Culture & Style
The De Beers Talisman Collection is Filled With Diamond Power Pieces
On its 20th anniversary, De Beers Talisman diamond jewels are very of the moment.
Written by: Jill Newman
May 19, 2025
When DeBeers unveiled its Talisman collection 20 years ago with rough, uncut diamonds that appeared like luminous tumbled pebbles, it caused a sensation. Some loved the diamond’s organic vibe; others weren’t so sure.
Twenty years later, rough natural diamonds couldn’t be timelier. There’s a great desire for their earthy style, warm hues, and subdued glow in contemporary jewelry designs.
It’s human nature: When the earliest diamonds were discovered, man was drawn to their mysterious luminosity and wore the rough stones as talismans around their neck in battle. Over the centuries, diamonds remained a symbol of good fortune and strength but came to be coveted and valued for their precision cut and clarity, which unleashed a dazzling sparkle, the kind of brilliance that causes heads to turn on the red carpet.
Meet the Expert
- Jill Newman is a jewelry authority, editor, and storyteller with over 25 years of experience, having reported from diamond mines in Africa, cutting workshops in India and Belgium, and ateliers around the world.
- She serves as Editor-at-Large for the Natural Diamond Council, with additional bylines in The New York Times, Town & Country, Elle Décor, and Robb Report.
While most of us love a diamond’s intense sparkle, we also love the stone’s natural state, which exudes that enigmatic glow in a more restrained style.
That’s why De Beers Talisman diamond jewelry is so right for this moment. Talisman reminds us that we can find diamonds to suit our taste and mood; it’s not one size fits all. Now we can wear diamonds that reflect their natural origin, that are a little mysterious and unexpected. In an era of emphatic individuality and self-expression, both women and men want more diamond choices.
We also need more talismans. The signature Talisman medallions feature rough and polished diamonds in shades of brown, grey, green, and Champagne arranged in concentric circles inspired by ancient patterns. These strong designs reflect a warrior’s pendant, an empowering and protective amulet, and superstitious or not, everyone wants some good juju today.
These strong designs reflect a warrior’s pendant, an empowering and protective amulet, and superstitious or not, everyone wants some good juju today.
The ultimate power piece is the oversized gold Talisman medallion that Adwoa Aboah, British model and actress and De Beers ambassador, wears. It features rough diamonds in all shapes, sizes, and colors, surrounded by a circle of white diamond baguettes that appear like slices of glass. It’s an empowering, statement jewel, not for its carat weight, but it’s symbolism. It’s also the kind of diamond jewel that you can wear on formal occasions or with a T-shirt and jeans. It reflects the kind of jewelry women want to purchase for themselves today; pieces that are symbolic, emboldening, and one that become your signature.
When the collection was originally unveiled 20 years ago, designed by then artistic director Raphaèle Canot, she said she chose to work with raw diamonds because, “They are as they come out of the earth, untouched by human beings.” She was drawn to the inherent pyramid shapes, which reminded her of ancient symbols of power, and she designed jewelry to enhance that beauty saying, “The pieces look like they came from some ancient treasure, while at the same time as they could have come from the future.” Remarkably her original designs, in rose, white and yellow gold are still the foundation of the collection because some things never go out of style.
The Talisman Collection’s Distinctive Natural Diamonds
Every Talisman design tells a story about a diamond’s transformation. The gold medallions, earrings and ring patterns are created around the various diamond’s colors and shapes: Some stones are smooth from their tumbled journey to earth’s surface; others retain the tactile markings of their formation underground; still others are in unique octahedron, dodecahedron, and symmetrical cubic shapes.
Once the rough is selected, the designer chooses complimentary faceted stones, which together illustrate the diamond’s transformation from rough to polished. The stones are surrounded with a bespoke Serti Poinçon finish, a traditional goldsmithing technique that hammers the surface of the metal using a pyramid-shaped chisel and enveloping each diamond as though they are embedded within the metal. The granular texture can appear like the earth from which the stones emanated and adds a sense of depth to the design.
De Beers created an Anniversary Talisman Locket, a yellow gold limited-edition piece, adorned with rough brown and yellow diamonds alongside polished white diamonds in the collection’s signature Serti Poinçon setting. Inside, the client can have a personalized engraving, and there is a secret compartment for treasured tokens, including a removable frame for a tiny photograph or note.
There’s also a collection of Talisman High Jewelry featuring warm, rough yellow diamonds paired with round-brilliant white diamonds in contemporary pieces that highlight the beauty of the stones in chandelier earrings, necklaces and rings.
My personal favorites are the original gold medallion pendant necklaces with rough diamonds that have a mysterious inner glow. Prices start at $2,400 for a gold band, and charm bracelets with rough diamond and faceted diamond charms are $4,000, and medallion pendants start at $4,500.
When Talisman was unveiled, most people had never seen a diamond in the rough. Twenty years on, it’s great to see a deep appreciation for diamonds in their natural state, and reinforces what we already know, the most beautiful things come from Mother Nature.
Shop the De Beers Talisman Collection
De Beers Talisman Trio Ring, Price Upon Request, debeers.com
De Beers Talisman Line Necklace, Price Upon Request, debeers.com
De Beers Talisman Chandelier Earrings, Price Upon Request, debeers.com
De Beers Talisman Line Bracelet, Price Upon Request, debeers.com
De Beers TALISMAN SMALL HOOP EARRINGS IN WHITE GOLD, $6,500, debeers.com
De Beers TALISMAN BANGLE IN YELLOW GOLD, $9,500, debeers.com
De Beers TALISMAN SMALL BAND IN WHITE GOLD, $5,150, debeers.com
De Beers Talisman Medal, $16,700, debeers.com
De Beers TALISMAN LARGE BAND IN YELLOW GOLD, $8,900, debeers.com
