey in the Fast & Furious franchise. She now joins the constellation of icons directed by Francis Ford Coppola in the much-anticipated Megalopolis and John Woo’s remake of his film The Killer both out this year. A feminist warrior, Emmanuel’s personal romantic punk style has been passed down from her grandmother and perfectly expresses those modern heirlooms we want now.

Joey King, by the same token, takes the mid-century jewelry style and pumps up the volume for the Tik Tok generation. This year sees King in the poignant WWII series We Were the Lucky Ones and starring opposite Nicole Kidman in A Family Affair. She shares how she prepared for these roles and how she appreciates the positive impact of jewelry as she starts her own collection of heirlooms.

The Northwest Territories of Canada’s frozen tundra isn’t where one typically finds Hollywood starlets, but Lily James isn’t your average star. After her life-changing trip to Botswana, James was eager to learn more about the natural diamond industry. We followed along as she saw first-hand the positive impact on the local indigenous community, the wildlife protected, and the infrastructure only possible from the symbiotic partnership.

Royals like Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Diana, and Queen Camilla have had their pick from a treasure trove of stunning and historic diamonds. What is less commonly known is how these royals give these baubles a makeover from time to time. A lesson anyone can apply with family heirlooms of their own, far from of the Tower of London.

Whether you have inherited a collection of vintage jewelry or are at the start of the magpie’s odyssey, you can be sure that the natural diamonds in all these pieces have sparkled for generations before you and will continue to shine for generations to come.

SAM BROEKEMA Editor-In-Chief

Photographed by Vincenzo Dimino

ON THE COVER: Joey King wears Joseph Saidian & Sons earrings, Rahaminov choker, Briony Raymond necklace, Wempe necklace. Photographed by Daniel Clavero. Nathalie Emmanuel wears Mindi Mond earrings, Maria Tash septum ring and conch earring, Tiffany & Co. necklace, Sorellina necklace and ring, Hyde Park Jewelers ring, Ten Thousand Things rings. Alberta Ferretti dress. Photographed by Andrés Jaña.

Joey King in Gabriel & Co jewelry photographed by Daniel Clavero.

CONTRIBUTORS

JILL NEWMAN

A jewelry authority, editor and storyteller, Jill Newman has been immersed in the industry for 30 years. Her assignments have taken her to diamond mines across Africa, cutting workshops in India and Belgium, and jewelry ateliers around the world. Jill is the Natural Diamond Council’s Editor at Large and her work also appears in media outlets including The New York Times, Robb Report, and Galerie Magazine

JOSH PESKOWITZ

Josh Peskowitz’s opinion and perspective are sought after by businesses and designers across the fashion spectrum. With a primary focus on menswear, his experience spans both editorial and retail, including his own shop Magasin. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, GQ Style, Esquire’s Big Black Book, GQ Style Germany, and Fantastic Man, among others.

LYNN YAEGER

Lynn Yaeger has been writing about fashion, jewelry, and culture for over two decades.

Yaeger, a contributing editor at Vogue and Vogue.com, began her career at the Village Voice, where she was a senior editor. She has written for many publications, including The New York Times, WSJ magazine, Architectural Digest, Travel & Leisure, Town & Country, and Departures. In 2019 Yaeger won the coveted CFDA Media Award. In her off hours, she can be found haunting the flea markets of the world, searching for antique toys and vintage jewelry. She lives, amidst her many collections, in downtown Manhattan.

TINA TYRELL

Tina Tyrell is a New York based photographer whose work is seated at the intersection of portrait and fashion. Her artful approach to image making is marked by a direct connection to her subjects often with a playful bit of irony. Her work has appeared in numerous publications including Vogue, The New York Times, GQ, WSJ and Harpers Bazaar and been commissioned by brands including Chanel, Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein, Dunhill and Balmain. Her personal work was recently in a solo exhibition at Soloway Gallery, Brooklyn.

MARION FASEL

Founder and Editorial Director of The Adventurine online jewelry magazine, Marion Fasel is an esteemed jewelry expert, curator, trend forecaster and historian who has written 10 books on 20th century jewelry.

SARAH CRISTOBAL

Sarah has two decades of experience creating impactful content for various print and digital publications. Formerly the executive editor of InStyle, she has also held top positions at Harper’s Bazaar and V Magazine She is currently an editor at large for 10 Magazine USA. She has consulted for brands including Carolina Herrera, Flamingo Estate, Nike, and more. She has an affinity for fine jewelry by Lizzie Mandler.

SEAN KNIGHT

Sean Knight is a Los Angeles based stylist and creative consultant. Originally from the South Side of Chicago, he studied Fashion History and Visual Communication at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His work often juxtaposes the glamour of Old Hollywood with the understated cool of 90s grunge. With a keen eye for timelessness and authenticity, he has contributed to many renowned publications including Vogue, W Magazine, GQ, Interview, Vanity Fair, Harper’s Bazaar, and The Sunday Times Style. He lives in West Hollywood with his dog Brando.

JENNIFER LIVINGSTON

Jennifer Livingston, born in Chicago, is a New York City-based photographer. She started assisting photographers while still in high school, studied Art History at Skidmore College, and took classes at the Art Institute of Chicago and Parsons in Paris. While studying abroad, she interned at W Magazine but knew that she wanted to be behind the lens. Jennifer is known for her fashionable and ‘caught’ moments and her unique style has awarded her with advertising campaigns for Dior and Louis Vuitton as well as editorials for T Magazine, Esquire, and Allure Magazine. She also has several fine art book projects in the works.

THE TORTURED POETS

By Marion Fasel

Nathalie Emmanuel photographed by Andrés Jaña.

1. Jenna Blake

2. Catbird

3. Nak Armstrong

4. Tiffany & Co and Hyde Park Jewelers.

Photographed by Andrés Jaña.

5. Nak Armstrong

When Taylor Swift announced her new album, The Tortured Poets Department, as she accepted the award for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 2024 Grammys, Swifties around the globe immediately started coming up with theories about it from the tracklist. They looked for Easter Eggs in the black and white photo on the album cover. They hatched theories based on the release date. In the jewelry department, there were also clues about Tortured Poets in the grand-tiered black and white diamond Lorraine Schwartz necklace Taylor wore to the event.

The jewelry, as well as her white corseted Schiaparelli gown and long black gloves, revealed a modern take on a British period drama. Black diamonds suggested something a little ominous. Combined with the white diamonds, the two stones reflected the album cover art. The natural white diamonds also echoed Taylor’s lyrics in her song “Bejeweled,” “What’s a girl gonna do? A diamond’s gotta shine.” And she will shine even when she is going through some things.

Taylor’s star power is such that she alone can ignite a trend or fully magnify one that’s lingering in the atmosphere. And the Grammy necklace did indeed amplify the style of jewels worn by a couple of women in Taylor’s squad. At the Grammys, Lana Del Rey had on 19th-century cluster diamond earrings with a black dress and a big black hair bow. And Zoë Kravitz, who became close to Taylor when they were both living in London during the pandemic, has long been a fan of the 18th century Georgian inspired jewels of Jessica McCormack, featuring natural diamonds in blackened gold cut-down button-back settings.

In the spirit of Taylor and her friends, not to mention the Swifties, it’s easy to envision a new Tortured Poets jewelry archetype. The look has roots in the past but encapsulates a complexity in modern life and love. Vintage-inspired diamond designs with blackened details are a big part of the genre because the story began in Old London Town where there was once a substantial population of poets.

On occasion, Tortured Poets jewelry has motifs that act as metaphors. Stars, snakes and perhaps even spiders decorate pendants and signet rings. Earrings include delicate diamond studs and little hoops with dangling diamonds. They are worn up the ear in multiple piercings.

Above all there are hearts, but not the kind that look like everything is sweet and light. No, the Tortured Poet’s heart reflects the heartbreak but also the belief in finding true love.

6. Marlo Laz

7. Nak Armstrong

8. Maria Tash

9. Emily P. Wheeler

10. Ondyn

11. Jacquie Aiche

12. Jacquie Aiche

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WESTERN GLAM

By Jill Newman

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The western trend got a boost of glamour and glitz thanks to Beyoncé. Since she debuted her hit country crossover album “Cowboy Carter’’ earlier this year, Queen B has leaned into her Texas roots. Cowboy hats, layers of diamond bolo ties, and lariats have become her uniform. She’s not the only one riding the western wave. Western is one of those easy, forever cool trends that we fall back into every few years, and its latest revival ranges from bejeweled cowgirl to bohemian cowboy. It’s showing up everywhere, even at the Paris fashion runway shows in Pharrell Williams for Louis Vuitton’s Fall/Winter 2024 collection with embroidered shirts, chaps, and bolo ties.

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1. Messika

2. Nouvel Heritage

3. Boochier

4. Monica Rich Kosann

5. Jade Ruzzo

Taylor Zakhar Perez

photographed by Mark Lim for OND Fall/Winter Issue 2023.

While not everyone is going to go all in with cowboy hats and boots, there are chic and versatile jewelry styles that impart the western vibe – and cool factor to every wardrobe.

As part of the horsey set herself, designer Graziela Kaufman knows how to dress the part. She created a series of jeweled lariats, which were a fast favorite among her clients and friends. “I’m a fancy western girl,” says Graziela, “and that’s why I created the diamond lariat, which looks great with denim at the rodeo or with a black-tie dress.”

The versatile bolo tie and lariat necklaces are undoubtedly having a moment. They’re showing up every which way, from De Beers’ ultraluxe 10-carat diamond pendant (worn by Beyoncé) to Nouvel Heritage’s gold chain lariat with adjustable diamond “latch.”

“The western trend speaks to the way our clients are layering their jewelry with lariats, Y necklaces, and hard stones in earth tones,” says Anne Russell, executive vice president at Hamilton Jewelers in Palm Beach and Princeton, New Jersey. Younger clients, she says, are mixing up chains with big and small charms to express their own sense of western style.

A more subtle western spirit comes in playful fringe jewelry, such as Jade Russo’s gold Tennessee ring and collar with diamond fringe, and Ondyn’s Frisé cascading diamond necklaces and earrings.

There’s also the ubiquitous lucky horseshoe, which is refreshed in Marie Lichtenberg’s large bold gold and diamond ring and Sydney Evan’s necklace dripping with diamond horseshoe charms.

The latest western wave “feels fresh and fun,” says Laura Freedman, Founder and CEO of Broken English Jewelry, “and adds an element of color, texture, and movement in jewelry.” It is showing up in some of her favorite designers’ collections. “Silvia Furmanovich’s inlaid mosaic patterns are a nod to the Navajo Indians, and Buddha Mama’s moon and star drop earrings have a cowboy chic feel,” says the founder of Broken English, which has stores in New York City and Los Angeles.

Whether it’s prairie chic romantic dresses or rancher style head-todenim, there are myriad ways to wear western but it’s the diamond jewelry that makes it luxe.

6. Jacquie Aiche

Beck

Messika

Uniform Object

Buddha Mama

De Beers

De Beers

MID-CENTURY MODERN

By Jill Newman

1. Tiffany & Co.

2. Fred Leighton 3. Irene Neuwirth

Verdura

Wempe

Joey King photographed by Daniel Clavero.

If one look sums up the mid-century modern trend, it’s actress Carey Mulligan on the red carpet at the 2024 SAG awards wearing a satin form-fitting strapless Armani Privé gown with one statement accessory— René Boivin’s sculptural gold and natural diamond collar from Fred Leighton. Glamorous, bold, and timeless, that collar epitomizes everything we love about mid-century style.

“She looked the part of the modern swan,” says Rebecca Selva, Fred Leighton’s creative director, who worked with Mulligan’s stylist Andrew Mukamal. He captured the spirit of the era with a contemporary nod, and he did it again at the Oscars when he dressed Mulligan in a recreated 1951 Balenciaga gown accessorized with just huge old mine cut natural diamond earrings from Leighton, weighing 10 carats each. It’s the ultimate in fashionable restraint.

That bewitching mid-century style is in the ether, in part due to the much-publicized television show Feud: Capote vs. the Swans, which tells the story of Truman Capote’s dramatic fallout with society doyennes Babe Paley, Slim Keith, and C.Z. Guest. They were famously the ladies who lunch, always dressed to the nines, but it was their idiosyncratic jewels that defined their style and character. Verdura, Schlumberger, and David Webb were among their go-to jewelers, and those houses continue to reimagine their signature styles today in new iterations.

Even before the show stoked the mid-century style flame, there was a shift happening. After years of layering chains and charms, there was a longing for statement pieces. “Clients want that one gorgeous diamond collar or signature brooch,” says Selva, who is thrilled to see men express modern mid-century style with diamond brooches. “The brooch says, ‘I arrived’ and it requires a degree of confidence and style.” It’s the quintessential jewel of every well-heeled woman—and man’s—wardrobe. Actor Jeremy Allen White was a great example of the modern male swan in Schlumberger’s Bird on a Rock brooch at the SAG Awards. These statement styles aren’t a trend; they are timeless investment pieces, says Briony Raymond, the New York jeweler who offers both vintage pieces and her own designs. Personally, she says mid-century has always been her signature style. “It feels good to wear ladylike, grownup jewelry, it’s empowering,” Raymond said. Those include large-scale earrings which “sit beautifully against the cheek, swoop upwards, and lift the face.”

Think of these statement designs as elevated staples and wardrobe workhorses that will never go out of style.

Designers are putting their own spin on the period’s style, like Matthew Harris of Mateo’s sculptural bold gold and diamond earrings, Sorellina’s wide collar with a spray of gold and diamonds, and Selim Mouzannar’s weighty diamond cluster rings.

“Whether vintage or new, statement mid-century designs are the building blocks of any smart jewelry collection”, says stylist Micaela Erlanger. “These are the hero pieces every woman (and man) needs.”

Lee Radziwill in 1970.

6. De Beers 7. Belperron 8. Tiffany & Co.

LOUD LUXURY

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Anything but subtle, mob wife style is about dressing to be noticed. Everything is bold. Hair has volume. Animal prints and sequins are essentials. Sunglasses are oversized and black. Platform heels are for every day. Full-face makeup is a must, even when wearing a baseball cap, which is a favorite off-duty mob wife accessory. But what really puts the mob wife look over the top is layers and layers of natural diamond jewelry: chokers and chains, hoops and bangles, big rings and unexpected pendants with sassy motifs like a whistle, key or lock.

After the low-key luxury looks of last year, you might be wondering how we arrived at mob mode. There are a few different theories, but most agree it evolved from thousands of TikTok posts celebrating the style. It began to hit critical mass when the director of the 1972 film The Godfather, Francis Ford Coppola, commented on it via his Instagram page back in January. He described the movie’s character Connie Corleone, who was portrayed by his sister Talia Shire, as a “sultry delightful Italian princess.”

Coppola was right to chime in. The style isn’t about ill-gotten gains or a life of crime. It’s a celebration of self-assured glamazons combined with the devil-may-care attitude of fictional movie characters, and perhaps a few Real Housewives. One of the chicest mob wives ever was portrayed by Sharon Stone in Martin Scorsese’s Casino in 1995. She flaunted Bulgari diamond jewelry with her gowns in the production. Michelle Pfeiffer in 1983’s Scarface, who is another eternal favorite in the category, always had on diamond jewelry with her silky slip dresses. Then, there are the women from the Sopranos series, which celebrated its

For this living large look, more diamond jewelry is more.

By Marion Fasel

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Lisa Rinna photographed by Tina Tyrell.

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25th anniversary this year. Their costumes ran the gamut from dressy to tracksuits, all worn with somewhat chaotically layered diamond and gold chains, bracelets, earrings, rings and bangles.

If you have any doubt that the style has lept from social media, the movies and TV to the real world, or at least the celebrity population in the real world, just look at some of the recent ensembles of Blake Lively, Eva Mendes and Rita Ora. And then there is Jennifer Lopez whose style has remained the same, but for this moment in time can be filed under the mob wife name. “Let’s Get Loud” isn’t just a smash hit for the singer, it’s a way of enjoying life to the fullest—a mob wife mantra.

1. Pomellato

Pomellato

Miraco

Anita Ko 5. Suzanne Kalan 6. Nikos Koulis 7. Eéra 8. Lizzie Mandler

9. Mateo

10. Sidney Garber

Sharon Stone on the set of the 1995 film “Casino”, directed by Martin Scorsese.

