Girl’s Best Friend: A Bold New Perspective on Diamonds

April 22, 2021

By Katerina Perez

9 min read

When it comes to creating with diamonds, jewellers have a tendency to stick to classic designs that work to emphasize the beauty of their stones: these might include a riviera necklace, a solitaire or perhaps a tennis bracelet. But is the diamond deserving of such uniformity? What would happen if one were to move away from the generally accepted dogma and give free rein to one’s imagination?

Gemstones of the highest quality have an amazing ability to shock with their price —a fact which has the unfortunate side effect of discouraging experimentation. Luckily, there are exceptions to every rule, and it is through these that the jewellery art form is able to evolve.

De Beers Okavango Grace necklace from the Reflections of Nature High Jewellery Collection with blue, grey and pink diamonds

De Beers Okavango Grace necklace from the Reflections of Nature High Jewellery Collection with blue, grey and pink diamonds

 The De Beers Okavango Grace High Jewellery necklace with rough and polished diamonds

The De Beers Okavango Grace High Jewellery necklace with rough and polished diamonds

Take, for example, the jewellery brand De Beers, which, during Winter Haute Couture Week this year in Paris, presented a stunning new collection of high jewellery entitled Reflections of Nature. The centrepiece of the collection was the mesmerising Okawango Grace necklace with – and note well, readers – uncut diamonds in a rich variety of shades. These stunning diamonds sparkle both in the bracelet and earrings found in the set of the same name. Their shimmer is emboldened when placed next to the more traditional colourless round-cut diamonds, creating a spectacular sense of contrast between colourless, green and pink shades. De Beers has previously used rough diamonds in its Portraits of Nature collection as well as in the Talisman permanent line.

FORMS custom-cut colourless diamond and fancy yellow diamond rings

FORMS custom-cut colourless diamond and fancy yellow diamond rings

Swiss jeweller Boghossian has dedicated two collections – one entitled Kissing Gems and the other The Art of Inlay – to diamonds and gems that make use of a novel or unusual approach. The stones found in the rings, earrings and pendants of these constantly updated collections are fixed in a very unusual manner. One stone is placed on top of another (the second possessing a flatter cut) so that they appear to be barely touching or somehow immersed within one another. The result of this unusual setting is that the stones interact with light in a different way and can create new combinations of harmonious shades.

Messika x Kate Moss Collection earrings and necklace inspired by feathers

Messika x Kate Moss Collection earrings and necklace inspired by feathers

French jeweller Lorenz Baumer is known for his bold approach. One of his experimental design concepts – Tattooed Diamonds – takes a custom-cut diamond (perhaps a rose cut or portrait cut) with a larger table facet and lasers a sketch or small image onto its surface. For those seeking a personalised gift, the stone can be engraved with a name or a short inscription.

VAK Jewels Diamond Arch earrings

VAK Jewels Diamond Arch earrings

 VAK Jewels ring with hexagonal cut G colour VS1 clarity diamond and accenting diamonds

VAK Jewels ring with hexagonal cut G colour VS1 clarity diamond and accenting diamonds

 VAK Jewels The Divinie Tree diamond earrings

VAK Jewels The Divinie Tree diamond earrings

 VAK Jewels bracelet with portrait-cut diamonds

VAK Jewels bracelet with portrait-cut diamonds

Another jeweller who enjoys working with portrait-cut diamonds as well as rose diamonds is the founder of VAK Jewels, Vishal Kothari. He selects the most unusual diamonds and uses them in his designer earrings, rings, and bracelets, rather than relegating them to the simplest of solitaires. Kothari manages to create stunning compositions from an eclectic mix of unusual diamonds, creating precious artwork in wearable miniature.

Stenzhorn Una necklace and bracelet with invisible-set diamonds

Stenzhorn Una necklace and bracelet with invisible-set diamonds

If we are discussing auteurs in the world of diamond jewellery, it would be unforgivable to omit the German brand Stenzhorn. I never get tired of gazing upon the fruits of their Invisible Setting collection. The stones are so close together that it appears as if no metal separates them at all. Usually, rubies or square-cut sapphires are used by Stenzhorn – stones which can be found elsewhere in their work – but the founder of the brand, Klaus Stenzhorn, has continued to experiment, encrusting the Una necklace entirely with colourless diamonds. The result is literally and figuratively brilliant. As you can see readers, with desire and a certain amount of courage, one can start a revolution in the perception of even such a conservative stone as the diamond. Open your eyes and see the world anew!

Fernando Jorge

Fernando Jorge

Brilliant Clarity earrings with 7.55 carats of diamonds in 18k yellow gold

Boghossian

Boghossian

Kissing necklace with fancy colour diamonds

Lorenz Baumer

Lorenz Baumer

Tattooed Diamond ring

Chanel

Chanel

Eblouissante diamond ring from the Escale à Venise High Jewellery Collection

De Beers

De Beers

Okavango Grace ear climbers with rough and polished diamonds from the Reflections of Nature High Jewellery Collection

Stenzhorn

Stenzhorn

Ovidio necklace with 79.55 carats of invisible-set diamonds

Boghossian

Boghossian

Kissing earrings with heart-shaped pink diamonds and pear-shaped diamond drops

Gubelin

Gubelin

Pear-shaped diamond ring with multi-cut diamond shoulders

Buccellati

Buccellati

Bezel-set diamond bracelet in yellow and white gold

Harakh

Harakh

Frangipani ring with pear-shaped rose-cut diamonds and round brilliant-cut diamonds

Picchiotti

Picchiotti

Radiant-cut fancy intense yellow diamond earrings with colourless diamonds from the Picchiotti Classic Collection

Calleija

Calleija

Athena brooch/pendant with white diamonds and Argyle Pink Diamonds

Astteria

Astteria

Fancy yellow diamond necklace with colourless diamonds

Graff

Graff

Tribal High Jewellery necklace with 43 carats of diamonds

Tiffany & Co.

Tiffany & Co.

Colors of Nature High Jewellery Earth necklace with 58 carats of mixed-cut diamonds

De Beers

De Beers

Namib Wonder necklace with spectacle-set rough diamond drops from the Reflections of Nature High Jewellery Collection

Lorenz Baumer

Lorenz Baumer

Tattooed Diamond Clef de Mon Coeur brown diamond solitaire ring with white diamonds in 18k white gold

Thelma West

Thelma West

Rebel pear-shaped diamond rings in rose gold and black gold

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