It’s the Signet-owned banner’s first location in Georgia.
Q&A: The Author of ‘Stoned’
Former Tacori designer Aja Raden on how the desire for jewelry has shaped the world and the diamond necklace she’d love to wear to Starbucks.
![Released by Ecco in December, “Stoned: Jewelry, Obsession and How Desire Shapes the World” is Aja Raden’s first book. 20160525_Raden-photo.jpg](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/b496a467c6d4ea204884458ed6b7ee69.jpg)
New York--The idea for Stoned took shape at a dinner party in Paris that lacked neither liquor nor literary connections.
Aja Raden, who spent nearly eight years designing jewelry for Tacori, was in town for the birthday celebration of her close friend and former college roommate Lauren Oliver, the best-selling author of the Delirium trilogy.
Seated next to Raden at the table was a woman who just happened to be wearing a Tacori engagement ring that she had designed and her soon-to-be husband, Stephen Barbara, who just happened to be Oliver’s agent.
The discovery that Raden designed not just any jewelry but that very ring led to a broader discussion about worth vs. cost, advertising campaigns and diamonds, peculiar histories and relative value.
And that’s how the idea for Stoned: Jewelry, Obsession and How Desire Shapes the World was born, at a table with one jewelry designer, an author and a literary agent. As Raden tells it, “Stephen Barbara was Laura’s book agent, and is now mine as well.”
Published in December, the book tells the story of the role eight different jewels played in shaping history including: the diamond necklace that helped to spur the French Revolution, the watch and World War I, and the rise of the diamond as the gemstone of choice for engagement rings.
Since the book came out, NPR, The New York Times and Psychology Today are among those who have interviewed Raden.
Her 356-page nonfiction book, an intersection of science, history and all that sparkles, has earned a spot on the Times’ best-seller list, and found its way into the upper right-hand section of New York magazine’s Approval Matrix grid.
At the upcoming JCK show in Las Vegas, the author will be featured in a one-on-one conversation with JCK magazine Editor-in-Chief Victoria Gomelsky.
Before that, though, Raden took the time to chat with National Jeweler about writing Stoned.
National Jeweler: Some people write for years without getting a single thing published. How do you think this happened so fast? Was there just a niche in the market for a nonfiction book about jewelry?
Aja Raden: They (the publishers) were very keen to take a chance on me. There was an auction over who got the book rights. They were very excited about it, and I got put on the big books list for fall.
I didn’t have a hard
NJ: What about this book do you think was/is so appealing?
AR: I think different things about it were appealing about to different people and that’s what gives it broad appeal. There’s science, there’s history, there’s a lot of information about the jewelry industry, which I think is one of those … secreted industries. If you’re not part of it, you don’t understand how it works. You don’t know where anything comes from or how anyone got it. That alone is fascinating to people.
My favorite part of it, what I like in books, is not so much that there’s something in it for everyone as it is all of those things tied together. I’ve always been fascinated by the story of how it all happened, whatever it is. It could be why No. 2 pencils are yellow (and there’s a reason for that actually.)
NJ: How did you feel writing Chapter 2 (Precedents Are Forever), which recounts the post-World War marketing campaign engineered by De Beers that made diamonds the must-have gemstone for engagement rings and states that diamonds aren’t rare? Have you gotten any feedback, or even backlash, on it?
AR: (When the book came out) I thought God, are they going to hate me, are they going to hate this book? And I don’t mean random people wearing engagement rings, I mean … people in the (jewelry) industry. Am I going to get booted out of the club?
I had a random moment of feeling maybe a little bit hypocritical since engagement rings were my bread and butter for so long, and then I thought, that’s not hypocrisy, that’s I know my subject matter, I put in the time. I didn’t really feel bad about writing it.
And I didn’t expect it to be quite so shocking to people.
I knew the engagement ring story sometimes gets a rise out of people--they’re a little bit shocked--but this is just history, this is just science. This is not my opinion. So no, I didn’t feel bad saying it. It is what it is. Don’t shoot the messenger.
NJ: While some diamonds are more common than others, there certainly are gem-quality diamonds of certain sizes and colors that are rare.
AR: Oh for sure; you find a diamond the size of a door knocker, that’s rare. You find a blue diamond, that’s rare. But just your average engagement ring diamond, those are a dime a dozen. There’s always an anomaly in any substance that make it rare. And size alone can be the anomaly.