TOI & MOI

The romantic two-stone diamond engagement ring style comes in any number of new variations. By Marion Fasel

Once upon a time, in January of 1796 to be exact, somewhere around Paris, Napoléon Bonaparte proposed to his true love Joséphine de Beauharnais. According to family descendants, he did so with a divine engagement ring composed of two pear shapes—a diamond and a sapphire—both weighing around one carat and set side-by-side. Never mind that the union ended in divorce for various reasons, the legend of the love story and the Toi et Moi style of engagement ring remain.

Because French is the language of jewelry as well as love, the term Toi et Moi, which means You and Me, is never translated. Beyond that fact and the presence of two center stones in the ring, there are no absolute rules about Toi et Moi designs although there are those who will tell you otherwise.

Some believe the gems in the rings should touch each other to represent a couple’s union. Others say the two stones can be independent of one another yet together in the design which is a nice metaphor for a marriage.

Beyond Napoléon and Joséphine, there are only two other famous couples in history known for the style. In 1953, former First Lady Jackie Kennedy received a Toi et Moi ring from John Kennedy with an emerald-cut diamond and an emerald-cut emerald weighing almost 3 carats each. And in 1966, a Toi et Moi

Van Cleef & Arpels ring with a pair of cushion shaped diamonds, weighing approximately 6 carats each, was slipped on the finger of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark by her French diplomat lover Henri de Laborde de Monpezat.

In the 21st century, Toi et Moi engagement rings have gained momentum. Two celebrity couples chose Toi et Moi rings within the last year. They both feature mismatched stones in the setting which is a popular spin on the style. Robert Pattinson gave Suki Waterhouse a pear-shaped diamond and a square pale pastel colored gem (which could be a diamond) on a diamond set band. And Patrick Schwarzenegger gave his longtime love Abby Champion a Toi et Moi ring with a round diamond and a pear-shaped diamond bezel set (without prongs) in a gold ring.

The happy ending to this fairy tale-like engagement ring story is that today many designers make Toi et Moi engagement rings and there are innumerable variations to choose from. There are designs with two stones on two slender connected bands, and bold rings with two gems plunged in the precious metal. Rings with pairs of gems and mismatched shapes can be found. There are also styles with a natural diamond and a sapphire echoing the famous French love story of Napoléon and Joséphine.

Joséphine de Beauharnais, the first wife of Napoléon Bonaparte (1763-1814) in Coronation costume, 1807-1808.

Jackie Kennedy wearing her engagement ring from John F. Kennedy in 1961; Jackie Kennedy’s diamond and emerald toi et moi engagement ring, designed by Van Cleef & Arpels.

HOW THE BRITISH ROYALS

MASTERED THE JEWELRY MAKEOVER

Left to right: Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Mary, Princess Anne, and Princess Beatrice wearing

Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara.

A lesson from the royal’s playbook on transforming historic diamond jewelry into contemporary pieces.

By Jill Newman

What’s a royal event without megawatt glittering natural diamonds and jewels? It’s the dazzling diamond tiaras and crowns, and magnificent sparkling parures that delineate the royals from mere mortals and conjure up images of fairytales and princesses. Nobody defines that better than the British monarchs, who don their lavish jewels for every event, from state and ceremonial affairs to a day at Royal Ascot.

More than simply adornments, their jewelry choices are symbolic and strategic. The royals are all too aware of the power of appearances, so over the decades they have not just chosen their jewels wisely, but they refashioned and repurposed countless pieces to make them more contemporary and relevant for the times.

One of the Windsor’s most overlooked jewelry lovers was the late Queen Elizabeth II, who when she died in 2022 was Great Britain’s longest serving and beloved monarch. She didn’t just acquire fabulous jewelry; she also wasn’t shy about taking apart the most sentimental pieces (including two wedding gifts) to create jewelry that better suited her style.

To be fair, Queen Elizabeth did inherit some of the world’s most amazing diamonds and gemstones, so she had a good foundation. She also purchased jewelry at auctions and commissioned and restyled pieces. It’s a tradition that started with her jewelry obsessed grandmother, Queen Mary, who reigned from 1910 to 1936, and the trend continues today.

“We always talk about Queen Mary, and we tend to forget that one of the most interesting collectors in that family was Queen Elizabeth II,” said renowned French historian and author Vincent Meylan, who is an expert on royal jewelry. Some people said she was practical about her jewelry choices, says Meylan, who disagrees with that theory. “She was rather inventive with jewelry.”

She didn’t hesitate to refashion heirlooms or pluck the diamonds from one tiara to use in another newly commissioned piece. For example, Meylan points out, on her 21st birthday, when the princess was on a royal visit to Cape Town with her family, she was given a necklace with 21 graduated diamonds, the largest being a 10 carat stone, by South Africa’s prime minister. Apparently, she didn’t care for long necklaces, so she had it shortened and used the extra stones to make a matching bracelet with the addition of a 6 carat diamond given to her by Sir Ernest Oppenheimer, the chairman of De Beers, for her birthday in 1947.

Over the years, the late monarch modified numerous pieces to suit her style, including an antique diamond and sapphire

necklace that her father, King George VI, gifted her on her wedding day. She shortened the necklace, used the extra stone to add a removable pendant, and commissioned a matching bracelet, and wore the set often. Known for her colorful attire with coordinating shoes, handbags, and hats, she also made sure she had matching jewels for every outfit. That’s why in the ‘60s she purchased an antique diamond and sapphire necklace that had once belonged to Princess Louise of Belgium, and she used the natural stones to make a tiara. In the ‘70s she commissioned the British jeweler Garrard to make a tiara using diamonds from a dismantled floral tiara and rubies that were a wedding gift from the people of Burma.

The fashionable Princess Diana was also creative with her jewelry, and often transformed pieces to reflect her constantly evolving style. One of her standouts was a velvet choker made with parts of a diamond and sapphire jewelry suite given to her as a wedding gift. The centerpiece was a large oval sapphire set in a diamond watch frame on a velvet choker, which she also wore as a modish headband at a dinner with Emperor Hirohito at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo in 1986.

The tradition has been passed down to the next generation of Windsor women, whose styles are obviously more toned down. Catherine, Princess of Wales repurposed Diana’s sapphire suite into more everyday jewelry. She removed the drops from the diamond and sapphire earrings and used one of them to create a pendant necklace. The newly refashioned set matches her Garrard sapphire engagement ring that also belonged to her late mother-in-law.

Even Prince Harry plucked two diamonds from his mother’s precious brooch to create Meghan Markle’s engagement ring (which was already redesigned since the wedding).

Rather than keep a cherished piece stashed away in a jewelry box, isn’t it better to repurpose the stones and wear them all the time? It’s not just a thrifty solution, but it delivers both style and sentimental value.

It speaks to one of the biggest jewelry trends today: more people are remaking and recycling their inherited or older diamond jewelry, sometimes several times over, because tastes will invariably change, but the natural diamond is always relevant.

Here's a look at some of the British royal family’s most famous jewelry makeovers.

DIAMOND FRINGE TIARA

Queen Mary had an eye for design, and frequently remade pieces into convertible designs that she could wear in myriad ways. “She knew that she was always expected to look the part as Queen, and she often repurposed and reimagined pieces of jewelry to fit with the public's understanding of majesty,” said Lauren Kiehna, the royal jewelry historian behind the blog The Court Jeweller. “Each piece of jewelry was thoughtfully considered in terms of scale, size, and occasion, with alterations made to ensure that the overall look was seamless and regal.”

A great example is the adored Diamond Fringe Tiara, which was worn by three generations of royals on their wedding day: Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Anne, and most recently Princess Beatrice. That tiara started life as the Collingwood Fringe tiara,

a wedding gift from then Mary of Teck’s husband-to-be’s grandmother, Queen Victoria. She graciously wore it on her wedding day to the future King George V in 1893, but she wasn’t fond of it. In 1919, she had it redesigned into the more modern Diamond Fringe Tiara, which can be converted into a necklace and has been continuously worn ever since.

QUEEN CONSORT CAMILLA'S CORONATION CROWN

With all eyes on Queen Consort Camilla at the coronation, the crown she selected would send a clear message to the public (more than 20 million Brits alone viewed the event). Rather than commission a new crown, as is the royal tradition, she chose the crown that Queen Mary wore at her 1911 coronation but modified it in an endearing tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth.

The crown was reset with the Cullinan III, IV, and V, which were part of the late monarch’s personal collection, and she wore them frequently as a single or multi-stone brooch. These stones all cut from the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found. In fact, the Cullinan III (94.4 carats) and IV (63.6 carats) diamonds

were originally set in Queen Mary’s crown, but she later had them removed to make the brooch for her granddaughter on her coronation day in 1953. Queen Elizabeth fondly referred to them as “granny’s chips.”

THE 18.8-CARAT CULLINAN V HEARTSHAPED DIAMOND BROOCH

One of Queen Elizabeth’s favorite pieces was the 18.8-carat Cullinan V diamond heart brooch, which she wore on several poignant occasions, including Prince Philip’s 99th birthday portrait and Princess Eugenie’s wedding. The diamond originally belonged to Queen Mary, who in 1911 had it fashioned into the stomacher of her Delhi Durbar parure. But as styles evolved and stomachers didn’t fit the fashions, the forward-thinking Queen Mary had it redesigned as a brooch and later gave it to Queen Elizabeth.

DIAMOND BANDEAU TIARA

When Meghan Markle wore the Diamond Bandeau on her wedding day in 2018, it hadn’t been seen in 65 years. At the center of

Queen Elizabeth II wearing the Cullinan V heart-shaped diamond brooch at the Royal Windsor Horse Show in 1980; Close-up of the Cullinan V brooch in 2016.

Meghan Markle wearing her engagement ring during a walkabout at Nottingham Contemporary in 2017; Princess Diana wearing her engagement ring during her Official Tour of Argentina in 1995.

the tiara is a large diamond cluster brooch, comprised of one big round diamond surrounded by nine smaller ones, which was a wedding gift to the then Mary of Teck from the County of Lincoln in 1893. Perhaps tired of the brooch, the ever-practical Queen Mary commissioned Garrard in 1932 to make the flexible platinum and diamond tiara with it as a removable centerpiece. When she wasn’t wearing the tiara, she continued to wear the diamond brooch pinned at the neck until her death.

THE DIAMOND BAR BRACELETS

Once a classic Art Deco-style diamond choker often worn on Queen Mary’s swan-like neck along with layers of long diamond necklaces, the Diamond Bar choker was later converted into two bracelets. It’s unknown whether Queen Mary designed it as convertible in the 1920s, or if that happened later. After she passed away in 1953, it wasn’t seen again for

20 years when the Queen Mother wore the choker as a bracelet in her 75th birthday portrait. Upon her death, it was inherited by Queen Elizabeth II.

Apparently, it’s one of Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge’s favorite jewels. She’s been photographed wearing the Art Deco bracelet on several important occasions, and the elegant design suits her style.

MEGHAN MARKLE'S ENGAGEMENT RING

When it came to selecting Meghan Markle’s engagement ring, Prince Harry proved he is a true romantic. To show their shared commitment to social and environmental responsibility, he selected a 5-carat cushion cut ethically sourced diamond from Botswana, a place where the couple had traveled several times and where the diamond industry has made such a positive impact. To make it even more meaningful, he dismantled his mother’s brooch and used two diamonds to complete the three-stone ring made by Cleave & Company.

Not long after the wedding, Markle upgraded her engagement ring by setting the diamonds on a delicate pavé diamond band.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR A JEWELRY MAKEOVER

Start thinking like a royal: Don’t get too attached to family heirlooms or sentimental diamond jewels. It’s better to refashion and wear your jewels rather than leave them collecting dust in a jewelry box.

Find the right jeweler who can advise on your redesign, one that suits your style and budget. Most local jewelry retailers are happy to help you repurpose your diamond jewelry. Often, they will take the original setting and give you money for the value of the gold or platinum, but you can also save the setting in case you change your mind later (highly unlikely).

Be creative. It’s your chance to create your dream jewel, be it a new engagement ring or by taking the diamonds from a brooch or necklace and making it into a design on a statement cuff or drop earrings. There are no limits.

THE JEWELERS YOU SHOULD KNOW FOR A REDESIGN

1. Stephanie Gottlieb (stephaniegottlieb.com) Contemporary, fashionable, elegant

2. Arielle Ratner (arielleratner.com) Modern, architectural, stylish

3. Maggi Simpkins (maggisimpkins.com) Elegant, sleek, artistic

4. Alison Lou (alisonlou.com) Fashionable, fun, bold

5. Millie and Noah (millieandnoah.com) Personal, sophisticated, artisan

6. Single Stone (singlestone.com) Classic, graceful, detailed

7. Jenna Katz (jennakatz.com) Intimate, artisan, timeless

8. Brent Neale (brentneale.com) Playful, creative, stylish

9. Renna Jewels (rennajewels.com) Romantic, spiritual, pretty

10. Sorellina (sorellinanyc.com) Colorful, contemporary, refined

Queen Camilla wearing Queen Mary's Crown for the Coronation of King Charles III in 2023.

Kate Middleton wearing Queen Mary’s diamond bar bracelets alongside Prince William in 2016; Queen Mary of Teck wearing her diamond bar choker bracelet in 1920.

Left: Colman Domingo wearing David Yurman diamond jewelry at the 2024 Academy Awards; Right: Timothée Chalamet wearing a Cartier necklace at the 2024 premiere of "Dune: Part Two."

BROOCHING THE ISSUE

Thoughts on a new era of men’s jewelry

By Josh Peskowitz

The beginning of awards season is typically the high point of the jewelry-gawking calendar. In 2024 this was true, but there was a rival event this year, and both had a lot to say about how men are wearing their finery at this point and beyond. I am, of course, talking about the Super Bowl. “The walk” from the bus to the locker room was coined in the NBA and has been the defacto runway for modern men’s fashion. More recently, NFL players have taken center stage and have caught up with the perennial peacocks of professional basketball.

There’s always been flair in the NFL (shout out to Broadway Joe Namath) but the styles and jewelry choices that these all-stars have been selecting have opened the conversation around what men’s fashion can be.

The Kansas City Chiefs’ tight end, Travis Kelce wore close-fitting chain links with his custom boucle Amiri set. The 49ers’ linebacker Fred Warner wore a lapel pin of stringed diamonds and pearls on his Louis Vuitton double-breasted look, which LeBron James also wore to the 2024 Vanity Fair Oscar Party. Football is more popular than any one religion in the United States. For these men, who represent the qualities many closely associate with masculine ideals, to wear classically feminine pieces says the culture has shifted.

The diamond tennis necklace that was once the bastion of WASPy ladies who lunched can now be seen on men everywhere. The Rock wore one to the Oscars earlier this year, and Usher wore three to the 2024 NAACP Awards with a Laquan Smith ensemble. They are understated and delicate -- two words not normally associated with the personas of the men wearing them. On the other end of the spectrum, men are adopting looks more closely associated with heiresses and Golden Girls

At the Oscars and their after parties, heirloom-quality brooches have graced the lapels of everyone from Cillian Murphy’s starburst pin, to Nas’s snakelike number with a sizable pearl, to Jeffery Wright and Sir Ben Kingsley’s respective diamond flower pins. Rings are nothing new to men’s style, but they go far beyond the pinkie in 2024. A$AP Rocky wore rings on every finger – save his thumbs – while hugging fashion designer Raf Simons at this year’s Bottega Veneta show in Milan.

We all were beaten over the head with quiet luxury throughout 2023. The inoffensive tonal palette of expertly draped and ruinously expensive fabrics swaddled the industry and popular culture. There is validity to this look as both a level set after years of loud luxury streetwear dominance and as a return to the craft of making clothes laid bare. Elegance takes many forms, and even quiet adherents augment their minimal looks with tasteful jewelry with a mid-century feel or a delicate medallion. Cartier’s square Tank has been the ascendant watch shape in recent years, they recently re-released the Baignoire, its oval cousin. But no matter what the style, the overarching trend is that smaller is better. A 40mm bezel feels almost vulgar in 2024 – the style standard has returned to 36mm which looks very nice with diamond accents.

