Exclusive: All The Diamond Details Behind the Tiffany & Co. Jasmine Necklace
Tiffany & Co. gave Only Natural Diamonds a behind-the-scenes look at how the Jasmine necklace was created from the Blue Book 2026: Hidden Garden collection, featuring the largest natural diamond of the new high jewelry assortment.
The completed Diamond Jasmine necklace from Blue Book 2026: Hidden Garden. (Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.)
This Spring, everything’s coming up jasmine. Tiffany & Co. has just unveiled the first segment of its extraordinary high jewelry collection, Blue Book 2026: Hidden Garden, featuring the mesmerizing diamond Jasmine necklace.
Designed by Nathalie Verdeille, Senior Vice President, Chief Artistic Officer of the American luxury jewelry house, alongside the Tiffany Design Studio, the new high jewelry collection embodies a botanical oasis, filled with florals, birds, butterflies, and bees. Exploring the enchanting secret worlds of nature, each design reinterprets the artistry of legendary Tiffany & Co. designer Jean Schlumberger.
Meet the Expert
Victoria Wirth Reynolds is Tiffany & Co.’s Chief Gemologist and Vice President of High Jewelry Diamond and Gemstone Acquisition. She was appointed the Chief Gemologist of Tiffany & Co. in 2020 as the jeweler expanded its diamond traceability program. Reynolds has worked for Tiffany & Co. for over 38 years, with roles like Vice President of High Jewelry. Her experience spans diamond grading, custom designs, business sales, marketing high jewelry, and more.
As with any good book, the collection is arranged in chapters, with organic growth and fluid movement conveyed through meticulously hand-crafted platinum motifs, geometric structures, and natural diamond creatures. Designs in the Jasmine chapter draw inspiration from an archival 1962 necklace, created by Schlumberger for his close confidante and philanthropist Bunny Mellon.
House ambassador Greta Lee has even worn the exemplary necklace, appearing frosted to the nines in a new Tiffany & Co. Blue Book 2026: Hidden Garden video. With master jewelers in its employ, exceptional stones are cut with the utmost precision for industry-leading designs, carrying on Tiffany’s legacy as an arbiter of exquisite taste across high jewelry for nearly two centuries.
Here, learn all about the creation of the Tiffany & Co. modern masterpiece.
Behind The Creation of the 2026 Jasmine Necklace
Handcrafting the Diamond Jasmine necklace from Blue Book 2026: Hidden Garden. An artisan compares diamond melee against the rendering. (Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.)
Handcrafting the Diamond Jasmine necklace from Blue Book 2026: Hidden Garden. An artisan carefully polishes a partially set necklace component. (Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.)
Partially set casting components of the Diamond Jasmine necklace from Blue Book 2026: Hidden Garden compared against the rendering. (Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.)
An artisan carefully fits a diamond in a partially set casting component. (Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.)
Handcrafting the Diamond Jasmine necklace from Blue Book 2026: Hidden Garden. An artisan solders a casting component. (Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.)
An artisan holds a casting component of the Diamond Jasmine necklace from Blue Book 2026: Hidden Garden. (Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.)
An artisan examines the fit of an 18.80-carat D-color, internally flawless, type IIA cushion-cut diamond against its individual basket. (Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.)
A rendering of the Diamond Jasmine necklace from Blue Book 2026: Hidden Garden alongside the assembled casting. (Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.)
The completed Diamond Jasmine necklace from Blue Book 2026: Hidden Garden in a Tiffany Blue Box®. (Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.)
Anchoring the collection, the Jasmine Necklace is handcrafted in platinum, with a D-color, internally flawless, Type IIa, cushion-cut 18.80-carat diamond drop pendant– the largest diamond of the collection. A modern and graphic reimagining of the 1963 original necklace, this masterfully crafted new design skillfully echoes a garden trellis brought to life through intricately woven platinum braiding, embellished with an additional 893 round brilliant-cut diamond accents of over 28 total carats.
The decorative diamond trellis motif subtly calls back to the vintage Schlumberger piece, where interlocking diamonds are featured, crisscrossed in between colorful Kashmir sapphires.
Handcrafting the Diamond Jasmine necklace from Blue Book 2026: Hidden Garden. An artisan checks two partially set and assembled sections of the necklace. (Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.)
First, Tiffany artisans completed a rendering of the necklace, comparing a diamond melee against the sketch for the best possible fit. Then, they began casting and assembling the jewel in all its structural glory, drilling holes and perfectly fitting diamonds into the casting component. After much polishing and examining, they finally fit the show-stopping diamond pendant to the necklace.
