By Rosa Smith. Cover image I’M FIRENZE DIGEST collage of Elisa Losito and Artiola Xhulaj artworks
The Most Iconic Jewels That Shaped History and Continue to Inspire Wonder
When we think about the Louvre heist in October 2025 — nine French Crown jewels gone in just seven minutes, thieves disguised as workmen, a crown tumbling out of its bag during their escape — it sounds like a scene from a Wes Anderson film written by Sofia Coppola, or a pop, surreal version of 007 with a dash of Arsène Lupin. And yet, it really happened. Maybe that’s why jewels have always fascinated us: they’re not just luxury items, but fragments of power, history, and imagination.
From crowns to necklaces, every generation has its glitter obsession. As children, we wore plastic tiaras; now we scroll TikTok, watch films, and flip through books to track who inherited the Love Knot Tiara or where the Koh-i-Noor diamond ended up. The aura of jewels never ages—it evolves.
In Milan, the Milan Jewelry Week confirmed that the magic of jewellery is alive, dazzling, and more powerful than ever: over 80 events, from exhibitions to performances and installations. The most striking award went to Atoosa Wahdani for Metamorphosis, a miniature jewellery sculpture celebrating the resilience and strength of Iranian women: wearable poetry.
Because, at the end of the day, every jewel is a fragment of emotion, a secret that travels through time. So, let yourself be enchanted: here are some of the most iconic jewels ever — and the extraordinary stories they hold.
Cleopatra’s Emeralds: Legend, Seduction, Power
One stone that never goes out of style, glowing with royal allure, is the emerald. And no one made it more iconic than Cleopatra — the last Pharaoh of Egypt, who turned a gem into a weapon of seduction, politics, and pure charisma. Obsessed with emeralds, Cleopatra claimed the Egyptian mines (now known as the “Cleopatra Mines”) as her own the moment she ascended the throne. The deep green of the stones was her magical filter: a symbol of rebirth, eternal youth, and absolute power. At court, a glance and an emerald were all it took to show who truly ruled.
Cleopatra knew how to speak through jewellery. She reportedly gifted emeralds engraved with her likeness to foreign dignitaries — early PR with a twist, perfectly blending diplomacy and personal branding. These exquisitely crafted treasures circulated through Mediterranean courts, cementing her legend as magnetic and untouchable. For Cleopatra, the emerald was more than an accessory; it was a talisman, a fertility charm, a source of protection, and even a companion in rituals of rebirth. Centuries later, Elizabeth Taylor on the set of Cleopatra received a suite of Bulgari emeralds from Richard Burton, passing the torch between two divas bound by the same magnetism. In the green glow of these gems, the legend of a woman who could turn beauty into power and luxury into language still shines. True seduction, Cleopatra knew, comes from those who wear emeralds not to be noticed — but to remind the world who is queen.
Elizabeth Taylor’s Ring: Epic Love, Hollywood Drama, Eternal Glamour
After Cleopatra and her legendary emeralds comes another queen who made jewellery her power statement: Elizabeth Taylor. Violet eyes, magnetic charm, and a life worthy of a Hollywood director. And it’s no coincidence she played Cleopatra on the big screen — the woman who centuries before had already mastered gems as a language of seduction and authority. On the set of Cleopatra, Liz didn’t just wear the Pharaoh’s crown; she embodied its spirit: luxury as freedom.
Among her many iconic jewels, one shines brightest: the Taylor-Burton Diamond, 69.42 carats of epic love and pure drama. Richard Burton, her husband twice over (and lifelong love), bought it in Gstaad during a holiday — because for them, love stories alone weren’t enough, they needed record-breaking diamonds too. The stone became first a ring, then a platinum and diamond necklace. When Liz wore it at Grace of Monaco’s Scorpion Ball, the world paused. To transport it to the Principality, three identical Cartier cases were used: two decoys, one real. Security, but make it fashion.
Years later, after her second divorce from Burton, Liz sold the diamond — too costly to insure, too cumbersome to live with. But the myth remained intact: a woman who turned her passions into legend. Like Cleopatra with her emeralds, Elizabeth Taylor used jewellery as her language of power. Two queens, centuries apart, united by one truth: a woman’s true strength isn’t in the jewels she wears, but in the way she makes them shine.
Marie Antoinette’s Necklace: Luxury, Deception, Royal Drama
Some scandals seem almost scripted, and the Affair of the Diamond Necklace is one of them: fraud, fake letters, doppelgängers, midnight escapades in the gardens of Versailles. All spiced with jaw-dropping diamonds and a “not what it seems” ending. In 18th-century France, style queen Marie Antoinette became embroiled in what would be called the Affaire du Collier, a scandal that ruined her reputation and lit the fuse of the Revolution.
At the centre was a monumental necklace by Parisian jewellers Charles Boehmer and Paul Bassenge: hundreds of diamonds worth 1,600,000 livres (the French currency before the Revolution — basically a fortune even by royal standards). Originally meant for Madame Du Barry, favourite of Louis XV, no one dared buy it after the king’s death — too costly, too audacious. Not even Marie Antoinette, lover of luxury and diamonds, accepted it.
Enter Jeanne de La Motte, a fallen noblewoman and master swindler. Using a doppelgänger and forged letters, she convinced Cardinal Louis de Rohan that the queen secretly desired the necklace. The cardinal, charmed and fooled, acted as guarantor. But the necklace ended up in Jeanne’s hands, dismantled and sold piece by piece — a pre-modern Ocean’s Eleven.