Quiet will likely remain, but there is a strong momentum to the pendulum swinging in the other direction. This is taking multiple forms, like the Western resurgence led by Pharrell Williams at Louis Vuitton and Beyoncé on the rest of the earth. But most interesting, is a more general feeling of vivid opulence. No one exemplifies this sea change better than the undisputed king of the red carpet: Colman Domingo. His looks are louchely vibrant. His wrists, hands, neck, lapel – even his bow tie – are endlessly adorned with natural diamond baubles. He exudes confidence, his skin shines, and his smile radiates joy. “What a time to be alive!” He seems to be saying with every appearance. Jewel-toned and silky, this shift takes men’s style away from androgyny and unisex toward just sex. The level of comfort men are showing from across the style spectrum speaks to a normalization that this country, and the world, will benefit from. The more comfortable we are with expressing ourselves, the less we rely on ridged moors – and the negativity they spawn –to define us. If a diamond tennis necklace on the world’s biggest action star and boucle suit on a Pro Bowl Tight End represents the leading edge of a new era in identity, I can’t wait to see where we go from here.

Top: Barry Keoghan wearing Boucheron diamond jewels along his lapel at the 2024 BAFTA Awards; Bottom: Billy Joel wearing a diamond Neil Lane jabot pin at the 2024 Grammy Awards.

For these men to wear classically feminine pieces says the culture has shifted.

LeBron James wearing a diamond and pearl lapel pin at the 2024 Vanity Fair Oscar Party.

MEMENTO VIVERE

Heirlooms from centuries past have never felt more now.

By Lynn Yaeger Photographed by Andrew Werner

Speak memory! Who first owned this wonderful sentimental diamond jewelry, created with love and artistry, marking joys and so often sorrows, so many years ago? The history of these pieces may have vanished in the mists of time, but this doesn’t mean that centuries later, you won’t fall under their spell. Can you blame me if, peering into a case at an antique show or finding a gem hiding in the corner of a flea market table, I want to take these treasures home, and add a layer of memory—my own—to their storied past?

1. SARRAH BROOCH

So many antique diamond gems have a spooky aura, and this one is especially strange. If you can make out the curlicue numbers, they seem to read 1890 on one side and 1900 on the other, with the name Sarrah in the script at the bottom. Oh, and then there is a laurel wreath, and a Roman number two, and maybe a figure eight? I seem to recollect the dealer saying it was Russian. In any case, I found this at the Louvres des Antiquaires, a fabulous antique center in the center of Paris that closed decades ago. We may never unravel the puzzle of Sarrah, but we do know this was crafted with great skill and care in silver and gold, and its inscrutable legend still dazzles with diamonds.

2. MILANO BROOCH

What happens in Milano…stays in Milano! I didn’t find this in Italy, I bought it from a trusted dealer, DK Bressler on 47th Street in New York City. It is quite a substantial piece of jewelry, and my guess is that it was meant as a souvenir for well-heeled tourists in the italian city. Maybe they were on the Grand Tour, like Lucy Honeychurch and Charlotte Bartlett in A Room with a View? (I guess EM Foster forgot to include the chapter where they go shopping in Milan--because the book takes place in Florence— maybe a side trip?) I can just see this pinned to a lacy Victorian shirtwaist, not so different from the way I wear it myself.

3. SOUVENIR BROOCH

Full disclosure: I not only collect sentimental brooches, but I also collect cherubs. So, when these two obsessions met in one piece of jewelry, you can imagine the shrieks. (This unbridled enthusiasm does not make bargaining any easier, but that’s another story.) I found this brooch, probably French in origin, at Portobello Road in London on a Saturday morning—the only day, for the uninitiated reading this, that the jewelry arcades are open. And just so you know: in French, the word “Souvenir” does not refer to items like the Eiffel Tower snow globe you bought on the Rue de Rivoli for three euros. It actually means “Remember” or “Memory” and was intended to remind the wearer of a special shared moment.

4. VIRGINIA BRACELET

Who was Virginia? Was she an insanely beautiful sweetheart, a daughter, a mother-—or maybe even a ship? I found this fabulous diamond bracelet in Stockholm, which isn’t usually a place you visit to hunt for vintage gems. Then again, you could shoot me out of a rocket on Mars and I could find an antique store. The design has an Art Deco feel, so I would date back to around 1920 to 1940—but who can tell exactly? Only Virginia knows for sure.

5. SMALL BLUE BROOCH

Some jewels keep their secrets locked up forever, and others reveal their backstories to anyone paying close attention. I found this tiny brooch at the Pier Show, a much-lamented semi-annual New York institution that for years was the pinnacle of my existence. This gem has a diamond monogram on its front, but it’s the back that tells the tale. In exquisite and remarkably fresh enameling it memorialized two men with names and dates— brothers, perhaps--who passed away, one in 1808, and one in 1810. This tiny token has kept their memory alive for over 200 years.

Some jewels keep their secrets locked up forever, and others reveal their backstories to anyone paying close attention.

A DIAMOND LEGACY

Satta Matturi takes inspiration from her upbringing and education as a second generation diamond expert.

By Jane Asher

Matturi Fine Jewelry Nomoli Totem Mansa Necklace and Classic Diamond Pendant

photographed by Vincenzo Dimino.

Satta Matturi of Matturi Fine Jewelry designs with an eye for diamonds. Given her history as a rough diamond expert for De Beers, she understands what makes natural diamonds real, rare, and responsible better than most. “Diamonds play a really important part for producer countries and also for the citizens of those countries,” says Matturi, who has seen firsthand what “the wealth from mining and the sales of diamonds does for those countries.” Imbuing each of her natural diamond pieces with this knowledge makes them even more unique and valuable, ideal for treasuring for generations and passing down as heirlooms.

Born in Sierra Leone, a diamond producing country, and raised in the UK, Matturi has been surrounded by jewelry and adornment her whole life. “Within the continent of Africa, wherever you go—north, south, east, west, central—jewelry forms a really strong part of the culture,” she shares with Only Natural Diamonds. “And women do adorn themselves and wear jewelry.” Seeing her mother and sisters always decorated with embellishments and bijoux, Matturi’s passion for jewelry began at a young age. “But nothing really spoke to me in terms of what I really wanted,” she reveals. “I think that’s what led me to start my own brand because I wanted something different that sought inspiration from the continent and from Africa.”

is proud to say is true of all of the stones in her designs.

“We work with partners who actually buy from the producer countries and the primary sources.”

“This particular design was created with enlightenment in mind,” she elaborates of the stunning natural diamond piece. “I was very keen to create something using different shapes and sizes of diamonds and really, sort of look at humanity currently.” Using this sentiment, Matturi hopes her latest piece can be more than just an adornment or embellishment for its wearer, with the crown of diamonds, “just shedding a light and brilliance to everyone.”

One of her latest works of art is a 13-carat natural diamond necklace in the form of a Nomoli Totem mask, one of the brand’s signature styles, named Mansa. Traditional African masks dating back thousands of years are deeply rooted in African history of animism—reverence of the natural world. These masks represent different spirits of nature, whether that be a river, a local animal or an ancestor. Matturi’s Nomoli Totem mask necklace features different shapes and sizes of rose-cut natural diamonds on the crown and a face of yellow gold dotted with more diamonds. “The Nomoli Totem is inspired by stone figurines from the western region of Africa but also African masks and masquerades,” Matturi explains. The diamonds themselves are sourced directly from the countries where they’re discovered, something Matturi

The Nomoli Totem motif is available in many different iterations, including various styles of earrings and pendants, but all of Matturi’s pieces across the different collections are meant to bring images of the African content to mind. “The inspiration behind our designs is primarily from Africa,” she says. “So it’s about going back to the continent. It’s about telling your stories whether it be heritage or music or flora and fauna and many other things we try to bring in and tell those stories through fine jewelry.” Matturi’s story is one of African pride and a deep love of natural diamond stones. It started in Sierra Leone, looking at her mother and siblings adorned in jewelry but her diamond story began with De Beers, who operated in her home country of Sierra Leone in the 1970s and 1980s.

“After university, I decided to join the company,” she explains. “My father also used to work for De Beers so there is a link there as well.” It was through her work at De Beers that she became a true natural diamond aficionado, working as a rough diamond expert and in the sales department for 17 years. “But I wanted to sort of follow my passion for jewelry, so in 2015 I decided to leave and pursue my dream of starting a jewelry brand,” she remembers fondly. “And that’s how it started.” Still today, Matturi’s

Portrait of Satta Matturi, founder & creative lead of Matturi Fine Jewelry. Photo courtesy of Matturi Fine Jewelry.

Matturi Fine Jewelry

Constellation Cuff and Earrings photographed by Vincenzo Dimino; Photo Courtesy of Matturi Fine Jewelry.

designs are informed by the knowledge she gained while at De Beers and seeing how the natural diamond industry works to ensure the locals see the benefits of natural diamond recovery as well. “I’ve been fortunate enough to see it firsthand,” she says.

“There are many examples: things like providing free healthcare to the citizens, free education and these are all because of diamonds,” Matturi explains. The natural diamond industry indeed supports the livelihoods of 10 million people worldwide, the majority in local and indigenous communities in originating regions. “Botswana is known as a middle-income country,” she says. “A large majority of their GDP is dependent on the sale of diamonds. So they’re doing a lot to make sure that trickles through to every single citizen.” In fact, up to 80% of rough diamond value remains with these communities thanks to local purchasing, employment benefits, social programs, healthcare, and investment in infrastructure. Botswana in particular has the highest GDP per capita in continental Africa with 40% of its GDP coming from natural diamonds.

Soon, the brand will launch “a total service where we will start to manufacture diamond engagement rings at source,” Matturi reveals, adding that “a large majority of our larger and solitaire items are coming from this source. “We work very closely with one of our supplier partners in Botswana and I sit on the board of the entity and was responsible for the setting up of the factory in Botswana.” The offering will live under the MATTURI Fine Jewelry brand and accomplishes Matturi’s goal of always looking back to the continent not only for inspiration but also, for the actual manufacturing of her pieces.

There’s so much pride in using natural diamonds.

“Botswana is really, really, rich in terms of biodiversity, in terms of natural beauty and I think the wealth from diamonds also goes into that,” Matturi shares, having seen that natural beauty firsthand when she lived in the country. The industry works hard to protect vulnerable species like the African elephant and rhinoceros from extinction. It also orchestrates biodiversity and conservation programs on preserved land across the continent the size of Paris, London, and New York City combined, equating to four times the land used for diamond recovery. Matturi has witnessed the natural diamond industry’s commitment to the preservation of the land and uplifting of its citizens, and using only natural diamonds in her pieces allows Matturi to be a part of the bigger picture, an integral piece in the industry as a designer who supports the natural diamond mission. Almost 10 years after starting her namesake brand, Matturi has many incredible collections to be proud of and even more exciting natural diamond endeavors on the horizon. “There’s so much pride in using natural diamonds from countries such as South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia” she shares with a smile. “It’s your own little way to tell that story and bring it out into the world and share it with people.”

Photos courtesy of Matturi Fine Jewelry.

BEEN THERE

DO THAT

Recently, the same natural diamond jewels have been worn repeatedly on the red carpet not only proving the versatility of the designs but also the value of the treasures By Marion Fasel

Greta Lee and Zoë Kravitz wearing Tiffany & Co. Diamond and Platinum High Jewelry earrings

STYLE

Do you feel like you’re seeing double or even triple on the red carpet? If you are looking at natural diamond jewelry when the déjà vu sensation occurs you are correct. Stars are doing what would be almost unthinkable with gowns. They’re wearing the same diamond jewel, or very similar designs, that have been worn by others. In the last year alone, there were any number of repeat performances.

One of the first high-profile jewelry reruns was the dazzling front-to-back Louis Vuitton Elan Vital diamond earrings Emma Stone had on at the Golden Globes when she won Best Actress in a Comedy for her role in Poor Things. They were the same design Cate Blanchett wore at the 2023 Oscars when she was nominated in the Best Actress category for the title role in Tár. The diamond jewels acted the part of a chameleon on Emma and Cate. They looked different on each of them proving the versatility of a strong diamond design.

The point was proven again with the De Beers Arpeggia Earrings that have been worn by multiple A-listers this year.

At the Golden Globes, Taylor Swift was the first one spotted in the three-line version of the design set with just over 9-carats of diamonds. Shortly after Taylor wore the earrings, Florence Pugh sparkled in an almost 20-carat-diamond-five-line rendition of the Arpeggia earrings at the London premiere of Dune, and Lupita Nyong'o wore the same style at the Berlin Film Festival.

A pair of Tiffany 13-carat diamond and platinum High Jewelry earrings were worn by Zoë Kravitz at the 3rd Annual Academy Museum Gala last December. Past Lives star Greta Lee sported the same jewels at the Academy Awards in March. Few, if any, style watchers noticed the jewels had been out twice, but how stunning the earrings were on both women was not overlooked.

One of the most subtle recent diamond jewelry replays was also one of the most surprising. Ayo Edebiri (at the BAFTAS) and Kaia Gerber (at the Academy Museum Gala) both put a Tiffany Setting Engagement Ring on their pinky fingers.

Ayo Edebiri and Kaia Gerber wearing a Tiffany Setting Engagement Ring on their pinky fingers.

They looked different on each of them proving the versatility of a strong diamond design.

The most iconic diamond engagement ring design in the world was given an entirely new spin when it was transformed into a pinky ring by these red-carpet style stars.

Another Tiffany design that has flown by a couple of times recently is the absolutely dazzling Jean Schlumberger Bird on a Rock diamond, platinum, and gold necklace. Anya Taylor-Joy attended the opening of The Tiffany Landmark store in New York in a rendition of the jewel. At the Emmys, Selena Gomez chose a Schlumberger bird of the same feather with one new feature, a 35-carat morganite set at the center of the jewel.

No diamond design has been seen more often on the red carpet in the last 10 years than Bulgari’s diamond Serpenti necklace. In fact, it’s rare when the snake does not turn up at big events. During the 2024 Awards Season, there was a Serpenti at the Grammys on Victoria Monet and the SAG Awards on Anne Hathaway. At the Oscars, Florence Pugh donned a long diamond Serpenti. Last year at the Grammys Jennifer Lopez piled on a couple of Serpentis. At the SAG Awards Selena Gomez looked sleek in a choker rendition. And at the Oscars, Angela Bassett sparkled in a great Serpenti. I could go on, but you get the point.

What does all this repetition of styles mean or prove? While there is a constant demand for new red carpet fashion content, diamond jewelry rises above the fray. It always has. In the past,

when classic stars like Elizabeth Taylor wore her diamonds many times in public, it wasn’t criticized. The opposite was true. Her diamond jewelry was something people looked forward to seeing. Today, luminaries on the red carpet obviously recognize the same concept applies to great diamond jewelry. When they have an opportunity to wear a design that has been down the red carpet previously, they clearly have no qualms about taking it out for another spin.

Now, as factions of the red-carpet fashion world grapple with the concept of re-wearing and gaining appreciation for archival or vintage garments, diamond jewelry is steadily showing how it is done. Proving by demonstrating natural diamond jewels are eternal. The same jewels, or designs from the same collection, work time and time again because they are treasures with history in the diamonds that date back millions of years ago and exude unparalleled glamour no matter how many times you see them.

Left to right: Taylor Swift, Florence Pugh, and Lupita Nyong’o wearing the De Beers Arpeggia earrings.

FINE JEWELRY THAT ECHOES THE ORIGINS OF ITS DIAMONDS

BY GRANT MOBLEY

A fascinating new fine jewelry collection introduces a fresh perspective on design, uniquely inspired by, and exclusively crafted from natural diamonds found in the Northwest Territories of Canada. The Lands Collection reflects the diverse geology and raw beauty of the region, presenting a new way to think about the relationship between the natural world and the artistry of jewelry making. With an emphasis on sustainability, it offers a mindful approach to luxury, challenging traditional notions and encouraging a closer connection between the jewelry we wear and the Earth from which it originates. It’s an approach that mirrors the wine industry’s respect for terroir, ensuring that each piece tells the unique story of its origin.