That’s part of the whole interesting roundabout of imaginary value. It really is, does anybody else have it? It’s positional good (an object whose worth is determined largely or even solely on how badly other people want it).
NJ: Another point you address in the book is the value of things shifting over time. Maybe in 50 years, the padparadscha sapphire will be the gem to have, or tourmaline. Emeralds were, at one time, No. 1 and pearls had their day. Like you said, value’s all perception and perceptions change over time.
AR: Absolutely. I am certainly as susceptible to that as anyone else. I have a padparadscha and I love it. And while I was writing the book I actually wrote in the book that I was in hot pursuit of a red emerald, bixbite. And I got one, and I haven’t decided what to make out of it yet.
NJ: If you could have one of the pieces you wrote about in the book, which one would it be?
AR: I gotta go with the Fabergé eggs. I’ve been obsessed with them since I was a child.
If I had to pick one (egg), probably the Mosaic Egg or the Winter Egg. Those are my two favorites. Those are amazing. But I am going to do a Malcolm Forbes here, he who dies with the most toys wins. I want all of them. I’ll take them all. Thank you.
(And) if the French Revolution necklace still existed, I’d be wearing that to Starbucks.
NJ: After reading the book, I would guess that pearls are your favorite gemstone. Am I right?
AR: No actually, they’re not, not at all. I have some nice pearls, I like them (but) I find them hard to wear for a few reasons. One, they don’t look great on me; I’m (very pale.) I have yet to find a set of pearls that does anything for me. (And) I have a short neck, so those strands of pearls, that’s not a good look on me.
Emeralds, opals and rubies are my top three.
NJ: What has been the general reaction to Stoned?
AR: I would say 90 percent of the feedback has been (positive.) It’s really touching. And then maybe 5 percent (of the people) are like, ‘I hated it,’ ‘It was stupid,’ ‘Why was this woman allowed to write a book?’
The majority of people seem to have really embraced it and really like it but the ones that don’t like it, man, they really don’t like it. I think the people who react that way I think they must have some skin in the game, one way or another. Either they’re journalists or they’re historians and they don’t like that a jewelry designer wrote a book about economics and history, or they’re in the jewelry industry and they don’t like what I had to say about the jewelry industry.
NJ: What’s next for you?
AR: I am working on two more books. One’s a follow-up, titled Rocked, and it’s about the human interaction with gems and minerals, how they’ve affected the broader culture and evolution--why people move where they move, who went to war with whom.
The other one is titled Had, and it’s about nine cons. It’s about, why do we believe what we believe?
The Latest
![These “Double Loop” earrings feature a drop-cut amethyst sitting atop the lower hoop, totaling 1.60 carats between both earrings. The hoops are made of silver covered in “pistacchio” colored enamel, while 9-karat yellow gold holds the stones in place and connect the two hoops behind the earlobe ($1,770). Bea Bongiasca’s Double Loop Earrings](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/f338ef6b4603be3c97765f833b831ca0.jpg)
Commemorate “brat summer” with these green hoops.
![The skyline of downtown Providence, Rhode Island. Jewelers of America held one of its Multifacted Learning Workshops there on July 17 and National Jeweler Editor-in-Chief Michelle Graff tagged along. Stock image of Providence, Rhode Island, skyline](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/4ec5b02d4cbaaaa2283bdcf6820950a4.jpg)
Editor-in-Chief Michelle Graff returns from Rhode Island with thoughts about in-store shopping and a trends report.
![Untitled design.jpg](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/583fbcb2bb839782810080debef35d3c.jpg)
As the demand for lab-grown diamond jewelry may still be increasing, the most notable change we are likely to see is price stabilization.
Sponsored by Gemological Institute of America
![](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/99a46b30cc354962ac2e29ecd113587a.jpg)
![Earlier this month, online giant Amazon and the Better Business Bureau filed a joint federal lawsuit against ReviewServiceUSA.com for allegedly selling fake reviews, both positive and negative. Amazon package outside door](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/27fce4225a38900d54a5536ce523a22d.jpg)
They claim ReviewServiceUSA.com was selling both positive and negative reviews of products and businesses.
A longtime member of IJO, she’s remembered for her passion for design, learning, and environmentalism.
![1872 x 1052 Gemolite.jpg](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/9d60901b44425a53b9010301897a3bbc.jpg)
GIA®’s most advanced microscope has new features to optimize greater precision and comfort.
