where attitudes and attire meet in motion
In the Cab With
Jessica McCormack
A Conversation on Emotion, Wearability, and Character
August 20 2026, by Bart Kooi
Since launching her eponymous brand in 2008, McCormack has built a signature language where antique technique meets a distinctly contemporary sense of ease. Her designs are rooted in wearability and made to be lived in rather than kept in a box; they are personal expressions rather than status symbols, placing emotion and storytelling back at the centre of fine jewelry.
This week’s In the Cab With: Jessica McCormack — a conversation on emotion, wearability and character: “I just don't like the idea of spending a lot of money on something you're never going to wear.”
Your husband proposed with a ring you'd unknowingly designed yourself — he'd approached you under the guise of a client from New York, looking for an engagement ring for 'his girlfriend.' It's a funny story I read about you, but it also raises a real question: who is the Jessica McCormack woman, and how much of her is actually you?
Whenever I design, I don't start with a specific person in mind — though maybe, in a way, I do design for myself. I'm always asking: how would I wear this? Is it comfortable? Is it too heavy? Can I wear it all day? A piece can be beautiful, but those are the questions I work through with the design team.
As for the engagement ring — my husband worked on that with my business partner, thinking they were being very clever. I went with it, thinking this ring would be perfect for this American woman. I wore it for one weekend, and then I sold it to someone else. I've had four or five engagement rings since. Every time I make one, someone wants to buy it, and then I have the freedom to design another. I like that — it gives me creative freedom.
Your father was an auctioneer and antique dealer, and you've often spoken about growing up around objects and stories. How much did that environment shape the way you see things today?
It shaped me hugely — both in my personal style and in the way I collect. What my father was great at was bringing together objects from different genres, eras, and price points. Nothing was the same, and he was really good at mixing it all together. He had a real talent for finding pieces that carried stories. They weren't necessarily valuable in the traditional sense, but they were beautifully crafted, and he could build narratives around them — which then elevated them.
He would sell things, and I'd come home to find half the house had disappeared and something new had taken its place. A piece of art would move, a piece of furniture would move. I loved that constantly evolving way of collecting. I still do it today, whether through jewelry, the houses and stores we create, or the interiors we design. It all comes from the same place. It feels very intuitive to me. There was never a master plan — it's simply the most natural way for me to see and build a world.
Growing up in that world of art and antiques, where did jewelry come into it?
I would go to auctions with my father — he'd buy art and antiques — and I would buy boxes of old costume jewelry, take the pieces apart, and make them into new things. When I came to London to work at Sotheby's, it wasn't specifically because of the jewelry department. It was really because of the auction world. Sotheby’s was such an impressive global institution, and I thought that whatever I learned there, I could eventually take back to New Zealand.
But I went into jewelry, and suddenly I was surrounded by Russian crown jewels, 1920s Cartier, Lalique, extraordinary Georgian and Victorian pieces, Art Deco jewelry. That's where it really cemented. I remember thinking: I'm obsessed. I wanted to understand everything about this world — and I wanted to make jewelry like this.
Was there a specific moment when you had that realization?
It was being in the safes with the pieces, going through the old catalogs they used to throw away and that I would take with me. People would come in — often older women — bringing in inherited jewelry to be appraised. The sheer volume of pieces I got to see and handle was extraordinary. I was only there four or five months, and it had a huge pull on the direction of my life.
After your time at Sotheby's, you stayed in London and began making jewelry yourself — a very different path than you had initially planned. How did that decision come about?
It wasn't a plan; it evolved from making one piece, selling it, making another. Ignorance is bliss when you're twenty-five. I had no idea what I was getting into. There was a deep learning curve, but I'm very curious — if I find something I'm into, I'm fully into it. I taught myself how to draw a diamond. I found a workshop. I went all in.
You've described jewelry as a memory snapshot. When did you first become aware of that quality?
I experience it through other people more than through myself. I can be a little fickle — I'll just make a new piece. But I see it through clients, through collections that go back generations. When you get a piece of jewelry, it reminds you of the person who gave it to you, or anchors you to a certain moment. And as pieces are handed down, stories come with them: “This was my mother's, this was my great-grandmother's.” I love that jewelry has that capacity — to hold a moment in time.
The luxury jewelry world has traditionally been defined by rarity, status, and scale. Your work feels more focused on storytelling and emotion. Where does that anchor come from?
It's so important that you wear the jewelry — that the jewelry doesn't wear you. People should feel happy, joyful, and beautiful in it. It's about something feeling crafted rather than being a status symbol. My female clients feel very empowered to self-purchase fine jewelry and diamonds. I'm excited about that shift — jewelry was traditionally gifted; now it can be chosen for yourself.