As the third largest diamond-producing region on Earth, the Northwest Territories is home to three diamond mines. Each of the three sub-collections within Lands—Ice, Earth, and Spirit—pays homage to each mine and the distinct environments that have nurtured their natural diamonds. The Diavik mine, the result of a 75-million-year-old kimberlite eruption, gifts us with the natural diamonds that make up the Ice collection. These diamonds are commonly as clear and pure as the Arctic ice where they form. They are set in white metal to reflect the minimalist beauty of their origins, with baguette-shaped diamonds mimicking the fissures in the ice.

A stone’s throw away, the Ekati mine offers a contrasting narrative. Here, amidst ancient, fossilized sequoia, is a deposit rich in yellow and cape-colored natural diamonds. This is where the Earth collection finds its roots. The bold essence of Ekati is captured in designs that incorporate pyramids as geological markers, set in rose and yellow metals to embody the warm hues of the diamonds found there.

The Spirit collection is inspired by Gahcho Kue, which at 500 mil-

lion years old, is the oldest diamond-bearing kimberlite pipe known. It honors the mesmerizing fluorescent diamonds that are commonly found there. Their glow under UV light mimics the ethereal glow of the Northern Lights under which they form. Its unique designs of bubbles and spheres evoke the intangible spiritual nature of its origins.

Each collection is mounted in a unique metal that is a revival of one of the world’s first metal alloys. Called Modern Electrum, it combines gold, silver, palladium, rhodium, and platinum in a blend that is not only beautiful but also 100% recycled. This commitment to sustainability underscores the ethos of the Lands Collection. It represents a responsible luxury that respects the Earth and echoes the conscientious lifestyle of the people of the Northwest Territories.

The designer, Chiara Colombani, has woven the stories of these mines into each piece in the Lands Collection. Working from Milan, Colombani has brought her extensive design experience working with major jewelry houses to create iconic motifs that are meant to mix, match, and stack together seamlessly. Each piece is also followed in a blockchain process that tracks every rough diamond from the mine where it was discovered to cutting, polishing, and setting in the jewelry. This guarantees that every diamond belongs to the collection inspired by where it was found and offers buyers a direct link to the origin and journey of their chosen piece.

The Lands Collection is a pioneering movement in jewelry design, marrying the allure of natural diamonds with the narrative of their origins. All wearers of natural diamonds inherently carry a billionyear-old fragment of the Earth’s story; however, The Lands Collection offers the opportunity to connect with a specific part of that narrative through jewelry distinctively inspired by the unique characteristics that make each so special.

Photos courtesy of The Lands Collection

PRESSURE BUT MAKE IT NATURAL

BY BRANDON BORROR CHAPPELL

On July 26, 2024, the eyes of the world will turn to Paris, France to witness the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games. I love the Olympics, I love Paris, and I love having a good reason to put my life on hold for two and a half weeks to watch the most freakishly gifted human beings on planet Earth push themselves and each other to the outermost limits of what our species is capable of.

I am lucky to have made several lengthy visits to Paris as an emotional support husband during Fashion Week. I was and remain transfixed by the city. Paris is seemingly locked in an ever-raging struggle to uphold her nation’s promise to guarantee Liberté, Égalité, and Fraternité to all her inhabitants - all while agreeing they share a collective duty to uphold the world’s highest standards of hospitality, cuisine, and culture for those who are lucky enough to visit. Paris’ assuredness in what she has to offer the world is, I think, the best form of national pride.

In Paris, I have eaten so many incredible meals that have been deftly served by people who enjoy giving. I have wandered the city and gardens and museums and basked in the presence of the most incredible architecture, sculptures, and paintings that humanity has created during our tenure. And I have felt pressured to dress

well even if I’m just running out to pick up some ibuprofen. The combined effect of these experiences compels one to stand a little straighter, look a little deeper, and begin to think that you, too, might be capable of quite a bit more than you previously thought. Visiting Paris is like trying on a beautiful natural diamond necklace that you weren’t sure would suit you, but finding out you actually wear it quite well.

I have high hopes for what these Parisienne Olympics can do for the world at a time when we are particularly desperate for a positive collective experience. I hope we watch these athletes who are giving their fullest effort. I hope we admire the achievements of those who set new records and feel compassion for those who falter. I hope that in our champions we see our shared humanity and that we absorb the spirit of the Olympics: that our fiercest competitors are in fact our closest allies.

In my personal history of watching, no athlete’s trajectory has captured the ecstasy and the agony of the Olympics as deeply as 7-carat VVS-certified G.O.A.T. Simone Biles. My heart broke for Biles when she pulled herself out of the 2020 individual all-around competition. She had entered the Tokyo Games having already

Simone Biles of Team United States at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

vaulted and flipped over every existing bar in gymnastics history. She was a global phenomenon, and everyone was tuned in to see how she was going to outdo herself. Then, something happened to her that I don’t think most people understood: she caught a case of “the twisties.”

The shocking announcement that she would not be competing in her most celebrated events was met with crashing waves of sympathy and derision. It was ‘Good for Simone for prioritizing her mental health!’ versus ‘Can you believe her cowardice? This is what’s wrong with the new generation.’ A lot of the people shouting from both directions did not understand what was going on. But I’m going to make a bold claim: I know how she felt.

I was a pitcher and outfielder on my high school baseball team. One day during my junior year, I went to throw some warm-up tosses as I had done a million times. My first throw went ten feet over my partner’s head. That was weird. My second throw bounced halfway between us and rolled to him. I started to panic. I had no idea what was happening but suddenly I had no control over where the baseball was going. It felt as though someone had cut off my hand and replaced it with a clumsy replacement that had never held a baseball before. And no matter what I did, I could not get my old hand back. It was awful and humiliating and I had no idea what was going on.

In the years since, I have learned that I caught a case of “the yips,” which is the more commonly used term for the gymnastics-specific “twisties.” I have not found a satisfactory explanation, but I have read many reports in my sadly fruitless attempt to put my yips behind me. My yips were embarrassing. For Biles, the twisties could have resulted in a career-ending or even life-threatening injury. Gymnasts rely on pinpoint awareness of their bodies moving through space at impossible, spinning, flipping speed. For whatever reason - Biles lost this awareness during a routine. This sudden, unnerving disorientation dropped napalm on her psyche. She didn’t withdraw to protect herself from embarrassment, she withdrew to protect herself from serious harm.

It was frustrating for me to understand this on some level while so many loud people obviously did not. I wanted to reach through the television and tell this young woman, who felt like she was letting the whole world down and there was nothing she could do about it, that it was completely okay, and the world was not ending, that we were of course slightly disappointed to not see her do her thing. I wish the reaction had been as though she had broken her ankle - agony, sympathy, and compassion. Instead, there was just all this horrible noise.

Visiting Paris is like trying on a beautiful natural diamond necklace that you weren’t sure would suit you, but finding out you actually wear it quite well.

I found solace in my surety that Biles was protected from the hullabaloo by her own resilience and the comfort and support of those closest to her who did understand. Unbelievably enough, I did get a chance to tell her all of this in person a little over a year later at the InStyle Awards in Los Angeles. When I told her about my yips, she asked me, “How’d you get over it?” I told her, “I still haven’t.” She grimaced and said, “Dammit.”

I think the solution to the yips and the twisties is to set it all aside and focus on other things in life, which Biles hadn’t done since she came double back tucking out of the womb. I was so happy to see that she found love and got engaged to NFL player Jonathan Owens.

I hope that her 3-carat, F color, VVS2 clarity beautifully set oval natural diamond ring designed and set by Zo Frost - and the loving bond it represents - helps keep her grounded and that she can find herself comfortably up in the air again.

There is so much to watch for in the Olympics. I hope you tune in because I’d like to watch it together.

Simone Biles with her husband Jonathan Owens.

Simone Biles showing her engagement ring during the awards ceremony at the 2023 Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships.

THE B RILLIANCE

DISCOVER HOW THE NATURAL DIAMOND INDUSTRY

HELPED TRANSFORM THE NOW THRIVING SOUTHERN AFRICAN COUNTRY. BY

SHELLEY BROWN

Starry night sky over the Okavango Delta in Botswana.

D IAMONDS OF B OTSWANA

The Okavango Blue, a 20.46 carat fancy deep blue diamond discovered in the Orapa Mine in 2018.

Transformation is a word often associated with the formation of natural diamonds. Over the course of billions of years, carbon atoms slowly formed into brilliant gems deep within the earth. For Botswana, diamonds and transformation have another poignant connection: the ability of the natural diamond trade to transform the fortunes of a country.

THE HISTORY OF DIAMONDS IN BOTSWANA

Botswana, a landlocked country in Southern Africa, is both the birthplace of modern humans over 200,000 years ago and brilliant diamonds, formed billions of years before that. The discovery of the first significant deposit of diamonds in Botswana happened in 1967, just one year after the country gained independence from Britain. At the time, it was the third poorest country in the world, with minimal infrastructure and an almost total void of formal education. The country’s founding president, Sir Seretse Khama made it his mission to build a government with an ambitious economic development program centered around the country’s resources. Natural diamonds quickly became the cornerstone of Botswana's economic development. All diamond mining in Botswana operates under a licensing agreement with the government in which 80 percent of diamond-related revenues are put back into the country’s economy. Today, Botswana is now the world’s number one diamond-producing country by value. The diamond industry accounts for 40 percent of the country’s GDP and 90 percent of its exports.

The majority of the country’s diamond mines are managed by Debswana Diamond Company, a joint venture between the Botswana government and the global mining giant De Beers. (The exception is the Karowe mine at Orapa, which is operat-

ed by Lucara). Botswana mines have consistently recovered high-quality gems coveted worldwide. In 2013, the formation of Okavango Diamond Company (ODC) marked another pivotal moment in history. Named after the lush delta and UNESCO World Heritage site, ODC is wholly owned by the Botswana government. As Botswana’s first state-owned diamond trading company, it has empowered the nation to responsibly manage its most prized natural resource, diversifying the market and bolstering its now thriving economy and position as a global player in the industry.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

The economic significance of Botswana's diamond industry cannot be overestimated. Diamonds account for a staggering 90 percent of Botswana's export revenue, fueling the nation's growth and prosperity and lifting its populace out of poverty. This revenue stream has enabled Botswana to invest in critical infrastructure, as well as education and healthcare. Much of Botswana’s 2.3 million population benefits from free education for children and universal healthcare; no small feat for a nation that was once among the poorest in the world. The diamond industry also provides direct employment to thousands and indirectly supports various sectors, from hospitality to manufacturing, making Botswana the highest per capita GDP of any continental African nation.

THE HERITAGE OF THE BOTSWANA DIAMONDS

The appeal of diamonds from Botswana is clear: A diamond from Botswana offers an origin story consumers can believe in. By centralizing operations, the government ensures both transparency and maximum returns from its diamond trade, which are then reinvested in infrastructure and government programs. Simply put, a diamond from Botswana benefits the people of Botswana.

While a full range of diamonds both industrial and gem quality come from Botswana, one treasure in particular captured international attention. The famed Okavango Blue, a 20.46 carat “fancy deep blue” diamond was discovered in the Orapa Mine in 2018. Owned by ODC, it is the largest and rarest blue diamond ever found in the country—its blue hue is a testament to the geological wonders of Botswana's diamond deposits. The dazzling and nearly flawless stone was exhibited publicly for the first time in 2022, at the American Museum of Natural History. A symbol of the rich culture of Botswana, it has inspired poets, filmmakers, and fashion designers alike. This exceptional gem not only showcases the country's prowess in diamond mining but also underscores its commitment to responsible mining practices.

SUSTAINABILITY

In recent years, Botswana has made strides in ensuring the sustainability of its diamond industry. In partnership with industry stakeholders, the government has implemented rigorous environmental and social standards to minimize the industry's ecological footprint and maximize its positive impact on local communities. Initiatives such as community development projects and environmental conservation efforts underscore Botswana's commitment to responsible diamond mining. One notable example of this is the rehabilitation of diamond mine sites. Upon the closure of mining operations, extensive efforts are undertaken to restore the land to its natural state, ensuring minimal longterm environmental impact. Additionally, Botswana has implemented stringent regulations and monitoring mechanisms to safeguard water resources and wildlife habitats in and around diamond mining areas.

An example of successful land protection is The Diamond Route, a network of eight conservation sites established by De Beers Group. The network spans over 722 square miles of critical habitats in South Africa and Botswana. In addition to protecting endangered wildlife, The Diamond Route creates unique learning opportunities for students, scientists, and academics. Botswana also stands out in sustainable tourism in Africa. Almost 40 percent of its land is protected as national parks or wildlife management areas, to preserve the country’s wildlife and rich natural treasures. A portion of the revenue generated by tourism-related activities is reinvested in conservation programs.

Botswana's journey from a landlocked nation with a tumultuous history to a beacon of economic success is closely intertwined with its diamond legacy. Through prudent management, sustainable practices, and a deep appreciation for its natural resources, Botswana has leveraged its diamond wealth to uplift its people and secure a brilliant future. The country aspires to become not only a prominent world diamond center but also a diamond hub. While the journey is still unfolding, the origin story of Botswana diamonds is profound. A natural diamond from Botswana is not simply a precious stone. It is a symbol of transformation, progress, and human potential—sourced from where it all began.

Students at the Livingstone House Primary School run by Debswana in Orapa. Photographed by Molly SJ Lowe. Left: the Okavango Blue rough diamond.

ICE & DIAMONDS A SONG OF

AN ARCTIC ADVENTURE THROUGH CANADA'S NORTHWEST TERRITORIES WITH LILY JAMES, GLOBAL AMBASSADOR FOR NATURAL DIAMOND COUNCIL. BY GRANT

MOBLEY

There is a point where -40 degrees Celsius aligns perfectly with -40 degrees Fahrenheit. This convergence is rarely contemplated, much less experienced by most. Lily James had never considered this fact until she found herself standing on a frozen lake under the Northern Lights. She faced a cold so intense that despite being wrapped in five layers, any exposed skin risked frostbite within minutes. This venture wasn’t just a journey into the heart of winter’s grasp but a quest to witness the profound impact of natural diamond recovery on this land and its people.

This wasn’t Lily James’ first venture into natural diamond country. As the Global Ambassador for the Natural Diamond Council, the Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated actress had previously traveled to Botswana in 2022, immersing herself in the world’s number one diamond-producing country by value. “You want to make sure when you’re putting your name to something that there’s more to the story,” James reflected during the trip. Yet, this experience did more than meet expectations. Witnessing firsthand the transformative effect of natural diamonds on communities and environments opened her eyes to the reality of the industry. This is how James found herself in the icy expanses of the Northwest Territories —the globe’s third-largest natural diamond source. Here, James would continue her exploration of the three-billion-year-old gems that have transformed the area.

James touched down in Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories, following a day peppered with connecting flights—a typical ordeal for those venturing to this secluded city, situated nearly a thousand-mile drive from Edmonton, its nearest urban neighbor. Yellowknife is home to half of the territory’s forty-thousand inhabitants. It’s a modest population, especially when considering the vast expanse of the territory, which spans an area comparable to the size of Spain, Portugal, and France combined. Indigenous communities represent the soul of this unique region, making up half of the population and an integral aspect of the Northwest Territories’ cultural and historical tapestry.

Nestled beside the world’s tenth-largest lake, Yellowknife boasts a stunning natural backdrop. Excited to meet with locals, James headed to B. Dene, the indigenous-owned camp positioned across the bay in neighboring Dettah. The absence of bridges means it’s not a short journey, yet the subarctic in February has its silver lining—the lake, as big as Belgium, transforms into a solid expanse of ice. James’ car veered down a boat ramp, introducing her to an otherworldly experience: driving across two meters of ice on top of the deepest lake in North America. This surreal passage is difficult to put into words, but for the locals, it was part of daily life. Once across, James stopped at the

end of the road, where Kateri Lynn and Cody Drygeese met her. Lynn and Drygeese, both influential in their indigenous community, have made their marks in distinct ways. Lynn became Dettah’s youngest elected councilor and works at the local diamond cutting facility, while Drygeese plays a vital part in the operations of the B. Dene Camp, a family endeavor led by his father. Drygeese also bears a lineage of Dene Chiefs—including his great-grandfather, who held the title during Queen Elizabeth’s visit to Yellowknife in the 1960s. Together, they ushered James into a sled linked to the snowmobile. With Drygeese at the wheel and Lynn sharing the sled with James, they traveled the last few hundred yards through the thick snow to arrive at B. Dene.