Tiffany & Co. Chief Gemologist and Vice President of High Jewelry Diamond and Gemstone Acquisition, Victoria Wirth Reynolds, says, “Continuing Tiffany’s legacy as ‘The Diamond Kings,’ the Jasmine necklace proudly showcases one of the collection’s most significant diamonds: a D-color, internally flawless, Type IIa cushion-cut diamond exceeding 18 carats.”
This diamond’s unparalleled purity unequivocally positions it as one of the most important in our entire collection.
She continues, “Set within a clean and modern design featuring a sophisticated, intricately braided platinum motif—a sculptural trellis evoking natural movement—this diamond’s unparalleled purity unequivocally positions it as one of the most important in our entire collection.”
Beyond the Blueprint: Jean Schlumberger’s 1963 Jasmine Necklace
The heiress to the Listerine fortune, Bunny Mellon acquired over 142 Jean Schlumberger jewels throughout her life, forging a close bond with the designer as well. A socialite, philanthropist, and avid collector of jewelry, Mellon began her friendship with Schlumberger after a mutual friend, British interior designer Syrie Maugham, connected the pair in 1955 – the year before he signed on to Tiffany & Co. Mellon was already a fan of his work and made regular visits to his salon on East 63rd Street in New York City.
Once Schlumberger made a name for himself at Tiffany & Co., the unparalleled resources and global reach of the premier jewelry retailer allowed for his creative freedom to enter an unbridled new chapter, expanding his access to a higher caliber of stones and materials to work with. The world was his oyster. Bunny Mellon became a frequent presence in his studio, with her discerning eye helping to shape many of his most memorable designs.
From the famed Flowerpot brooch to Mellon’s shell bracelets, some of Schlumberger’s most exceptional works were fortified by Mellon’s integral and inspiring role in the creative process, including the Jasmine necklace.
Dr. Sylvain Cordier, the Paul Mellon Curator and Head of the Department of European Art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts – the institution that now houses Bunny Mellon’s remarkable Schlumberger jewelry collection – believes Mellon and Schlumberger shared a bond rooted in their shared reverence for nature.
He previously told Only Natural Diamonds that the Jasmine Necklace is an essential part of Mellon’s collection because it perfectly demonstrates Schlumberger’s playful disregard for convention when designing diamond pieces.
The Jasmine necklace was created from an extraordinary cache of 16,000 Meredith sapphires that took Tiffany & Co. about 20 to 30 years to assemble. By 1962, the retailer finally completed the collection. Schlumberger’s solution for using these remarkable stones was considered subversive at the time, partially concealing the sapphires within the trellis-like design of the necklace, with blossoming diamond flowers.
Mellon later dubbed the piece the “Breath of Spring” Necklace, wearing the statement piece frequently. The multicolor sapphire and diamond design features nine fully blossomed diamond flowers encircling the inner layer of sapphires, with two diamond buds yet to bloom.
More From the Jasmine Chapter of the Blue Book 2026: Hidden Garden High Jewelry Collection
Kunzite Jasmine Necklace with seven cushion-cut kunzites and diamonds from the Tiffany & Co. Blue Book 2026: Hidden Garden collection (Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.)
Jasmine cushion-cut kunzite and natural diamond earrings from the Tiffany & Co. Blue Book 2026: Hidden Garden collection (Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.)
Jasmine Pendant with a 25.08-carat cushion-cut kunzite and diamonds from the Tiffany & Co. Blue Book 2026: Hidden Garden collection (Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.)
Jasmine diamond earrings with two cushion-cut diamonds of 22.22 total carats from the Tiffany & Co. Blue Book 2026: Hidden Garden collection (Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.)
Jasmine Diamond Ring with a 6.12-carat cushion-cut diamond from the Tiffany & Co. Blue Book 2026: Hidden Garden collection (Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.)
Jasmine Kunzite Ring with a 14.32-carat cushion-cut kunzite and diamonds from the Tiffany & Co. Blue Book 2026: Hidden Garden collection (Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.)
Diamond Jasmine Necklace with an 18.8-carat cushion-cut diamond from the Tiffany & Co. Blue Book 2026: Hidden Garden collection (Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.)head
The Jasmine chapter of Tiffany & Co.’s Blue Book 2026: Hidden Garden High Jewelry collection is just one of many floral expressions planted throughout the assortment. Platinum trellis motifs are wrapped around impressive cushion-cut diamonds and cushion-cut lilac-colored kunzites —one of Tiffany’s “legacy gemstones” – delicately uplifting the jasmine botanical motif. Exploring the dialogue between past and present, heritage and contemporary, this collection displays a sensory oasis and a garden that keeps on giving.
