The reports of the armed robbery of Kim Kardashian in Paris — with millions of dollars of jewelry stolen — reminded me of advice my late business partner used to give to customers.
Always insure your jewelry, she would tell people who were nervous about getting a sizable diamond. If (“God forbid!” she’d exclaim) you’re threatened with physical harm, give up the jewelry without hesitation. Keep yourself safe. File a police report. Then, she’d say, if the jewelry can’t be recovered, “We’ll use the insurance money to make you a bigger and better ring.”
Kim might be an exception when it comes to that last step — at least when it comes to engagement-ring diamonds — it’s difficult to go bigger than Kim’s 20-carat Lorraine Schwartz ring and still have the use of one’s hand.
However, she could go from a skinny band to something more substantial.
On the left, my customer’s original ring. On the right, a redesign I did with the same diamond. (No robbery involved!)
But that’s not important right now! No one — including Kim — should spend too much time mourning for jewelry. I admit that it can be hard to let go because jewelry is an unusually meaningful possession. (That’s what I like about it.) It’s often purchased to mark a special occasion: a graduation, an engagement, a marriage, the addition of a child to your family. It gets passed down from generation to generation. You expect that your good pieces will go to someone important to you, and be important to them too.
Like diamond connoisseur Elizabeth Taylor said to — guess who? — Kim Kardashian in 2011, “Size does matter, but so does the size of the emotion behind it.” Elizabeth had big diamonds and big emotions in her life. The fifth and sixth of her eight husbands — actor Richard Burton (the passionate couple divorced, remarried, and divorced again) — bought her a 69.42-carat pear-shaped diamond that she wore in a necklace to the Oscars in 1970.
But she didn’t cling to those outsize memories. After her second divorce from Burton, she sold the diamond, planning to use part of the proceeds to build a hospital in Botswana. Later, she wrote in her book, Elizabeth Taylor: My Love Affair With Jewelry, ‘I’ve never thought of my jewelry as trophies. I’m here to take care of it and to love it, for we are only temporary custodians of beauty.'”
As with Kim, our custody of beauty is sometimes more fleeting than we wish, but we can always make new, beautiful jewelry. The only irreplaceable thing is the person who wears the jewelry, so please value yourself accordingly!
That’s a great story about Elizabeth Taylor, I never knew! Love her charitable nature. I think KK could really use your help with a new ring! That redesign is MAJOR! To say it’s an improvement is an understatement.