The camp, located at Drygeese’s great-grandmother’s birthplace, is a testament to the region’s enduring customs, featuring log cabins and teepees among snow-covered evergreens. It acts as an educational hub, immersing visitors in the Yellowknives Dene First Nation’s heritage and traditional way of life. Upon arrival, James, welcomed by the warmth of a community gathered around a fire, witnessed the ‘feeding the fire’ ceremony led by respected elder Jonas Sangris, a ritual honoring nature’s elements and ancestors. Everyone participated, adding tobacco leaves to a communal bowl before Mr. Sangris added it to the fire, symbolizing a connection to their ancestors. “The smoke rises to

our ancestors, who watch over us,” he said. The ceremony, highlighted by the sound of handcrafted drums and singing, deeply moved James and the others, underlining the deep bond between tradition, community, and the natural environment.

The group retreated to the warmth of the camp’s largest cabin, kicking off the evening with lively dancing initiated by the rhythms of Drygeese and his ensemble. The children, who recognized Lily James as the fairy tale figure from Disney’s Cinderella, were the first to take the floor, setting the stage for a memorable night. Charlene Liske, a community pillar with many roles, including coaching the local girls’ team for the Arctic Winter Games, took center stage. The Arctic Winter Games might sound obscure, but Liske detailed how these competitions, akin to an Arctic Olympics and held biennially since the 1970s celebrate games rooted in centuries-old indigenous practices, each honing skills vital for survival. One such game, the ‘stick pull,’ mimics the action of catching a slippery fish. With Charlene now holding a stick slick with Crisco to simulate the fish’s texture, Lynn pulls James to the center of the room. Positioned back-to-back, each clutched an end of the greased stick, ready to pull. Lynn claimed the first victory, but James called for a best-of-three challenge and triumphed in the second round. As the decisive round commenced, hands slippery, Lynn secured her victory, besting James

in a showdown that left everyone basking in communal laughter.

As the cabin filled with the scent of fish stew and bannock, a comforting biscuit-like bread, Lily James and Jonas Sangris discussed natural diamonds’ impact on the region. Sangris shared his story as the Chief of the Dene First Nation before the diamond discovery. He recounted the early 1990s when economic instability loomed. He sought the wisdom of the elders, whose assurance, “Don’t worry, something will come up,” preceded the discovery of diamonds by merely a year—a moment Sangris still marvels at, as if the elders had foreseen the coming discovery and prosperity. Since 1999, the economic landscape of the Northwest Territories has surged by 80%, a boom credited to natural diamonds. Sangris was critical in negotiating terms with mining companies to ensure the community’s maximum benefit. These agreements prioritized local employment, local procurement, royalties for residents, special taxes, and crucial environmental safeguards. Today, diamond mining is the predominant contributor to the region’s GDP. The dwindling population has rebounded since their discovery, and other thriving industries like transportation, tourism, and real estate have emerged. Sangris exclaims with a smile that natural diamonds are “good for the people of the North…I hope we find more.”

As night fell, the camp’s festivities wound down, leaving James and the locals closely bonded through shared laughter. Yet, the time had come to journey back to Dettah on the snowmobile, leaving behind the warmth of the B. Dene Camp in search of another millennia-old natural wonder.

EVERY NATURAL DIAMOND IS ONE-OF-AKIND AND DEMANDS A TAILORED APPROACH TO MAXIMIZE BEAUTY.

James returned along the ice road toward the Arctic Duchess, a historic ship entombed in ice. Launched in 1961 and once visited by Queen Elizabeth II, this vessel now welcomes those eager to explore Arctic wonders and the Northern Lights. With the mercury dipping close to -40, the group sought refuge in a tent on the ice beside the ship when suddenly, it happened. The famed Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, began to streak across the sky. Beside Lynn, James watched the sky in awe. She listened as Lynn recounted ancient tales of the Northern Lights—stories of their origins and significance to her people passed down through generations. “That’s our ancestors there; it’s like they’re dancing

with us,” Drygeese says. The moment, imbued with magic, naturally connected the journey’s intent: Both the Northern Lights and natural diamonds share an ability to inspire awe, signify beauty, and remind us of the Earth’s capacity to create phenomena.

A few hundred kilometers north of Yellowknife are the three main diamond mines, including Gahcho Kué—a venture co-owned by De Beers Canada. To reach this remote marvel, James embarked on a brief flight aboard a compact aircraft destined for an ice and gravel runway near the site. The landscape transforms dramatically as we venture further north. Trees become sparse, eventually giving way to an expansive white canvas of ice—the Arctic Tundra, a stark yet mesmerizing wilderness. “It’s not surprising, when you see the beauty of the landscape, that these beautiful diamonds come from here,” says James. Before landing, the alien terrain reveals the mine, a solitary beacon of human resilience and ingenuity amidst the vastness. The comprehensive facilities at the mine site—ranging from essential services like a fire station and hospital to amenities such as a gym and cafeteria—offer a self-contained community for the hundreds of employees who call this place their temporary home, working twoweek shifts before returning home for a two-week break. Environmental monitors for De Beers, Mason Elwood, and Jarrett Vornbrock invite James along to see their efforts to safeguard this extraordinary environment. The journey takes an exciting turn onto The Tibbitt to Contwoyto Winter Road—The Ice Road popularized by the TV show “Ice Road Truckers.” Funded by diamond companies, it’s the world’s longest ice road, connecting the mines to Yellowknife every winter. This vital artery supports the mines’ yearly operations and provides invaluable access to local and indigenous communities, bridging distances across a landscape and saving days of off-road travel. Come winter, the tapestry of countless lakes here, nestled closely together, transform into a unified frozen expanse punctuated by brief overland crossings. Mason, Jarrett, and the environmental teams traverse this road almost daily, monitoring local wildlife, water quality, and everything to ensure the mine operations have as little environmental impact as possible.

Hours from the mine or any signs of civilization, Mason and Jarrett prepare for a water quality test on a nearby lake, undeterred by the harsh conditions. James, feeling the bite of the coldest temperatures yet, nearly -55 degrees, follows them out. With practiced ease, Mason and Jarrett clear snow to expose the ice, then drill through to access the water below. They lower a device to collect water at various depths destined for comprehensive testing. This rigorous process is replicated for every lake within miles of the mine to ensure its operations don’t affect the water. Mason and Jarrett’s dedication to environmental stewardship under such extreme conditions seems heroic, but they clearly love it. According to Mason, natural diamonds have given him “an incredible opportunity to work in a unique and fantastic place that provides opportunity for folks living here…and provide a way for the natural resources of this landscape to give back to the people.”

While still on the ice road, a message crackled through the radio, hinting at the possibility of caribou ahead. For James, an avid animal lover, the prospect of encountering wild caribou was worth a detour.

Monitoring the caribou herds is a critical part of Mason and Jarrett’s responsibilities, ensuring the mining operations had no negative effect on the animals. As James put it, “The animals take precedence;

DIAMOND MINING IS THE NORTH’S FUTURE.

it’s their home first.” Soon, Mason sees the herd near the road, prompting us to stop for a closer view. There, a few dozen caribou, including some adorable calves, trotted a couple hundred feet from us. James and the rest of the group once again braved the cold to get a better look, savoring this rare and beautiful encounter.

Back at the mine, James, in protective gear, explored a workshop with Darcy Sinclair, a figure deeply rooted in the indigenous community and a veteran in diamond mining for 26 years. Walking past trucks with tires twice her height, Sinclair shared his view with James, stating, “Diamond mining is the north’s future.” As Gahcho Kué’s mobile maintenance superintendent, he emphasized safety and the importance of skills training at the mine. Sinclair proudly said, “A lot of friends that have trained to work in the mining sector, now they’re actually running their own business,” underscoring the training’s role in providing versatile skills for various career paths. Reflecting on his transition to diamond mining after losing his job in mechanics, Sinclair acknowledges the pivotal role of natural diamonds in securing not just his future but that of the entire community.

After exploring the origins of natural diamonds, described by De Beers Volcanologist Dr. Crystal Mann as “standing inside an ancient volcano,” James visited the Rio Tinto splitting facility, a key location for sorting rough diamonds from the North like those from Diavik, owned by Rio Tinto. Greeted by Gaeleen Macpherson and Melanie Sangris, James was introduced to the sorting process while awing at the array of rough diamonds before them. Gaeleen, balancing roles at Diavik and as President of NWT Women in Mining, and Sangris, Diavik’s first female Tele-remote Scoop Operator, showcased the rough diamonds, some possibly mined by Sangris herself. They marveled at being the first few to see these diamonds since their formation over 3 billion years ago, a remarkable realization. Sangris’ journey in mining began with the Mine Training Society, underscoring the sector’s positive influence on the community. Before it, “I was having a hard time navigating what to do once I was out of school,” she recounted. James noted that their efforts have increased female participation in mining, with Gaeleen adding, “You hear people say, this has allowed me to stay in the North and raise families and contribute,” a sentiment both mothers agree is invaluable.

After their initial assessment, expert craftsmen take rough diamonds and sculpt them into the most sparkling version of themselves. Diamonds de Canada is one of these master craftsmen. Kateri Lynn, now a face familiar to James, introduced her to the intricate process. Within the facility, they secured a rough

diamond into a device that seemed out of a Star Wars film. She uses the device to scan each diamond to map out an optimal cutting strategy on specialized software. Every natural diamond is one-of-a-kind and demands a tailored approach to maximize beauty. With a clear ‘plan,’ the diamond was entrusted to Derrick Sangris, a maestro of a specialized laser cutting machine. Under his skilled guidance, a precision-guided laser intricately slices through the diamond to make each facet—a process that unfolds over hours. The journey from rough to radiance culminates at the polishing station, where each diamond, its surface roughened by the laser, is polished by hand against a wheel coated in diamond dust. With some help, James excitedly polished one of the diamond facets herself. Benjamin King, CEO of Diamonds de Canada, explains, “Our cutting facility is not just about transforming rough diamonds; it’s a vital catalyst for generating additional training and employment and enhancing the economic value that natural diamonds provide for the locals in the NWT.”

As the adventure concluded, James and other newfound friends returned to the Arctic Duchess to plunge into the frozen lake on this -30-degree night. Though shocking in its icy grip, this plunge was a moment of clarity and exhilaration. It was a fitting finale to a journey that had unveiled not just breathtaking vistas and the dance of the Northern Lights but also showed the significance of natural diamonds in the area, far beyond being merely an economic cornerstone. Surrounded by the quiet majesty of the Arctic tundra and the camaraderie of those who had shared this unique adventure, Lily James and her companions felt a profound connection to this place. The experience underscored the undeniable truth that natural diamonds, much like the Northern Lights under which they had formed, are not just awe-inspiring phenomena but integral to the fabric of life in the NWT.

LIKE A NATURAL DIAMOND, THE ACTRESS IS AUTHENTIC TO THE CORE AND SHINES BRIGHT

BY MAGGIE MORRIS

PHOTOGRAPHED BY ANDRÉS JAÑA

nathalie Emmanuel Gets Real

Chanel earrings, Fred Leighton necklace, Jacquie aiche body chain. Chanel jacket.

Nikos Koulis earrings, Maria Tash septum ring, Marlo Laz necklace, Hyde Park Jewelers ring, Tiffany & Co. ring. Valentino coat.

Mindi Mond earrings, Maria Tash septum ring, Tiffany & Co. necklace, Sorellina necklace and ring, Hyde Park Jewelers ring, Ten Thousand Things rings. Alberta Ferretti dress.

Valentino coat and denim jeans.

NATHALIE EMMANUEL HAS LONG BEEN ON OUR RADAR

for her bold jewelry style, sensitive but action-packed roles, and a steady rise to fame that–like a natural diamond–has naturally formed over time. Now, with lead roles in Francis Ford Coppola’s long-awaited sci-fi epic, Megalopolis as well as John Woo’s The Killer, she has more than earned her position as a crown jewel among today’s iconic stars. Only Natural Diamonds spoke with her about her work ethic, personal style, and what’s behind her natural glow.

What an amazing trajectory you’ve had. Since playing Missandei in Game of Thrones, you’ve sprung into several lead roles, notably with Die Hart, The Invitation, and two upcoming films, The Killer directed by John Woo, and Megalopolis directed by Francis Ford Coppola, putting you in this constellation of iconic stars. How does that feel?

Maybe it's the British modesty drummed into us never to think too much of ourselves, because it takes somebody like you saying, “Wow, look where you are” for me to pause and see where I am. It’s a very exciting time. There's a lot to be grateful for. I'm pinching myself a lot of the time. I never expected my life to be what it is.

What did you expect?

I mean, this never happens for most people - so many amazing artists never get the career that I have. I feel so lucky. Sometimes it feels like it's been fate, this otherworldly force outside

Nikos Koulis earrings, Hyde Park Jewelers necklace, Yeprem ring. Salvatore Ferragamo dress, By Far shoes.

I’M

PINCHING MYSELF A

LOT OF THE TIME.

I NEVER EXPECTED

MY LIFE WOULD BE WHAT IT IS.

of my control that said, “You get to do this”. I don’t take that for granted. I tend to downplay it, keep my head down, and just keep pushing myself...

I've just wrapped The Killer, John Woo’s remake of his 1989 film. To be given this responsibility as John's first female lead is incredible. Lots of stunts, and lots of physical training, and it's also a great character. There's a real heart and emotion within this thrilling, action-packed film.

You've been in a lot of action films - how is that for you? Are you an active, athletic person in that way?

I love action. My background is in dance. I started ballet at two years old and did contemporary, tap, street dance, all kinds. Stunt choreography is a dance. You typically train for fight sequences with the person you'll be shooting with. You get connected as you practice. It’s a mental game too, sensing where you can go faster or harder. When the day comes to shoot, it's so much fun. With this part (The Killer) there was much more to it than just the physical stuff. John shoots these very dynamic action movies, but he’s a romantic, even in his fighting sequences.

I wanted to talk a little bit about jewelry. What we choose to wear is a huge part of expressing ourselves. I know you have many piercings and wear lots of jewelry. First, can you share your first memory of a diamond?

My mum and dad used to have these two crystal ball things in our cabinet that I thought were diamonds. At the time there was a UK TV show called The Crystal Maze where competitors had to do challenges to find a crystal, so my sister and I thought these were rare, valuable diamonds in our house. We weren’t allowed to touch them, but when our parents went out, we’d go into the cabinet and hold them. (laughing)

As for real diamonds, my grandmother bought a lot of jewelry. She always wore a lot of big gold things with diamonds or precious stones.

Did she ever let you wear her jewelry?

Later in her life, she liked to gift people her jewelry. I've got a

couple of pieces of hers that I keep very safe. She gave me a ring that my granddad gave her for an anniversary or something. I need to get it resized before I wear it out, it would be awful to lose it. I lost my grandmother quite recently so with her passing I was immediately reflective about the impact she's had on me. She always had cool jewelry, she always wore big gold earrings and necklaces. Now I notice how I’ve been wearing jewelry like she did, not quite realizing that connection. Culturally too, you see it in the way hip-hop culture has influenced everybody with jewelry, but I think the styles of jewelry that I wear came from my grandma.

Can you talk a little bit about the jewelry you wear every day?

I'm a bit of a Magpie. I pick up trinkets and cool things in places - they become part of me. I have a diamond ring that I found in a jewelry shop in Egypt. I was on vacation after I wrapped my first lead role (in Four Weddings and a Funeral). That role was a lot of responsibility. When I wrapped, I thought “I can’t believe I did that”.

When I saw this diamond ring in Egypt, I wanted that ring for myself. It was so beautiful, with an interesting shape and colornot a yellow diamond, but slightly champagne-colored. It's set in such a pretty way, very small and delicate.

It wasn't as big and expensive as diamond rings can be, but it was a big thing for me to buy myself something that expensive. I'm not a frivolous person. Before then I'd never spent that much on anything. When you don't have generational wealth to rely on you think you have to save and always be careful with money. The fact that I bought this beautiful thing and didn’t put that money towards a home or some life responsibility, it was a very big deal. I had to convince myself it's okay, you did those months of working, so get yourself a ring girl! I love that ring. The fact that I could buy it for myself makes it even more special. I’m obsessed with it. I wear it every day on my pinky finger.

