No One Does Diamond Heirlooms Like The Ambanis
By sharing their natural diamond jewellery, the Ambanis offer a master class in the Indian tradition of passing down heirlooms.
“Mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, this is my mom’s too but it used to be the Nizam’s, and this is Lorraine [Schwartz],” Isha Ambani Piramal told influencer Julia Chafe when she decoded her diamond jewellery during this year’s MET Gala. She was seen wearing multiple strands of old-mine cut diamond necklaces, matched with chandelier diamond earrings. Her sari blouse was also handsewn with over 200 natural diamonds, all from Nita Ambani’s private collection.
Indians are known to invest in jewellery – perhaps more than anything else – and pass it onto future generations. The Ambanis, who are known to follow Indian traditions to the hilt, have not skipped on this one either.
Nita Ambani has an eye for scouring valuable diamonds and converting them into unforgettable jewellery. Her 101-carat pink–brown, old-mine, rose-cut, pear-shaped diamond that she wore at the TIME100 red carpet is a stunning example of that. So is the 52.58 carat Mirror of Paradise ring that she paired with a golden Kanchipuram saree during Anant Ambani’s wedding festivities. The senior Ambani surely understands worth.
And she is not stingy either. Much of Nita Ambani’s rare diamond jewellery has been seen on Isha, Shloka and Radhika Ambani – her daughter and daughters-in-law respectively. The Ambanis treat their diamonds not just as gems to flaunt, but as an invisible tether that binds them together in a shared heritage of pride and love.
In many cases, the Ambani women have projected power with humility through their shared jewellery. Apart from weaving her mom’s jewellery into a vision of Indian couture for the MET Gala, Isha also wore her double heart diamond earrings for the Lokmat Maharashtrian of the Year Awards 2024, where she was presented with the Businesswoman of the Year award. In both cases, Mrs. Piramal borrowed more than just natural diamonds. She carried a bit of her mom’s love and strength with her through her diamond pieces.
In other cases, their shared diamonds have been used to recraft trends. Nita Ambani’s single strand necklace with old mine cut Golconda diamonds has been worn by both Shloka and Radhika Ambani as a tennis bracelet, giving it a modern connotation, proving tradition can be respectfully remoulded to suit contemporary times.
Interestingly, sharing jewellery does not follow just a top down approach. Nita Ambani borrowed Isha Ambani’s heart-shaped diamond necklace, further enhancing it with more diamonds and rare Paraiba tourmalines – transforming the necklace into an elevated statement piece. For another family occasion back in 2022, Mama Ambani turned to Isha’s archive again, borrowing her multi-strand diamond necklace.
And then, there is pure love. Way before Radhika became Mrs. Ambani, Nita Ambani was already showering her blessings by sharing her jewellery. In May 2022, the then-Radhika Merchant wore a pearl and diamond choker – borrowed from her future mother-in-law – to a family event.
For ages, diamonds have been worn for different purposes, to express different emotions. Perhaps, familial love is the most potent of them all, and the Ambani family proves that by sharing their personal jewellery. The deeply rooted tradition of passing down heirloom diamonds has always been a way to create lasting legacy and wealth. The Ambanis have established a modern interpretation of that same heritage. Whether by acquiring historically significant stones or crafting new diamond jewellery, they are reviving precious adornments much the same way they were done centuries ago, channeling a bit of their story in it and building a new story of inheritance.
