Rarity over perfection: Why jewelers are championing ‘ugly’ gems

Using the scientific precision of terms like “IF Type IIa”— to describe diamonds so pure they show no inclusions under 10x magnification — jewelry purveyors have long placed heavy emphasis on the clarity and cut of a gem. The sharper the facet and flawless the sparkle, the more valuable a stone once appeared. Until now. Once dismissed as “ugly ducklings” — too marked, too dark, or too strange — imperfect gems are now stepping into the spotlight, as high-end jewelers increasingly champion stones with unique inclusions or less-than-perfect clarity. An early adopter was Pomellato. Five years ago, the Milanese jewelry company, took a bold leap when it launched its first high jewelry collection — one that turned away from the canonical “big four” (diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds) and featured stones that do not sparkle and are sometimes not even cut. It’s an approach that the house has continued to take, as it seeks to carve out a unique aesthetic in a crowded high jewelry market that includes fashion houses such as Dior, Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabbana and Gucci. Among Pomellato’s most recent creations is a necklace of large, smooth aquamarines, unfaceted and softly contoured — as if shaped by the sea itself — crossed by diamond threads that mimic a sailor’s rope catching precious underwater pebbles. Another necklace, inspired by Milan’s night sky, suspends a smoky star composed of grey sapphires and spinels. “At Pomellato, we don’t divide gemstones by the traditional categories of ‘precious’ and ‘semi-precious,’ or by how expensive they are,” explained the company’s gem master Stefano Cortecci. “We treat all stones equally — each has its own identity, its own beauty. What matters is how the stone is used and how it’s cut.” A trained geologist from a family of university professors in the field, Cortecci was never a conventional gem buyer when he joined Pomellato nearly two decades years ago. Rather than sourcing only cut and polished stones — as is standard in the trade — he began selecting raw gems, asking cutters to shape them according to new aesthetic criteria developed in collaboration with creative director Vincenzo Castaldo. “In jewelry, everything is often very symmetrical, right? Diamonds have 57 facets cut symmetrically. At Pomellato, the gem we call ‘Nudo’ also has 57 facets, but they are not symmetrical; they are random and the perception is totally different,” Cortecci said. A symbol of empowerment Sharing a similar enthusiasm for unusual gems is Brazilian jeweler Ara Vartanian, who has made upside-down black diamonds (the point faces up instead of the usual faceted top) his signature. “I never thought of inclusions (trapped materials that get encapsulated inside a diamond during its formation) as problems,” he told CNN. Born into a family of gem dealers, Vartanian often accompanied his father to business meetings, where he found himself drawn not to the top-tier stones displayed for discussion but to those set aside in a corner — the ‘imperfect’ ones reserved for clients with limited budgets. When he launched his brand some twenty years ago, the lower prices of black diamonds and flawed stones also became a practical advantage. “My father thought I was being rebellious by choosing black diamonds and setting them point-up (the reverse setting flips the gem, exposing its pointed side),” Vartanian recalls. “I was not. For me, it came from love — I thought they were beautiful, even when they didn’t meet traditional standards. And I soon found that clients shared my enthusiasm and believed that my approach was refreshing. Different.” Unusual gemstones are also increasingly being embraced by emerging jewelry designers as the cornerstone of their storytelling. Belgian designer Dries Criel, based in Antwerp, uses tiger’s eye in rich toffee hues as the focal point of bold creations like a scarab-shaped ring. “I was intrigued by the gem’s symbolism — protection, courage, and clarity of vision. For me, it became a symbol of personal empowerment,” he wrote to CNN over email. Other designers are similarly turning to lesser-known stones, which they believe have poetic or emotional resonance. Moonstone — named for its resemblance to the soft, cloudy light of the moon — anchors British jewelry label Anoona’s Lunar collection. Ananya Malhotra, founder of her namesake jewelry brand Ananya, believes that gemstones possess healing properties; her designs incorporate a luminous brown agate, known as Sulemani Aqeeq, which is said to bring joy and balance. Meanwhile, Swiss independent jeweler Cora Sheibani highlighted smoky quartz — “the neglected poorer cousin of rock crystal, amethyst, and citrine,” she quipped — in her latest collection. And Milanese jeweler Villa Milano uses tourmalinated quartz — rock crystal threaded with dark inclusions — and even volcanic stones in earrings and cufflinks. Rarity over perfection The popularity of unconventional stones signals a broader shift in consumer behavior. More women are now buying jewelry for themselves, often valuing design and emotional resonance over traditional notions of investment — contrasting with male buyers who typically view jewelry as a store of value or a gift, according to several jewelry executives interviewed by CNN. At Pomellato, for example, around 70% of clients are women, said Cortecci, despite the market being long dominated by male purchasers. “Seeking uniqueness” is one of the key motivators for shoppers to buy unusual gems, said Claudia D’Arpizio, a partner at Bain & Company, who leads its luxury goods vertical. The growing popularity of lab-grown diamonds and the current economic landscape also play a part. In response to the flawless uniformity of lab-grown diamonds, traders of natural gems increasingly emphasize the rarity — rather than the perfection — of stones, with natural imperfections becoming a selling point. D’Arpizio also noted that sourcing traditional, high-grade stones is becoming more difficult due in part to restrictions on Russian diamonds and rising competition in the jewelry sector. “Jewelry is characterized by high material costs, especially gold, and limited scalability. Using non-standard stones allows brands to create more accessible or distinctive pieces without proportionally increasing raw material expenses,” she explained. But for Munich-based family-run jeweler Hemmerle, which has long embraced diamonds in unconventional hues as part of its erudite visual language, there is no such thing as imperfection. “Diamonds don’t need to sparkle, they have to speak,” said Christian Hemmerle, the fourth generation in the business (today, he leads the company alongside his wife Yasmin). “If the color is beautiful, that’s enough — even with inclusions. After all, in everyday life, nobody looks at a gem through a microscope.”