I love that story. The value held in jewelry is so personal. The heirloom you received from your grandmother, the ring you bought in Egypt, and the value they symbolize. These pieces mean so much.

Absolutely. That ring is far more valuable than what it costs to buy. Now, treating myself to nice things has become a practice. I always buy myself a Christmas gift and a birthday gift. Usually, a piece of jewelry or a treatment that I've wanted. I think it's important.

Are there any red carpet diamonds that you've worn that really made you feel special? Like you’d arrived?

One of the first times I wore borrowed diamonds – several rings with multicolored gemstones surrounded by diamonds. When the stylist I was using at the time told me what the pieces were worth I nearly choked on my cup of tea. The way human beings assign value, even status, or power, to things is fascinating. I hadn’t been in proximity to that before, so the idea that some-

Sophie Bille Brahe necklace, earrings and rings, Jacquie Aiche necklace, Fie Isolde bracelets. Salvatore Ferragamo tank top, Stella McCartney sweater and skirt.

Fie Isolde ear cuff, Fred Leighton earrings. Salvatore Ferragamo trench coat.

one was letting me wear those diamonds for a night was a big deal. I remember looking down at my hands all night overwhelmed by the worth of the jewelry, and the beauty in them. It's art. It's technique and skill and hours of work to create jewelry like that.

I love your sweatshirt.

I'm literally wearing a sweatshirt that says “Bruv, just eat the plants it's calm” (laughs). There's a UK rapper, JME. He's known for a genre of music called grime in the UK. He's been a real advocate for plant-based eating. I heard him in an interview talking about mass production of meat or dairy or something, and then he just said, nonchalantly, “Bruv, just eat the plants it’s calm”. It made me laugh. So, my friend put it on a jumper for me! I know you're very conscious about what you eat and put in your body. Could you talk about your decision to eat vegan and what that means to you?

I was in LA for work about 10 years ago, and a friend of mine was there at the same time studying holistic nutrition. She was telling me about the link between diet and disease, particularly with women's cancers. When I asked her about the initial benefits of going vegan, she said, “You might feel more energetic and have better sleep and more mental clarity”. So, I decided to try it for a week. It’s easy to eat vegan in LA.

People started commenting on how well I looked. Someone said, “You're glowing what’s going on?” And I was like, “Am I?” I noticed my digestion was better. I was waking up with more energy and feeling more mentally clear. So, I decided to continue. I started to cook for myself which was a disaster at first. My family is Caribbean, and I wanted to make plant-based eating work and still feel a connection to my cultural food. I got into Google and found there's a lot of vegan food in the Rastafarian religion. All this stuff came up with Ital and its mentality around food and health. The way they eat from the earth, it's very unprocessed and organic. I started making these big pots of Ital stews. When I went back to the UK my mum made a big goat curry, rice and peas, the plantains all my favorite foods. It was delicious, this home-cooked comfort food, but it just didn't feel right anymore. My family was very supportive. My mum is vegan now too. Wow, that’s so interesting to hear – like so many things passed down through family, food holds generational stories as well. That’s so beautiful how you sought to stay connected to your Caribbean roots while making big changes around what you eat.

Absolutely. We have a few Rastafarians in our family. Later on, the feelings around animal welfare and environmental stuff came up - once you start going down that rabbit hole you can't unsee certain things. We have a responsibility as humans to look after the planet we live on. Changing one meal has a huge impact in terms of your carbon footprint if you work out how much water it takes to make one beef burger or how much land has been deforested to graze that one cow that your beef burger came from. You do have a very authentic glow about you.

I don’t know what to say. I was just trying to come up with some self-deprecating things to say. I'm English and I don't know how to take a compliment. Thank you. I'm in a strange industry that can be all about the superficial. It's easy to get caught up in all of that, so the idea that someone sees authenticity in me, it's a real compliment.

Photographer, Andrés Jaña; Stylist, Alexandra Mandelkorn; Creative Director, Lizzy Oppenheimer; Hair, Neeko; Makeup, Beau Nelson; Manicurist, Vanessa Sanchez; Entertainment Editor At Large, Glynis Costin; Creative Production, Petty Cash Production; Set Design, Gille Mills; Set Assistants, Nicky Buzzerio, Dirk Knibbe; Lighting Director, Eliot Oppenheimer; Photo Assistants, Tony Chiappetta, Kurt Lavastida; Digital Tech, Mitchell Guerrero; Fashion Assistant, Drew Cockrell.

WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY AS HUMANS TO LOOK AFTER THE PLANET WE LIVE ON.

Beyond R

Compare BY GRANT MOBLEY

PHOTOGRAPHED BY LEO BIEBER

The Argyle Violet oval fancy deep greyish bluish violet diamond weighing 2.83 carats.

the creation of natural diamonds is nothing short of a cosmic ballet choreographed by nature’s hand. Over a billion years ago, the perfect confluence of extremities was necessary for their formation—a “Goldilocks” scenario of heat and pressure, occurring precisely where essential elements existed. This already makes natural diamonds a rarity, but the journey doesn’t end there. For these gems to escape their deep-seated birthplaces over 100 miles beneath the Earth’s surface, volcanic eruptions had to ensue directly in the path of where diamonds had formed. These eruptions propelled the diamonds upwards, rushing them toward the surface. Without these violent geological events, diamonds would remain undiscovered forever. The alignment of such improbably perfect conditions makes the existence of natural diamonds a miraculous gift that continues to fascinate and bewilder scientists and enthusiasts alike. We can now add context to their rarity, estimating that if all the polished diamonds in history were put together, they wouldn’t entirely fill a London bus. However serendipitous and remarkable their mere existence is, occasionally, a natural diamond is discovered that is so extraordinary it redefines the boundaries of what is thought possible. This is the story of four such breathtaking discoveries.

THE ARGYLE VIOLET

In 2015, in the depths of Australia’s famed Argyle Diamond Mine, nestled an extraordinary discovery, ‘The Argyle Violet,’ a 2.83-carat oval diamond of unimaginable rarity. This stunning gem, the largest of its kind, “is so significantly larger than any other violet diamond that it virtually defines its own class of rarity,” says Gemologist Tom Gelb. Designated by GIA as ‘Fancy Deep Greyish Bluish Violet,’ it is a monumental find.

The Rising Sun round brilliant fancy reddish orange diamond weighing 1.49 carats and The Setting Sun round brilliant fancy brownish orangey red diamond weighing 1.52 carats.

The original 9.17-carat rough took many months of meticulous planning, cutting, and polishing by a single master craftsman to transform. The diamond marked a thrilling chapter in the Argyle mine’s storied legacy, celebrated as the source of over 90% of the world’s pink diamonds. Diamantaire and color diamond expert Larry West, who owns the gem, remembers, “When I first saw the colors coming from Argyle, I knew they were special because of their saturation and intense color tone that hadn’t been seen before.”

“The specific, high frequency of violet discovered at Argyle is not found anywhere else,” West explains. “Of all the violet diamonds ever discovered at Argyle, this one stone accounts for nearly 25% of the total carats.”

Don’t confuse them with natural blue diamonds like the famous Hope Diamond. While blue is among the rarest diamond colors, violet stands in a class of its own and owes its color to different phenomena. A recent paper by the GIA revealed that over a ten-year period of diamonds sent for testing, blue diamonds were approximately ten times more common than violet.

Gelb says, “The cause of violet in diamonds is still debated. They have been found to have both Hydrogen and Nickel within them, so some combination of these two elements is likely the cause. But, like orangey reds, these diamonds are so rare, there is not enough available for study.”

West says, “There is a great argument for the Argyle Violet being the rarest diamond ever found.”

THE RISING SUN AND THE SETTING SUN

Fourteen years ago, a rare diamond collector, Mr. Kushal Sacheti, came across a diamond so rare that even seasoned collectors like himself would likely never see something like it in person. However, there are more incredible parts of the story. What made his find so extraordinary was that he already owned a diamond that was a near-perfect match. It was a seemingly impossible find. Now known as The Rising Sun and The Setting Sun, this matched pair of diamonds manifest the most elusive diamond hues: red and orange. These round brilliant cut gems, weighing 1.49 and 1.52 carats, respectively, are miracles of nature and probability.

The Gemological Institute of America’s (GIA) designation of their colors—‘fancy reddish orange’ for The Rising Sun and ‘fancy brownish orangy-red’ for The Setting Sun—barely does justice to their visual harmony. To the unaided eye, they are a near-perfect match, their fiery glow reminiscent of the celestial dance at dawn and dusk.

Gemologist Tom Gelb explains, “To have a matched pair like this beggars belief and seems almost impossibly lucky.” The Rising Sun and The Setting Sun are believed to be the largest

matched pair of diamonds with red color to exist. Their serendipitous pairing is nothing short of destiny.

According to Gelb, the genesis of their mesmerizing hue is up for debate. He says, “So few orangey reds have ever been discovered that I wouldn’t even hazard a guess.” Many experts agree that the red color is due to enough heat and pressure within the Earth to introduce structural anomalies at a molecular level. These conditions often destroy potential red diamonds, making their survival a phenomenon. Conversely, according to Gelb, orange color can have two causes. “One is due to nitrogen atoms replacing carbon atoms, and the other is still unknown. There are simply not enough of these diamonds available to study.”

This pair shows nature’s capacity to create the sublime out of the extreme and how even the most unlikely pairs can unite to form a legacy of unparalleled splendor.

JONKER I

In January 1934, Johannes Jacobus Jonker unearthed the Jonker diamond in South Africa, a colossal 726-carat gem that quickly triggered international excitement. It was the fourth largest diamond ever found at the time and rumored to be a fragment of the famed Cullinan, the world’s largest diamond. The rarity of a diamond this size placed it firmly under the global spotlight. Sir Ernest Oppenheimer first purchased it before selling it to the legendary jeweler Harry Winston in 1935. Winston famously shipped it uninsured to New York for just 64 cents, unveiling it to a captivated audience of reporters.

Winston toured the diamond across America, photographing it with celebrities like Shirley Temple before entrusting it to diamond cutter Lazare Kaplan. Kaplan’s meticulous planning over almost one year culminated in the cutting of the diamond into 13 pieces, with the largest, the emerald cut Jonker I, initially at 142.90 carats and later refined to 125.35 carats. Its size alone would place it in the history books; however, its unrivaled lack of color and near-flawless clarity make it a true marvel. Gemologist and world-leading diamond expert Tom Gelb explains, “A diamond of this size rarely withstands the billions of years of formation, extreme conditions, and the violent volcanic journey to the surface.” The Jonker I traversed through royal hands, mysteriously disappearing after King Farouk’s fall but resurfacing in Queen Ratna of Nepal’s possession and reappearing at a 2023 exhibition in the Los Angeles Natural History Museum after decades of not being seen.

The current owner, Ibrahim Al-Rashid, said, “My father purchased the stone in the early 80s and it has been in our family ever since. It’s one of several notable pieces we have invested in over the years. I am keenly aware that owning and touching something valuable and unique is a privilege. Besides the sparkle and beauty, I feel a spiritual connection with Earth when I hold the Jonker I. I get lost looking at the stone every time I hold it.”

The Jonker I - 125.35 carat emerald cut white diamond.

BY JANE ASHER

Wempe earrings, Cartier rings. Vintage Paco

Rabanne sweater and vintage Prada briefs from

The Ruby LA, vintage Prada shoes and vintage bag from Lidow Archive, Capezio tights.

Joey’s NEXT ACT

JOeY KING

stepped into many different personas for the roles she’s taken on in her career. Most recently, she portrays Halina Kurc in Hulu’s We Were the Lucky Ones, a moving story of a Jewish family’s survival during the Holocaust in Europe. But for Only Natural Diamonds, King embodied the diamond dreamgirl, wearing jaw-dropping natural diamond pieces from Bulgari, Cartier, Tiffany & Co, and more.

King is no stranger to the set life and absolutely shines in front of the camera. Behind the scenes, she feels like that friend from school who you may not keep in touch with daily, but every time you see her it’s like no time has passed at all. A believer in going with your gut, whether in her next film projects or finding ways to take care of our planet, Joey shares her aspirations from her career to her natural diamond jewelry collection. You’ve been in the industry since you were four years old (!!), how would you say your approach to taking on new roles, to preparing for roles has changed as you’ve gotten older?

Taking on new roles is interesting because I think my taste has developed in such a different way as I have gotten older and it has changed so much over the years. My taste when I was eleven of course varied from when I was sixteen. And my taste when I was sixteen is so different from my taste now. And I think the best part is that I look at the roadmap of my career and I look behind me and it’s kind of just an amazing way to capture time and all the things that I’ve done.

But right now, I’m just following my gut and [trying to] say no to a lot of things that maybe I would’ve said yes to not that long ago and try to explore what is interesting to me now. I’m not going to try to guess. I don’t like to have a five-year plan. I’m not try-

ing to guess who I’m going to be at that time. But I really do pick roles based on who I am today, and how I feel in the moment. And in terms of character preparation, each role is a different kind of set of tools. So how I prepare for We Were the Lucky Ones is going to be very different from how I prepare for A Family Affair. Every role is a different set of tools. Each one just requires a different kind of personality.

What was it like going from those more lighthearted films like Kissing Booth to something more serious like The Act?

I feel very blessed that I’ve been able to play with the kinds of characters and roles I take on. I was in the middle of filming the Kissing Booth movies and I did The Act. That was a wonderful experience for me. I think that being part of those light-hearted films and transitioning into more adult projects, I feel very lucky because making that transition is not always seamless for some people and it’s tough and it requires real work. Sometimes it’s an uphill battle. But I really am so excited to discover more about myself in that way and see what I am capable of. Because I believe in myself, of course, but it’s also very exciting to get those opportunities to prove to yourself that you can flex that muscle.

KING HAS

I wanted to talk about your beautiful engagement ring since we’re here for the diamonds! What went into the design process? Was it a big surprise to you?

So my husband has incredible taste. He’s very good at curating an aesthetic, a taste. I knew that he was planning on proposing at some point. I didn’t know when. But when he asked me if I wanted to be involved in the ring process I said no, I said I trust you more than I trust myself, to be honest, with the jewels, the whole gamut. But he [eventually] asked me to get involved a little bit and wanted my input and showed me a bunch of different things that he thought were beautiful and really cool. I’m so glad he asked me to get involved because I had so much fun looking with him. He had found Mociun and he was curious if I liked the design direction because it was very unique and less totally traditional. I was obsessed.

I did go to [designer Caitlin Mociun’s] store in Brooklyn with my sisters on a girl’s trip and look at all these rings that I thought were absolutely spectacular. When I saw my ring it was very clear that that was the one I fell in love with. It was just absolutely stunning. And so leaving the store, knowing that that was the one, I had my sisters communicating with him just so I wasn’t doing it, and then months later, seeing it in this beautiful little box as he was proposing to me was just so amazing. The ring’s name is called The Structure of the Cosmos. It’s one of a kind. Caitlin Mociun is so talented. I never got to meet with her. I met with her wonderful employees. I was in awe over all the rings online. I knew I had to see them in person.

I think that’s the beauty of natural diamonds, too, because they come from the earth and they hold this energy. It is important to touch and feel them.

I wanted to be able to interact with them and figure that outbecause they’re so exciting and fun and just unique. I knew that I wanted to see what felt like my personality on my hand. Speaking of jewelry, your wedding was absolutely stunning, I was obsessed with the photos. And I noticed you wore a really gorgeous pair of earrings.

My lovely stylist, Jared Eng, was so wonderfully involved with the process of getting me all the wonderful things that I wore from Oscar de la Renta and sourcing all the jewelry for the wedding from Zydo.

I have a big personality, I am a very playful person, I like bright colors, I wanted my wedding to feel very bright, lots of color in the flowers and the decor. But I also wanted all the elements of my outfit - my jewels, my dress - to feel classic but in this way that had my personality infused into it. And so having long, dangly earrings with flowers on them, and my dress was covered in flowers... I love things that add movement. Every time I turned my head and would laugh and smile, they would have life to them. Jewelry can make you feel like yourself. And I think that having fun with that is one of the things that makes me feel most myself.

