Why Natural Diamonds Continue To Be a Symbol of Love

Love is immeasurable. Ask Shah Jahan, who built a glistening white marble mausoleum for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. While not everybody can express everlasting love in Mughal style, natural diamonds do convey that feeling in a sparkling way.

From the pear-shaped 69.42 carat Taylor-Burton Diamond, gifted by Richard Burton to his love Elizabeth Taylor in 1969, to the massive 245.35 carat Jubilee Diamond that Sir Dorabji Tata gifted to his wife, Lady Meherbai Tata, in the early 1900s, natural diamonds dutifully speak love in its purest form.

From husband to wife, parent to child, one friend to the other, here are a few stories, from across centuries, where a diamond gift celebrated a feeling as deep as time itself.

Taj Mahal Necklace – From Nur Jahan to Elizabeth Taylor

Mughals surely knew how to express love. Preceding the Taj Mahal is the Taj Mahal necklace. Emperor Jahangir first gave this necklace to his wife Nur Jahan with her name inscribed in a large heart-shaped table-cut diamond, along with the Parsi inscription “Love is Everlasting”. At some point in time, Shah Jahangir bequeathed the jewel to his son, Shah Jahan, who eventually gifted the diamond to Mumtaz Mahal, his favourite and most beloved wife, in 1627. Instead of being lost in time, three centuries later, the necklace embraced another love story, as passionate as that of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal. After being acquired and refashioned by Cartier, Richard Burton gifted the necklace to Elizabeth Taylor on her 40th birthday in 1972, yet again saying how love is, indeed, everlasting.

A 263 Carat Push Present

How deep can a warrior’s love be? Turns out, plenty. Napoleon was not just a great military leader, but also a patron of diamonds. So when his second wife, Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria, bore him a long-awaited heir, he showered her with 263 carats worth of diamonds in 1811. The Napoleon Diamond Necklace, as it is called, consists of 28 old mine-cut diamonds, five pear-shaped diamonds, four oval diamonds, and 10 briolettes. Above each pear is mounted a small brilliant diamond, while the four ovals are attached to motifs decorated with 23 smaller diamonds. Each of the 10 briolette mountings is set with 12 rose-cut diamonds. A grand push present, for a grand gift of love!

Love, Passed On, Like an Heirloom

A beautiful example of love, legacy and diamonds is the Cartier Halo Tiara. First gifted by King George VI to Queen Elizabeth in 1936, the tiara has a history of marking love. Subsequently, Queen Elizabeth gifted the Halo Tiara to her daughter Queen Elizabeth II, on her 18th birthday in 1944, making the tiara a befitting example of love and legacy. Since then, the tiara has been worn by Queen Elizabeth II’s sister, Princess Margaret, then her daughter Princess Anne, and eventually by her granddaughter-in-law, Kate Middleton, on her wedding day in 2011. It’s a wonderful example of how natural diamond heirlooms can become expressions of love.

A Spark of Friendship

Singer and performer Michael Jackson is legendary. And his friendship with actress Elizabeth Taylor is equally famous. The two dramatic personalities shared life experiences, which brought them close as confidants. To convey his deep regard for her, Jackson gifted Taylor a lot of jewellery. Two well-known examples, however, are stunning diamond bracelets – one made with yellow diamonds, and another with white diamonds. Jackson once said, “Elizabeth’s friendship is like the perfect jewels she owns…indestructible and eternal.” A brilliant example of expressing respect through diamonds.

A Friend in Need…

When you are at the lowest moment in your life, all you need is a friend. Oprah Winfrey understood that. When American TV personality Gayle King divorced her husband of 11 years in 1993, Winfrey showed up to support her best friend with a heart-shaped diamond pendant. The necklace has been a constant on King’s neck since then – proving how some relationships defy boundaries and expectations. And natural diamonds are perfect to symbolise them.

Diamonds, for Family, by Family

Few people can claim to be a connoisseur of jewellery as much as Nita Ambani. A modern-day royal, not only does she like diamonds for herself, but she also believes in spreading the love. A case in point is the Mouawad L’Incomparable Diamond necklace that she gifted to her daughter-in-law, Shloka Ambani, in 2019, during her wedding. It is one of the most valuable necklaces in the world, with the flawless 407.48-carat yellow diamond suspended from 229.52-carat white diamond ‘branches’. A gift of unparalleled craftsmanship, it expresses unadulterated love for a new family member.

Perhaps an unassuming, personal expression of love, Ambani also recently commissioned diamond-encrusted charms for her Hermès Birkin, with each letter signifying the names of her four grandchildren. The diamonds immortalise her powerful love for her grandchildren and the rest of her family.

Adornment, for an Adoring Mother

A parent and child bond is, perhaps, the purest form of love. And while it can’t be quantified, actor Ranveer Singh found ways to honour his mother, Anju Bhavnani, through natural diamonds. In 2021, Singh gifted her a diamond-encrusted Franck Muller Galet watch on her birthday. And in 2023, not only did Singh borrow his mother’s diamond studs to wear for the movie ‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’, but he also gifted her even bigger solitaires. Time and again, he has shown how natural diamonds are the perfect gift for the bond he shares with his mother.

Nurturing Love in the 21st Century

Have you heard the saying “like mother, like daughter”? Beyond its obvious connotations, it signifies the amount of characteristics and love this pair exchanges. Kim Kardashian and daughter North West are no exception, choosing to express their endless love for each other through diamonds. In 2024, the then-11-year-old West gifted her mother a diamond pave necklace with her name and date inscribed on it. Kardashian, in turn, showered her love by gifting West a 106-carat diamond skull necklace just this Christmas in 2025. This continuous exchange of familial love shows that this relationship, is indeed, forever.

Love is perhaps one of the deepest feelings in the world. It is fathomless and inexplicable. What better way to express it than with something that comes from deep within the Earth itself, formed over millions of years? Rare and real, natural diamonds, truly, are as pure as love itself.