The Best Diamond Design for Your Personality
Stones can speak—just ask fifth-generation diamantaire Jade Lustig, who as a child took great joy in sorting through piles of fresh-cut gems alongside her grandfather. “He would literally sit me down next to him with a box full of small stones, and I would sit there for hours with a little tweezer and move around all the pear shapes together, all the marquise together, all the square stones together,” says Lustig. “I’ve always loved diamonds.”
Her passion has extended into adulthood. Lustig’s jewelry line, Jade Trau, is entering its sixth year, and she recently unveiled the Alchemy collection—her latest collaboration with Forevermark, a De Beers Group diamond brand. “I really believe in the sentiments that come along with diamonds, and the shape has always been the focal point to me,” says Lustig, who wore a rose-cut diamond in her engagement ring for years—it was the style of stone her great-grandfather usually made when he first got into the jewelry business in the early 1900s. Only recently did Lustig find herself drawn to the more statement-making, elongated marquise-cut diamond. “I only started wearing the marquise last year, and I was like, ‘Wow, it is crazy to me how this really speaks to who I am now versus who I was.’”
Designs in the new Alchemy collection are all made with responsibly sourced Forevermark gems and range in price from $1,300 to $9,780 and include signet rings, stud earrings, pendants, and stackable bangles—all crafted with marquise, emerald, and round or pear-shaped diamonds and meant to connect with the wearer’s style and state of mind. A four-question quiz to help assess your ideal cut will go live on the Forevermark website in June. Until then, Lustig offers up her own guidance and points out that different gem cuts can be mixed and layered to communicate a state of mind or mark a new life chapter. “Maybe you’re a maverick for this point in your life; maybe this is a graduation gift and you’re going off to college or trying to find your inner maverick,” says Lustig. “The design can represent that moment in time.”
We asked Jade to break down what each style says about its wearer. Which one speaks to you?
Marquise: The Maverick—Adventurous, Stylishly Bold
“The marquise is so unique. It’s always going to be for the girl that’s doing her own thing and doesn’t care—she’s bucking the trends. To me, it almost has a spiritual feeling—I wear my marquise ring east to west so it really has that mystical, evil-eye look. And from a diamond manufacturing standpoint, marquise diamonds are not cut as often, so when you see a beautiful one, it really can knock your socks off.”
Emerald: The Vanguard—Determined, Self-Possessed
“The Vanguard is goal-oriented; she has an extremely strong sense of self. She’s usually the more rational, analytical. It’s for the most part a finer stone, right, because you can’t hide imperfections in an emerald cut, so you really need to go with a nicer-quality stone with emerald cut. I think it really speaks to that really powerful, no-nonsense woman.”
Round: The Sophisticate—Classic, Gracious
“I feel like the round stone is the woman who really respects tradition. She knows the round stone is the ultimate timeless piece. She doesn’t want to go too trendy—but there’s still so many ways you can make a round stone trendy and not look completely traditional.”
Pear: The Envoy—Creative, Compassionate
“It’s interesting because in my 20 years of being in this industry, I feel like I can probably count on one hand how many pear shapes we’ve sold. The people who have come in for a pear shape are usually more creatively driven. They have a personal point of view, and they are well defined in their sense of style, whatever it may be. It’s always an interesting person that likes an interesting look. You can’t blend in wearing the pear shape—this girl is not a blender!”
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