Reference

Verdura earrings, Kwiat necklace, Tiffany & Co. bracelet, For Future

Vintage bracelet, Rahaminov bracelet, Fred Leighton ring, Fernando Jorge ring, De Beers rings.

Vintage Dolce & Gabbana bodysuit from Paumé Los Angeles.

Briony Raymond ring, Van Cleef & Arpels brooch worn on vintage hat from Lidow Archive.

I AM SO EXCITED TO DISCOVER MORE ABOUT MYSELF AND SEE WHAT I AM CAPABLE OF.

Belperron earrings, David Gardner’s Jewelers bracelet, De Beers bracelet worn as anklet, Pomellato ring. Vintage Albert Capraro gown from Paumé Los Angeles, vintage Saint Laurent hat from Lidow Archive. Tony Bianco shoes, The Ruby LA.

Wempe earrings, Cartier rings.

Fred Leighton earrings, For Future Reference Vintage bracelet. Vintage coat from Paumé Los Angeles, vintage gloves from Lidow Archive.

Gabriel & Co jewelry.

Vintage shirt and vintage Dolce & Gabbana skirt from Lidow Archive.

Jewelry can make you feel like yourself.

Jewelry is such a form of self-expression and it can feel so personal too.

My ring is definitely the most special piece of diamond jewelry that I have. Before this ring, jewelry was something I just didn’t really know much about or felt totally comfortable buying because I felt like it’s an investment. If you want to have nice jewelry, it’s a lot of money. So I was always like, well I don’t really know what’s what so I don’t want to make a mistake. But then looking for my ring and finding it made me fall in love with jewelry so much.

Do you have any jewelry pieces that were passed down to you from your family

My grandmother’s engagement ring - she just didn’t wear it very much because it was so delicate. But my oldest sister, it is now her ring, which I find to be so special. And I think it’s great. I think it’s very, very wonderful and very fair that the oldest gets it. Fashion, jewelry, it was something that was so not a thing in my family. That’s why I think I have such a profound - first fear and now love of those things because I feel like I’m getting to discover on my own how special it can be but it has taken me time. Jewelry is definitely an investment and can feel very luxurious. But I feel like luxury can come in a lot of shapes and forms so what does luxury mean to you?

Honestly, I’m such a foodie and I love finding just very good restaurants. That can mean anything, that can mean high end, that can mean hole in the wall. Someone who is behind the kitchen and is just passionate and makes really good freakin’ food. I think luxury to me is being able to take the time to find amazing food wherever you are. That’s why I love traveling and I find travel luxurious but I find the search and the hunt of traveling and getting to know a place through food to be the most luxurious part.

Yeah, I feel like food is such a good way to get to know a culture when you’re out in the beyond, just finding the good spots.

I like to show love through cooking and I think that it’s a form of showing someone, “Icare so much about you.” I think that is also luxurious, feeling loved. I find great comfort and lots of class and all these things in food. Food is luxury.

Some of your costumes from your projects have been so transformative, like your costumes in this recent project you’re in but also, The Princess and The Act you were in crazy costumes, even the Taylor Swift music video, you were a spy. Do you have a favorite costume moment from some of these projects?

I absolutely love so much the ability to play with costumes because it immerses you into your character. Like you said, for We Were the Lucky Ones, just stepping into those gorgeous vintage pieces makes you feel like you are right there in that time and it makes you ready, as an actor, to get in that headspace. I think clothing can be so helpful and fashion is just so magnificent. I also think, like you said, for The Act, the pieces that were sourced were so specific, so dead on, perfect for what we were making.

I have had so many favorite fashion moments in shooting because it’s a very different world wardrobe in your shows versus red carpet and styling and even fittings for interviews. It’s not at all the same. I almost feel like there’s more room to play with the wardrobe on set, it’s what’s going to be the most honest to what this character is. I think there is a lot of freedom there.

I would have to say that on We Were the Lucky Ones, Lisa Duncan, our costume designer, really blew me away with the stuff she was able to source that was truly from the time. There was one of each thing. And I felt very lucky to be able to put those pieces on and tell such a historical story.

What drew you to this latest project, We Were the Lucky Ones?

It’s such a beautiful story. I love Georgia Hunter’s book so much and I found it to be so compelling. I’m of Jewish background. And it’s very special to be able to find material that you feel so connected to. Because the best part about what we do is that we play characters and a lot of those times we don’t have anything in common with those characters and that’s really cool because you have to really just pretend fully. But then it’s very rare to find something that you actually have a connection of some kind to, that makes you feel so much in your heart and in your soul.

This was such a challenging role, so challenging to dive into this material and become this person and do the dialect work and also the emotional nature of these scenes. It’s also so special to have that connection even though this role was so hard. But when you feel that personal tie, the way you get into character is so emotional and so immersive.

And so that drew me to the project, of course, the people involved. Georgia Hunter is the kindest person in the world. Erica Lipez, who is our showrunner, is remarkable. Tommy Kail has become a close friend, who I just love so much. These people are really kind but they are also really talented. They take really good care of a story like this. Because a story like this deserves to be respected by the people involved. And it just felt like everyone was being as sensitive and as respectful to the material as it deserved. I think our finished product really shows how much heart we put into the project.

You recently partnered with an animal shelter to help find forever homes. I can tell you’re a dog lover. Are there any other causes that are close to your heart?

I do a lot of work with animal causes and I love partnering with them and finding ways to get more awareness out there with people who can adopt or foster or even just donate and volunteer. That is so important to me. But I also would love to get more involved and find some charities that feel really aligned with my views on climate change and environmental causes as well. Because, how are we going to take care of any of these other big issues if we don’t take care of our home? I’d love in the future to align more with environmental causes as well. What do you see as next for you and for your career?

This year is going to be a really exciting and busy year. I have the rest of We Were the Lucky Ones coming out, Uglies is supposed to come out this year, Despicable Me is coming out early July, and my movie A Family Affair is also coming out this year with Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron. I am so grateful for this year. It’s going to be so exciting and so busy. I have a lot of hopes and dreams for myself and I have been able to find a lot of gratitude for how lucky I’ve been so far. But the main thing that I want for myself, which is bigger than any five-year or ten-year plan, is that I hope to have longevity. This is my favorite thing to do in the world and so I hope that I am able to figure out some way that I can do this til’ I’m well into my nineties.

Joseph Saidian & Sons earrings, Rahaminov choker, Briony Raymond necklace, Wempe necklace. Vintage sweater from Clothed LA, vintage Roberto Cavalli gloves from Paumé Los Angeles.

Verdura earrings, Kwiat necklace.

Photographer, Daniel Clavero; Stylist, Sean Knight; Creative Director, Lizzy Oppenheimer; Hair, Ryan Richman; Makeup, Allan Avendaño; Manicurist, Thuy Nguyen; Entertainment Editor At Large, Glynis Costin; Creative Production, Petty Cash Production; Photo Assistants, Patrick Molina, Justin Brooks, Evan Local; Digital Tech, Kyle Makrauer; Fashion Assistants, Cameron Greene, Rachelle.

Bulgari necklace. Vintage scarf from Clothed LA.

Left: Branch Trembleur Earrings from the REZA Nature Series; Right: Olivier Reza, Chief Executive Officer of Reza.

Romancing the Stone

OLIVIER REZA ON WHAT MAKES

A MODERN HEIRLOOM

By Sam Broekema Photographed by Jennifer Livingston

Clockwise: Petillant Necklace from the REZA Petillant Series; Spirale Earrings from the REZA Slope Series; Tour Ring from the REZA Tour Series; Mont Blanc Cuff from the REZA Contour Series; Eventail Cuff from the REZA Dune Series.

Surrounding Olivier Reza’s desk in New York City are two computer monitors, family portraits in handmade frames, a toy schnauzer, and a tray of the rarest natural diamonds in the world. Add to this an eclectic and considered collection of modern and tribal art and you get it.

This juxtaposition of the modern, the sentimental, and the precious is what makes the Maison founded by his father, Alexandre Reza, like no other.

Natural diamonds are in his DNA. The Reza family worked as gem dealers for generations in Iran, working with private clients and eventually the storied houses of Place Vendôme in Paris. “Even the fact that my father’s family was based in Mashhad, in Iran, in the 18th century, was because the Shah, the ruler at the time, selected several families from Tehran to manage the Persian treasure. It had been a very long tradition in my family to trade gems and the community we come from is known for that. When my family settled in Russia, they did that. Then, when they moved to France, they did the same thing. So, it’s part of who I am, this attraction to beautiful materials.”

Alexandre Reza amassed an unparalleled collection of gems that made him world-famous, but his business sense helped him spot an important gap in the market in the 1970s. The historic brands did not respond to a new demand for yellow gold and matching sets of a single kind of gemstone. Swooping in to capture this demand, the house of Reza was born. For both father and son, the jewelry always begins with

the stone. “Heirlooms for us have a lot to do with what we aim for. It starts when we select a stone and decide it needs to be part of the collection,” explains Reza. “We think about heritage, we think about timelessness. I project myself years out, not knowing what will be, but I know that, as a human being, I will still love what I am seeing now. If it’s good, it will make sense. I not only think about the client of today, but I think about the human body. And if it works today on the human body there is no reason it won’t work tomorrow. Continuity, value, longevity, all this comes down to timelessness. The heirloom is a very important concept because it’s the guide for every decision we make.”

It wasn’t immediately obvious that Olivier Reza would take over the family business. “I did so many things. I went to law school, I went to business school, I worked on Wall Street. I did fine in all these things, but it took me a very long time to feel good about what I was doing. That really happened when I was able to do [Reza] full-time.”

Reza credits his best education to his time in the auction world. “At Sotheby’s, I was an investor on the board. What I learned in general from auction houses was like an incredible school. I bet the majority of dealers have been trained at

Ruban Bracelet and Earrings from the REZA Ruban Series.

Buckle Bracelet from the REZA Nexus Series. Right: Junction Earrings from the REZA Crescent Series.

Junction Earrings from the REZA Crescent Series

Left: Pouget Necklace from the REZA Heritage Archive; Right: Swirl Ring from the REZA Contour Series and Tour Ring from the REZA Tour Series.

Photographer, Jennifer Livingston; Photo Assistant, Hans Olson; Digital Tech, Kylie Coutts.

auction. I was trained at auctions as both a buyer and seller. You just see a lot of things. Museums have pretty static collections. Auction houses see things come and go. They allow you to correlate what your instinct and eye tell you with what the pricing mechanism of an auction house tells you. You see what’s nice and you can verify during the auction whether it achieves a good price. It’s a validation mechanism. It is a place where you get to see a lot of different things and understand what is quality and not quality. You educate your eye, and you also get validation on whether something is good because market pricing is such an honest indication of value.” He still remembers the feeling of seeing paintings by Salvador Dalí and the blue diamond of Mrs. Rachel “Bunny” Mellon, which set the highest price per carat for any diamond sold at auction at the time.

It is telling that he equates nearly priceless diamonds and paintings. Art and gemstones share an important connection for Reza. “I heard the director Francis Ford Coppola quoted as saying, ‘For me, every movie is an adventure and if you look at the first movie I did and the last movie I did, they’re completely different.’ I feel very close to that statement because every time I design a piece of jewelry, I take it as an adventure. And every artist out there has been inspired by others in their category or in other categories, and by their surroundings.”

“Art is a very important part of my life. Every time I discover an artist, I like to dig in and see what they’ve done and how they’ve done things differently, how they have approached a subject. It has really opened the power in forms and shapes. I find it extremely fun and exciting to be able to

THE HEIRLOOM IS A VERY IMPORTANT CONCEPT BECAUSE IT’S THE GUIDE FOR EVERY DECISION WE MAKE.

take some of those forms, shapes, and techniques, that are done with worthless materials, and make jewelry that doesn’t resemble them but is inspired by them. I take on the challenge of adapting some of those ideas into ornaments that fit with the human body and enhance the human body.”

Some things can’t be learned in school or through research and must be passed on from generation to generation. “I realized recently that the time I spent with my father and listening to him talk about his jewelry had really sunk in and had become a reflex for me. How a stone is set in a way where you can see part of the body is something that he taught me. He said, ‘Look, a stone is beautiful at every angle.’ It’s important to have a design that reveals part of the body the same way a dress will reveal some skin. Then, make sure that the body of the ring is curvy. You have a cleavage in the ring so it’s not flat. Play with curves and make it visually interesting, create perspective. That is something that I learned from him, and I repeat in my own designs.”

So, what’s next for the Maison? “I try to go at it day by day. I’m focused on three things. One: making great pieces that I would own.” Reza sets the bar high, “Everything we make I always ask myself if it’s something I’d own. Two: building an extremely desirable and trusted brand. And three, treating every client with care and giving them an amazing experience. I feel if you do those three things, everything will come.”

Interview has been condensed and edited for length

by Sarah Cristobal

Tyrell

Born this

way

photographed by Tina

Polacheck’s Jewelers earrings, Le Vian necklace, Norman Silverman Bracelet, Pomellato ring, Polacheck’s Jewelers rings. Vintage top and skirt, Saint Laurent shoes.

A SELF-MADE STAR WHO LIVES FOR THE SPOTLIGHT, LISA RINNA SHOWS NO SIGNS OF SLOWING DOWN.

The ever-determined Lisa Rinna, 60, is so focused that she won’t Zoom with the camera on. “I'm turning it off because I distract myself,” says the actress and former cast member of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, clicking into audio mode after offering a quick on-screen hello. “It's easier that way.” The topic du jour is natural diamond jewelry, and though she professes to “not be a big jewelry girl” her collection is sizable. Most of it comes from her husband, the actor Harry Hamlin, and she also inherited some pieces from her mother, Lois who passed away in 2021. Rinna places special emphasis on the gems that have been worn by three generations of women in her household, including her Gen Z model daughters, Delilah, 25, and Amelia, 22. These beloved jewels are not only heirlooms but also gleaming reminders of how far she and her family have come. It’s funny that you don’t want to see yourself on camera given the nature of this shoot and others.

I'm an actor and I like to play characters. Doing regular photo shoots came along after I'd been on a reality show for eight years and I started to wear wigs and explore fashion. But you're still limited in an arena like that so when I got to work with amazing people like Carine Roitfeld and Martin Parr [for CR Fashion Book], it was so iconic to be wearing amazing designers that I’ve always wanted to wear. I think I was born to express myself in those ways. It's just so much fun. I don't mean to offend but I have never seen Real Housewives. Good for you. You’re so lucky.

Do you have an enormous walk-in closet? Or a room full of wigs?

I have many spaces that are dedicated to that. I have a room that's got lots of clothes and shoes like a walk-in closet, but it's a whole room of stuff. I have a really amazing vintage collection that I have been acquiring for the last 32 years.

What are some of your favorite pieces?

I have an amazing [Azzedine] Alaïa dress from 1994. I've got pieces from the Tom Ford Gucci era that are worth quite a lot. I have great pieces from the major designers who were designing at those houses back in the day.

Are those pieces you bought in real time?

Harry bought me the Alaïa dress. I'd always loved fashion, but I couldn't afford it. So when I met him and he bought me that dress, it was like he unleashed the fashion monster. Then I thought, OK, I'm going to spend the next 30 years making sure I make enough money so I can buy these clothes because I love them so much.

Has Harry bought you jewelry over the years?

He has. The diamonds that he's given me were in his family. They’re connected to his mom or his grandmother. When my mom, Lois, died [in 2021] she left her diamonds to the girls.

All my jewelry is sentimental.

How would you describe some of those pieces?

One of my favorite pieces that Harry bought me early on was a diamond cross from Tiffany & Co. My wedding ring is a

Polacheck’s Jewelers bracelet, Norman Silverman ring. Versace dress and shoes, Busted Brand gloves and leggings.

Left: Norman Silverman necklace, bracelet and ring, Icerock brooch, Le Vian necklace worn as bracelet. Richard Quinn bodysuit, Wolford tights, shoes from stylist’s archive. In hands: diamond jewelry from Andreoli, Norman Silverman, Icerock, Nikos Koulis.

Right: Icerock earrings, David Webb bracelet and ring, David Yurman bracelet. Soft Skin lingerie, Busted Brand top, stylist’s own tights.