When the scam was exposed, Paris went wild. Marie Antoinette was innocent, yet public opinion had already condemned her: frivolous, vain, guilty. Newspapers and court gossip turned her into a cautionary icon, the perfect queen to dethrone. The “Diamond Necklace Affair” became legend, inspiring novels, theatre, films, even the cult manga Lady Oscar. And the ironic twist? Marie Antoinette never even saw the famous necklace.
The Love Knot Tiara: a Crown of History and Subtle Rebellion
Just hearing the word tiara makes you dream, doesn’t it? It’s the ultimate symbol of royal glamour: a mix of fairy-tale magic, power, and a touch of drama. And among them all, the Love Knot Tiara best tells the story of generations of Windsor women — elegant, determined, and sometimes delightfully unconventional.
The story begins in 1913–1914, when Queen Mary (yes, Queen Elizabeth II’s grandmother) commissioned Garrard & Co to create a new tiara, inspired by an older piece belonging to the Duchess of Cambridge, Augusta. Pearls and diamonds from the royal collection were set in a French neoclassical style: perfect arches, interlaced bows — the famous “love knots” — and nineteen dangling pearls that shimmer with every move. Literally royal sparkle.
After Queen Mary’s death, the tiara passed to Elizabeth II, who made it iconic in the 1950s and 1960s, wearing it in her official portraits. The real twist came in 1981, when the Queen gifted it to Lady Diana Spencer as a wedding present. Diana, however, chose the family Spencer Tiara for her big day — already a sign of her independent spirit.
Even so, the Love Knot Tiara quickly became one of her favourites: Diana wore it at official events, galas, and high-profile engagements. Every time she did, the press went wild. Romantic yet powerful, traditional yet rebellious — very much like her.
After Lady D’s tragic death, the tiara remained locked away in the royal vaults for years, until 2015, when it re-emerged on Kate Middleton’s head. Since then, the Princess of Wales has worn it often for major occasions, turning it into a symbol of continuity and renewal.
Today, the Love Knot Tiara is more than a jewel — it’s an invisible thread connecting three generations of strong, luminous women. Because some crowns aren’t just worn: they’re inherited, reinterpreted, and brought back to life.
Koh-i-Noor: The Cursed Diamond That Spanned Empires
If diamonds could talk, the Koh-i-Noor would have a saga spanning centuries. Its Persian name, Mountain of Light, hints at the legend surrounding it — pure drama. Believed to have been mined around 1300 in Golconda, India, its documented history begins in 1526, when Muhammad Babur, Genghis Khan’s great-grandson, claimed it as war booty after defeating the ruler of Delhi.
From there, the diamond changed hands through the Mughal dynasty, Nadir Shah — the Persian conqueror who famously tricked the Indian ruler by pretending to swap crowns at a reception before revealing the diamond hidden in a turban — and Ranjit Singh, the Sikh emperor of Punjab, who seized it from an Afghan ruler.
When Punjab fell under British rule in 1849, the Koh-i-Noor reached Queen Victoria. British experts recut it to maximise its brilliance — a costly, controversial, but flawless process. Since then, the diamond has travelled through the English royal crowns, finding its home today in the crown of the Queen Mother, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, safeguarded in the Tower of London.
The Koh-i-Noor isn’t just a diamond: it’s shrouded in superstition. Legend has it that it brings misfortune — even death — to any man who possesses or wears it, while protecting women. A curse that only adds to its magnetic allure.
Attallah Cross: From Lady Diana to Kim Kardashian
Some jewels simply cannot go unnoticed: the Attallah Cross is a statement piece, oversized and sparkling, studded with deep purple amethysts and brilliant-cut diamonds totalling around 5.25 carats. An archive piece by Garrard, the historic London house that also designed Lady Diana’s iconic engagement ring.
The cross didn’t belong directly to Diana — it was loaned to her by her friend Naim Attallah, a Palestinian Christian writer and entrepreneur, CEO of luxury brand Asprey & Garrard. Diana wore it multiple times, but its most legendary appearance was at the 1987 Charity Gala for women’s health, where she paired it with a black goth-chic Catherine Walker gown. Bold, magnetic, quintessentially Diana.
After her passing in 1997, the cross vanished for over two decades. Until January 2023, when Kim Kardashian brought it back into the spotlight at a Sotheby’s London auction, acquiring it for around £163,800 (€187,000). A move fit for a contemporary pop queen: Kim took a historic symbol of grace and rebellion and transformed it into a manifesto of female power and freedom.
Crafted from gold, silver, amethysts, and diamonds, this oversized piece (136×95 mm) now embodies two eras: Diana’s elegance and advocacy, and Kim Kardashian’s blend of entrepreneurship and pop culture. A cross that is not just an accessory, but a statement of style, faith, and strength.
Taylor Swift’s Engagement Ring: Vintage, Unique, Full of Personality
And when it comes to queens, you can’t ignore the reigning pop queen herself. Taylor Swift has entered the world of dream jewellery with a show-stopping engagement ring: a one-of-a-kind creation, designed by her fiancé, football star Travis Kelce, in collaboration with New York jeweller Artifex Fine Jewelry.
The ring features a cushion-cut diamond (old mine cut) with rounded corners and chunky facets reminiscent of 18th-century stones — vintage with a modern twist. The yellow gold band is hand-engraved with a “T”, celebrating their couple nickname, TnT (Taylor & Travis).
The proposal was straight out of a fairytale: Kelce turned the garden of his Missouri home into a floral wonderland, kneeling before Taylor Swift surrounded by colours and scents. The ring is valued between $250,000–$550,000, with some estimates nearing $1 million, reflecting the rarity of the diamond and the artisanal craftsmanship.
But beyond the price tag, this ring tells the story of a couple and Taylor’s desire to stand out. Not the usual solitaire — a unique piece with personality and meaning, almost heirloom-like, blending style, love, and creativity.
