Diamonds become bespoke in the hands of New York-based jeweller K Kane, who converts rough diamonds into initials for fine jewellery both personal and technically accomplished. The new Alphabet Diamonds collection cuts rough diamonds into letters of the alphabet, sets them on platinum and hangs them from a 14k yellow gold chain in a chic rethink of personalised jewellery.
The process of carving diamonds doesn’t come without its challenges; for founder and designer of K Kane, Katherine Kane, success hinges on finding the correct stones. ‘We start by looking for the right rough diamonds, which have to be a very specific shape to accommodate the letter cutting,’ she explains. ‘Then the roughs have to be carefully examined to see which letter they are best suited for - for example one stone may be better suited to an A and another stone may be better suited to an L. It requires a very experienced team to source, cut and polish these stones. Once we've determined which stone is best for which letter, we can then source the remaining letters needed.’
Each platinum setting is unique to each diamond, with the shaped and hand filed prongs designed to sit behind the diamond, making the stones appear to float. ‘My goal is that when you see this piece on, you really only see the diamond,’ Kane adds.
The collection is a natural continuation of previous collections Chain Letter - gold chains composed of linking letters - and Diamond Ones, which puts the emphasis on bespoke designs of one-of-a-kind diamonds. ‘K Kane has always been about designing innovative, highly unexpected but highly wearable jewellery,’ Kane says. ‘Our brand has a large selection of personalised jewellery; I felt like this collection was an incredible way to expand on that theme and take it to the next level. I’ve been dreaming of letter shaped diamonds for years, and finally found the right diamond partner to make this happen.’
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