Pomellato ring, Miraco ring, Norman Silverman bracelets. Full look by Ranze.

beautiful cushion diamond from his grandmother that he set in an antique Philip Press ring. Then I have this ring that is so stunning. Harry and I were walking up Madison Avenue in New York one day and looked in the window of Fred Leighton. There was this amazing ring with two big cushioned diamonds, a big square setting, and the diamonds were set next to it. Anyway, long story short, he made that style, put these diamonds in it from his mother and grandmother, and surprised me with this ring. To this day it is one of the most gorgeous diamond rings. You don't see me wearing it a lot because it's huge and I'm careful with it. You don't want to blind people with it.

Yeah, it's big and I love it, but I can't do yoga in it so I bring it out on special occasions. Harry is romantic in that way. I like it when he's really thought about it. That's when it means the most. For our 25th wedding anniversary, I got this really beautiful eternity diamond band that is sort of squishy so the diamonds move around.

Do you wear them all together?

Yes, and when I do, it's really spectacular. Truly nobody has anything quite like this.

Any other diamond jewelry moments that stand out for you?

Whenever you get an engagement ring, it's a pretty big deal. I always wear mine, but most of the women that I know don't wear their wedding rings. I'm one of the only ones. I wear my diamonds all the time. I never feel quite like myself unless I have them all on—three on one finger. What pieces did your mom leave to your daughters?

Her engagement ring—it had two diamonds put together—she gave it to the girls so they could each have one of the diamonds. I thought that was sweet. She had little rings that she loved and a little diamond tennis bracelet that Delilah wanted, so she gave them to Delilah. She had a Rolex that Delilah wanted. Amelia wanted some other things. Toward the end, my mom was like, “You guys pick what you want.” It’s meaningful to have those pieces.

How do you help your girls to navigate fame on their terms?

I'm not in there on a day-to-day basis, but I see everything. I’m on all the emails. We're always talking. It's all about communication. Also, they grew up in this business. They're not totally green. And because I am in the business and Harry's in the business, we talk to them about it. I think it just feels like a safe environment for them. I couldn’t talk to my parents about this business. Even if I did, they didn't understand it.

I LOVE TO MAKE PEOPLE GO, ‘OH MY GOD, LOOK WHAT SHE'S DONE NOW.’

What advice have you given them?

We're just very honest—it’s about making money. It has nothing to do with who you are, especially the modeling. You’re either right or you're not. It's very hard not to take that personally and yet we have a lot of conversations about not taking it personally.

We also talk a lot about kindness and gratitude because if you're not kind to everyone, if you're an asshole, and if you're not grateful for what you have, you're not going to make it. What was it like working with Delilah on the upcoming Lifetime movie, Mommy Meanest?

Well, Mommy Meanest is really great. It's based on the true story of a woman who cyberbullied her own daughter. I wanted to, you know, do something outside the box. So Lifetime brought this to me and I thought, well, it's pretty fascinating. I was a little bit scared by it because my character, Madelyn, is not the most likable but it was a really good challenge. We shot it in 15 days. It was great that Delilah was in the movie, but we only worked together one day. She got to see me as this character.

Did she have any commentary on your performance?

I think she appreciated it. I think she watched it and thought, Wow, you know, that's my mom doing her thing. I could tell that she had a moment of that. And for me to see her playing a 17-year-old high school girl with other kids was really fun. It was fun to see each other in these roles that are not necessarily who we are.ot grateful for what you have, you're not going to make it.

Both you and your girls have done some wild fashion shoots. Can you shock each other at this point?

I get more excited about the things that they get to do. It takes a lot to shock me, but I think I shock them. What surprises you?

I'm pretty jaded. I feel very comfortable out of my comfort zone. If it shocks people, great. I love to shock people. I love to make people go, ‘Oh my God, look what she's done now.’

Zydo earrings, David Yurman necklace, Polacheck’s Jewelers ring, For Future Reference Vintage rings,Jade Ruzzo ring. Full look by Tako Mekvabidze.

Norman Silverman earrings and ring, Icerock bracelets.

Vetements top and skirt, Wolford tights, Saint Laurent shoes.

Polacheck’s

Jewelers earrings and rings, Le Vian necklace, Norman Silverman Bracelet, Pomellato ring, David Yurman ring, Made by Malyia ring.

I WEAR MY DIAMONDS ALL THE TIME. I NEVER FEEL

QUITE LIKE

MYSELF UNLESS I HAVE THEM ALL ON.

You seem like a total extrovert.

I am an extrovert. But if you saw me at home, I’m a bit of an introvert. I know it's hard to believe, but I don't go out all the time and I can be a bit of a recluse. I feel very comfortable expressing myself in magazines and whatnot. I've always been determined in that way. It's innate and I think the girls get that from me.

How is your beauty line, Rinna Beauty, coming along?

We launched it in 2020 during the pandemic when everyone was wearing masks. So the timing was not ideal, but it worked out somehow. We did it because I've had big lips for so many years and I have always wanted to do something with the lips. I came out with three lip kits. I've always been very entrepreneurial. I had a clothing line on QVC for eight years. I always see the value in that type of endorsement and branding.

Let's end on a jewelry note. Are there any pieces of jewelry that you would like to add to your collection?

It would be fabulous to have one of the Bvlgari snake necklaces or one of those big Cartier diamond rings with the Panther. I think a big old 25-karat Cartier diamond ring would be pretty cool, too. My friend actually has an emerald-cut Cartier 25-karat diamond ring that I would like to steal from him. I covet what's in his vault.

Wait, who is this special friend?

Jerrod Blandino is his name. He co-owned Too Faced Cosmetics and sold it to Estée Lauder [in 2016]. He's had brooches and other pieces custom-made that took two years to complete, which is pretty special. He once showed Erika Jayne and me one of his custom necklaces. He opened the box, and both of us saw it and ran down the hall. That was our reaction.

Do you have any jewelry icons besides Jerrod?

Well, Elizabeth Taylor and the Duchess of Windsor. You kind of have an Elizabeth Taylor essence. Has anyone ever mentioned that to you?

Wow, thanks. That's a compliment. No, no one has. But I can see now why you would say that. She was really ballsy. I like how she presented herself to the world.

Givenchy shoes. Photographer, Tina Tyrell; Stylist, Danyul Brown; Creative Director, Lizzy Oppenheimer; Hair, Gregg Lennon; Makeup, Adam Breuchard; Manicurist, Merrick Fisher; Entertainment Editor At Large, Glynis Costin; Creative Production, Petty Cash Production; Set Design, Robert Doran; Lighting Director, Eliot Oppenheimer; Photo Assistants, Tony Chiappetta, Tati Tate, Megan Rodriguez; Digital Tech, Mitchell Guerrero; Fashion Assistants, Nik Van Dalen, Molly Mundy.

FROM THE

TEN THOUSAND THINGS

When Ron Anderson and David Rees named their company Ten Thousand Things over 30 years ago, they were thinking of the line of ancient Chinese philosophy from the Tao Te Ching, “From one thing begets the ten thousand things.” To this day, the work done on their jeweler’s benches—which function as their only desks— proves how they live by this tenet.

Ron and David, who finish each other’s sentences and sometimes answer yes or no questions in unison, each have decades-old samples of jewels that didn’t work on their benches. “You look at things and think how to refine them and make them better,” explains Ron. “You never know what is going to inspire you,” David adds.

While Ron and David are totally in sync, they work very differently on the collection. Ron brings the fire with a torch he applies to metal work and David spends a lot of time carving waxes for gem shapes and gold pendants set with natural diamonds. All of it is done in the about 150-square foot back-of-house space of their tiny beloved and always buzzy West Village retail boutique in Manhattan where it is not unusual for a Supermodel who has been wearing the work for decades or an A-list movie star who lives in the neighborhood to drop by to say hello, hangout and shop.

1.

3

3.

The green tank

The jeweler’s benches

Ron: “We have had these benches for about 30 years. They are classics like the LED task lamps we use and the 10x jeweler’s magnifier headband goggles.”

2.

The vibe

David: Jewelers need a quiet environment because the work is intricate. So, we create our own little bubbles by listening to various things wearing Bose earbuds.

Ron: I’ve been playing the Lil’ Kim station on Pandora lately. David: Recently, I’ve been obsessed with the true crime podcasts about the Murdaugh murders.

Ron: “The green tank is oxygen and there is a propane tank too. It’s welder’s stuff used to power my torch. The combination of the two allows me to adjust the flame.”

4. Tools

David: “With jewelers, it’s all about tools. Sometimes we will sit back here and just nerd out on certain tools. When you lose a tool it’s instant fury and accusation, ‘Who took my favorite carving tool!?’”

5.

The green waxes

David: “Nothing makes me happier than transforming a square of wax into something. Most often they are for stone shapes, which we give to our Indian lapidaries. Sometimes they are for gold and diamond pieces.”

6.

Sketches on the wall

David: “Ron works directly with metal, but I do rough sketches and put them on the bulletin board among vintage inspiration pictures of Cher and Nina Simone in giant pendant earrings as well as a couple of decades-old pictures of Ron and I.”

Photographed by Andrew Werner

BRIONY RAYMOND, JACQUIE AICHE, AND TEN THOUSAND THINGS DESIGNERS RON ANDERSON AND DAVID REES

SHOWED US WHAT IT’S LIKE FROM WHERE THEY SIT EVERY WORKING DAY BY MARION FASEL

5.

BRIONY RAYMOND

Two years ago, vintage jewelry purveyor and designer, Briony Raymond moved into her grand by-appointment-only atelier located in Midtown Manhattan’s historic Fuller Building. The 4,000-square-foot space includes a welcoming area with De Gournay wallpaper and a marble floor with the company logo inset in brass.

Guests take a few steps toward an arrangement of jewelry cases surrounded by art and antiques where they can peruse the inventory that has proven to be irresistible to any number of celebrities. Beyoncé, Jennifer Lawrence, and Ayo Edebiri are a few who have worn Briony’s diamonds recently.

At the end of the long open space divided by arches in a style of architecture called enfilade is a sitting area with Schumacher sapphire cut velvet sofas and then Briony’s office and desk. “I wanted it to feel luxurious and fun,” explains Briony. “It is serious jewelry, but the process of acquiring it doesn’t need to be.”

1.

The desk

“My creative process begins and ends here on this 18th-century French desk. All my sketches are done here. I write a thank you note to every single person who buys a piece of jewelry at this desk. I review remounts and redesigns with clients. It’s as big as a draftsman’s table because I wanted enough space for everything to happen comfortably.”

2.

The silver frames and objects

“I have been a crazy antique silver collector since I was like 12. My dad was English. We spent every summer in England and the South of France where we went to Portobello Road and markets, and I fell in love with silver. I was fascinated by the repoussé work and the intricacy of the designs. The silver frames on and around my desk have pictures of my husband Luke and sons Rhys and Vaughn.”

3.

The drinks

I have an ice-cold martini at the end of the day. The can is Phocus, the only caffeinated beverage I drink. I bought the Murano glass pitcher during a trip to Venice. The Tiffany coasters are a tribute to my mother who always insisted on a coaster or an underplate on any beverage on a table.

3

4.

The monogrammed Louis Vuitton makeup case

I love makeup and products, creams, and serums so my makeup case is pretty much always near at hand. I used to do makeup for my friends growing up, including for prom.

The coins on the desk

The coins are part of a special commission from a client. They were all made during her birth year. We are going to do different bezels around each one in a necklace.

6.

The chocolates

“There are so many different wonderful jewelers in the world. I am so grateful when people come here and spend time with me. I enjoy having things like the chocolates, which are made for me by a small chocolatier, and offering them as a gesture of gratitude.”

1

2

THE DESK OF

Photographed by Vincenzo Dimino

3.

The jewelry

1.

The desk

The crystals

“All the different bowls of crystals represent a crystal from a time in my life when I needed a specific crystal to heal me and make me feel better. There are also trays of crystals waiting for me to manifest what they want to become.”

“It’s all different things from new collection pieces to my beads, some of which I am not ready to part with yet. There are some earrings for piercings. During Covid, I went from 4 to 9 piercings, and I am just about ready for more.”

4.

The Timex x Jacquie Aiche Watch

“From the collab, my favorite sunrise design is on my desk. The project all started shortly after my dad had been through many surgeries and he paraphrased the old Timex slogan, ‘I take a licking and keep on ticking.’ Right around that time, I got an email from Timex asking if I would consider a collaboration.”

2.

Campaign collage

“Those are my OG icons, the original babe crew including Emily Ratajkowski, Behati Prinsloo, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Chanel Iman. All the models I work with wore the jewelry before we collaborated. I can’t hire someone and just put jewelry on them. It doesn’t dance the same way.”

5.

The In and Out grilled cheese

“My desk is a reflection of my life and my kids brought that to me during our photo shoot when they were on their way back from school. I also have Kiehl’s Crème de Corps and probiotics, so I am moisturized, and my gut flora is on point.”

JACQUIE AICHE

Jacquie Aiche works out of a Bungalow in Beverly Hills that reflects the glamorous bohemian spirit of her expansive jewelry and lifestyle collection. In the main house, there is a yoga room next to the space used for shipping, a showroom, and a resident mystic advisor. Jacquie’s desk is situated in the back of the house in what was once a three-car garage. The entire home used to be where Jacquie lived with her husband, Ygal, and two children Luca and Zoe until she took it over. In the special converted space, where Jacquie began working in 2008, she does it all. It’s where she leads her team who she lovingly calls the “JA Tribe” and designs high profile one-of-a-kind creations like the elaborate diamond belly chain Rihanna memorably debuted while pregnant with her second child and the dazzling diamond “U” pendant Usher wore during his Super Bowl Halftime performance. Jacquie also comes up with new jewelry collections, works on her wildly successful collab of watches with Timex, and hashes out ideas for her popular marketing campaign as well as her lavish annual magazine the Bungalow Diaries.

Photographed by Vincenzo Dimino

RETAIL PARTNERS

Visit one of Natural Diamond Council’s official retail partners, offering a broad selection of high quality, ethically-sourced natural diamond jewelry.

NORTHEAST:

Cornell’s Jewelers, NY

Day’s Jewelers, ME/NH

Greenwich St. Jewelers, NY

Hamilton Jewelers, NJ

London Jewelers, NY/NJ

Lux Bond & Green, CT/MA

Orr’s Jewelers, PA

SOUTHEAST:

Aucoin Hart, LA

Davis Jewelers, KY

Diamond District, FL

Hamilton Jewelers, FL

Lee Michael’s, LA/MS

Loring & Co. Fine Jewelers, AL

Marquirette’s Exquisite Jewelry, AL

Shane Co, GA/KY/TN

Sissy’s Log Cabin, AR/MS/TN

Underwood Jewelers, FL

MID-ATLANTIC:

Bailey’s Fine Jewelry, NC

Donald Haack Diamonds, NC

MIDWEST:

Albert’s Diamond Jewelers, IN

Alson Jewelers, OH

James Free, OH

Lasker Jewelers, MN/WI

Lester Lampert, IL

R.F. Moeller Jeweler, MN

Razny Jewelers, IL

Shane Co, IN/KS/MO/MN

SOUTHWEST:

Bachendorf’s, TX

Ben Bridge, AZ/CO/NV/TX

BC Clark, OK

David Gardner’s Jewelers, TX

Hyde Park, AZ/CO

Lee Michael’s, TX/NM

Lewis Jewelers, TX

Shane Co, AZ/CO

Susan Eisen Fine Jewelry, TX

WEST:

Ben Bridge, AK/CA/HI/WA

Gleim The Jeweler, CA

Heller Jewelers, CA

Huntington Jewelers, NV

Hyde Park, CA

Frederic H. Rubel Jewelers, CA

Lee Read Diamonds, ID

Polacheck’s, CA

Shane Co, CA/OR/UT/WA

Skeie’s Jewelers, OR

Walters & Hogsett, CO

CANADA:

Bijouterie Italienne, Montreal

La Maison d’Or Jewellers, Ottawa

For more information, visit www.naturaldiamonds.com/official-retail-partner-locations

Natural diamonds help protect the lives of millions of wild animals globally, saving threatened species from extinction.