I love that jewelry has that capacity — to hold a moment in time.
And what do you think they're ultimately buying, when they purchase jewelry for themselves?
Something they love. The piece I'm wearing right now is a sample made out of plasticine — it just makes me very happy. Diamonds and fine jewelry can be quite serious, a bit scary, a little intimidating. These are all the things I don't want it to be. I'm not sure I can tell you exactly what you're buying, it's just a very joyful thing.
Many designers speak about innovation, whereas your work feels deeply rooted in history. What makes a piece feel present to you, even when it carries references from the past?
I love a mix of old and new, masculine and feminine — that's what creates something timeless. What I love is that I can literally have a granddaughter, a mother, and a grandmother all wearing the same pair of earrings. Women of eighteen, forty, and eighty. It can transcend age entirely.
It's about balance. Something inspired by the past that still feels modern and fresh. The juxtaposition of old and new, masculine and feminine — I use a lot of mixed metals, for example. I wouldn't call it a formula, but that duality is a style. Sometimes I think about it consciously; sometimes it just happens. People always ask where I get my inspiration, and honestly it could come on the tube, or in the shower. But the thinking is important: thinking about how you're going to wear something, how it will live in your life, how it will give comfort. There's a lot to think about beyond the beauty of the piece alone.
You've built your brand around the idea that diamonds can be worn anywhere. Why has wearability been so central to your thinking?
I just don't like the idea of spending a lot of money on something you're never going to wear. When your children or grandchildren can say “that's the ring my mother used to wear”, it carries so much more weight than a piece kept in a safe and passed between generations unworn. I've seen so much of that kind of jewelry — pieces made and never touched. To make something actually wearable feels essential to me. The more you wear something, the more memory it holds.
You've created your own four Cs — Craft, Collect, Curate, and Cult — in place of the traditional diamond grading system. What do those ideas reveal about your approach?
The traditional four Cs are deeply technical — very scientific. And they’re important, but they don’t capture emotion. Jewelry isn't a number on a page; it's not a commodity. Our four Cs put the emotion back in.
You've since added a fifth: Character.
Character is what you see in jewelry from the 1910s and 1920s — there's a softness and a difference to those pieces. By today's technical standards, the stones might not be perfect, but that's precisely what I find so beautiful. I love something with a bit of character, something that's not quite perfect. It's like with people — you don't want everyone to be the same, cut from the same mold. The imperfect stones are often the most interesting.
The traditional four Cs are deeply technical — very scientific. Our four Cs put the emotion back in.
If you had to choose just one C, which would it be?
Character and craftsmanship together. A beautiful stone with character, showcased in incredible craftmanship — that's when you can make something really special.
Your pieces are worn by a remarkable range of women — from Rihanna to Zendaya, from Margot Robbie to Zoë Kravitz. What do you think they recognize in the work that draws them in?
I think they love the ease of it, the wearability. They have access to every brand in the world, and they choose to wear mine. You can feel the craftsmanship when you put a piece on — it's tangible. And then you just enjoy wearing it. Different women style the same piece in completely different ways; they make it their own. It doesn't feel like you have to be a certain type of person to wear it. That's the duality I'm interested in — the idea that it can be for everyone.
It's like with people — you don't want everyone to be the same, cut from the same mold. The imperfect stones are always the most interesting.
You've been working closely with Zoë Kravitz for a couple of years. What makes her such a natural fit for your world?
She was a genuine friend and client, to start with. She'll take something and wear it and style it so that it becomes entirely her — it's completely natural to her. She's incredibly creative, incredibly stylish, incredibly beautiful. I never planned any of it; everything has come from the jewelry and the love of it. My horizon line is very short — get to the end of the week. I like to see how things evolve naturally; that’s how the entire business has grown, as well as all my relationships — with clients, VIPs, and celebrities.
In a culture shaped increasingly by noise, how do you maintain a point of view that stays true to you?
I don't overthink it. I'm not looking outward too much; I'm focused on the here and now. Distraction is a killer. It could be very easy to think: traditionally, it should be X, Y, and Z. But if I'd ever done that, I wouldn't be where I am today. I try to do what I feel is right, rather than what I think is right.
It could be very easy to think: traditionally, it should be X, Y, and Z. If I'd ever done that, I wouldn't be where I am today.
And now, after building one of the most distinctive names in contemporary jewelry, what continues to drive you forward?
Building something that lasts. A legacy brand that will be here in a hundred years. Someday, someone might be in an auction house and find pieces we made in the late 2020s, and be able to place the style — the way I can look at something from the 1920s or 1940s and immediately recognize its moment.
It’s the idea of creating a brand that outlives generations — with good, wearable, recognizable jewelry•
Advertorial. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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