For more than six decades, Graff has embodied the pinnacle of high jewellery. Founded in 1960 by Laurence Graff OBE, the house quickly became synonymous with the world’s most magnificent diamonds. Through a relentless pursuit of the extraordinary and a philosophy rooted in cutting-edge expertise, it has carved a reputation for discovering, cutting, and setting stones of extraordinary rarity and brilliance.
From the 603-ct Lesotho Promise to the 1,109-ct Lesedi La Rona, Graff has handled more significant rough diamonds than any other jeweller in history—a feat that underscores its extraordinary savoir-faire.
At its heart, Graff is a family-run business with three generations of expertise converged in service of beauty. From sourcing and cleaving to polishing and setting, each step is executed in-house under the brand’s direct control, ensuring an uncompromising standard of quality.
A LEGEND IS BORN
In 2017, the British jeweller added another spectacular acquisition to its treasure trove. Discovered in Botswana’s famed Karowe Diamond Mine, the 373.72-ct rough diamond measuring 48mm by 41mm by 22mm emerged as a find of breathtaking significance. Its exceptional characteristics—D-colour, Type IIa purity, and unmistakable symmetry—revealed a deeper truth: it was once part of the 1,109-ct Lesedi La Rona, one of the largest diamonds ever unearthed.
As a diamantaire with decades of experience, Laurence Graff recognised the stone’s potential. He elaborated, “Every diamond has an inner script that we must read and respect. We will now spend time discovering the secrets of this magnificent stone. Knowing that nature has given us this extraordinary gift, we take on the great responsibility of releasing its inner beauty.” Thus began the meticulous process of revealing the stone’s soul.
State-of-the-art scanning and mapping technology determined the internal characteristics of the raw stone. The goal was to identify the optimal cut, which eventually revealed something audacious: a heart shape revered for its romance, but notoriously challenging to master, especially at such a grand scale.
From rough diamond to polished diamond, the journey was arduous. It took over 10 months to cut and polish the stone, which required flawless faceting and perfect symmetry. The considerable size of its large facets and extreme hardness made polishing even more challenging.
These properties are unique to super-deep stones formed further within Earth’s mantle that makes them significantly more labour-intensive to polish. A master cutter with more than 40 years’ experience spent six weeks just creating the cleft at the top of the diamond. To achieve an aesthetic point that was sharp, well-defined, and immaculately rounded demanded nerves of steel.
The final result exceeded all expectations. At 157.8ct, the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) certified it the world’s largest heart-shaped diamond, boasting superior D colour and VVS1 clarity with excellent symmetry and polish. As a tribute to Laurence Graff’s infinite love of diamonds, the diamond was named The Infinity.
A CROWN JEWEL
A gem of such beauty deserved a setting of equal splendour. Inspired by artist Cy Twombly’s fluid line work, Graff’s senior designer envisioned a spectacular tiara of enormous complexity, where the fluid and sculptural design creates a rhythmic visual journey, and twisting diamond ribbons and delicately suspended heart shapes lead the eye towards the magnificent centre stone. The graceful loops culminate in a bespoke mount that ingeniously allows The Infinity to be worn as a stunning pendant.
From digital rendering to 3D-printed mock-ups, the design moved from concept to reality. A triumph of technical precision and creative imagination, the tiara is entirely handcrafted in white gold. As with The Infinity, it is destined to become a modern heirloom rooted in history and designed with eternity in mind.
THE BRILLIANCE CONTINUES
While Graff is renowned for its mastery of white diamonds, its latest high jewellery creations reveal a broader creative palette that is both bold and uncompromising. One standout piece is a high jewellery bangle featuring a 17.05-ct certified unheated emerald-cut Sri Lankan sapphire that shows that the house reveres coloured stones as much as diamonds.
Aside from the emerald-cut diamonds and baguette-cut sapphires set with invisible prongs, the bracelet boasts snow-set pave diamonds and a clasp concealed in a sapphire, showcasing the jeweller’s ingenuity and obsession with detail.
Graff’s artistry has also become synonymous with rubies. In a spectacular minimalist platinum and white gold set, a 9.09-ct unheated oval Mozambican ruby surrounded by five magnificent cushion-cut rubies and 28.28ct of multi-shape diamonds radiates from the centre of the necklace. The earrings flaunt the same stylised motifs set with a total of 18.58ct of rubies and diamonds.
There is also another suite of contemporary pieces with a total of 45.38ct of unheated rubies, including 18.26ct in the coveted vivid Pigeon’s Blood hue on the bangle. A 5.19-ct cushion-cut ruby anchors the necklace, which flaunts geometric rows and fluid curves of diamonds that add graceful rhythm throughout the modern, fiery composition. Yellow diamonds provide another astounding expression.
A total of 39.3ct of interconnected swathes of round and baguette-cut diamonds sweep and swirl around the neckline, culminating in fancy yellow oval diamonds. The earrings accompanying the necklace feature three shimmering strands of diamonds, each capped with radiant fancy yellow oval stones.
The house’s legendary white diamond mastery can also be seen in an impossibly elegant suite set with 983 rare Graff diamonds. An elegant fringe necklace suspends 65.89ct of round and emerald-cut diamonds from white gold strands, while drop earrings, featuring 17.52ct of diamonds, perfectly complement the necklace’s shape. Completing the look is a bracelet with an angular aesthetic, featuring an exceptionally uniform outline graced with 20.7ct of diamonds that encircle the wrist beautifully.
In The Infinity, the world sees not just a singular masterpiece, but also a vision of Graff’s future—one shaped by beauty, skill, and visionary ambition. Through this alchemy of excellence, what once lay deep beneath the earth now shines with eternal brilliance.
Others see limitations—complex cuts, delicate stones, or lofty ambitions—but Graff sees potential. In a house that redefines the impossible, the next masterpiece is waiting to be born.