![A malachite and diamond bracelet from Pomellato’s “Pom Pom Dot” collection, launched earlier this year. Pomellato and Boucheron were bright spots for Kering in an otherwise underwhelming first half of the year. Pomellato Malachite Pom Pom Dot bracelet](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/3c237b62e009742fc52487097daf3c5a.jpg)
The gains come amid a tough time for parent company Kering, which saw sales slide 11 percent in the first half of the year.
![Volunteers and Shane Co.’s corporate team from all 22 locations of the family-owned jewelry chain have begun packing backpacks with school supplies for teachers to distribute to their students this school year. Shane Co. and the Kids in Need foundation logo](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/1c5abfb36ec775724f014f47bfbb47fc.jpg)
The fine jewelry retailer filled backpacks with back-to-school essentials for students in 13 states.
![A shot from the advertising campaign for LVMH-owned Bulgari’s “Eden the Garden of Wonders” high jewelry collection. LVMH’s jewelry and watch sales slipped in the first half of the fiscal year. Bulgari high jewelry campaign](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/c24eb75ca8cea44d2e9859648f4a98ee.jpg)
Tiffany & Co. is focusing on its “iconic” collections while the company has made changes at the top at TAG Heuer and Hublot.
![Chaumet, a Parisian jeweler owned by LVMH, has designed the Olympic and Paralympic Games medals. Chaumet Paris 2024 Olympics medals](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/7831b3a738baddfc7d783e6df0fbf796.jpg)
The Parisian brand is the first jewelry company in the history of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to design the medals.
![The acquisition of Union Life & Casualty by Jewelers Mutual will help strengthen both the pawn market and the insurance industry, said JM. Jewelers Mutual and Union Life and Casualty logos](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/195925667226ecfc51b4e1bb09607143.jpg)
Union Life & Casualty will join JM Insurance Agency Partners, expanding the provider’s pawnbroker coverage.
![The winner of this year’s Lonia Tate scholarship, Bradlei Smith will receive the opportunity to earn her Graduate Gemologist diploma from GIA and, following graduation, an internship at Ben Bridge Jeweler in Seattle. Bradlei Smith](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/996834935ae30a7a1195db8b9db6cb7d.jpg)
Los Angeles-based Bradlei Smith was selected for this year’s award.
![Peter Smith is an industry consultant, speaker, sales trainer, and author. He can be reached via email at TheRetailSmiths@gmail.com. National Jeweler columnist Peter Smith](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/bec7295a7f478778b1c196e6d81e7cd9.jpg)
In his latest column, Smith shares multiple reasons why people who look at the glass as being hall full often make better salespeople.
![In honor of its summer bridal event, Long’s Jewelers is partnering with Wequassett Resort and Golf Club on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, and jewelry brand JB Star on a vacation giveaway. Long’s Jewelers giveaway promo](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/4e7a90944c4e8875a4f3818dbe26b28b.jpg)
The giveaway is part of the New England jeweler’s summer bridal event.
![L.A.-based flower designer, Sophia Moreno-Bunge models Guzema’s “Hidden Beauty” collection in front of a garden in Rustic Canyon in Santa Monica, California. Sophia Moreno-Bunge of Isa Isa modeling Guzema’s Hidden Beauty collection](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/6f3822623eb7fd2f6468f82825194cb1.jpg)
The ad features three celebrity florists creating floral sculptures while wearing jewelry by Guzema.
![The Entrepreneurship Grants program supports winners with financial aid to scale their businesses and increase their societal impact, said Diamonds Do Good. Pictured here are three of the 13 winners, top right is Tresia Shituula, and bottom row left to right, are Monkgogi Moshaga and Mohamed Samu. Tresia Shituula, Monkgogi Moshaga, Mohamed Samu](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/a7c9b87301b76a9446f6522747ce5b95.jpg)
The grant provided a total of $100,000 to support 13 entrepreneurs from diamond communities in Africa and India.
![Ghazi Osta, better known as Gus, was the owner and president of Volusia Gold & Diamond, a store he and his wife, Leigh Osta, opened in 1986. He was shot and killed inside the store Friday afternoon after a brief argument with a regular customer. (Photo courtesy of Volusia Gold & Diamond Facebook page) Ghazi “Gus” Michel Osta](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/c8c1fa3df746cbd364915a98dcac9d21.jpg)
Ghazi Michel Osta, or “Gus,” was killed Friday by an 83-year-old man said to be a frequent customer at his store, Volusia Gold & Diamond.
![Elyssa Jenkins-Pérez (left) is the Responsible Jewellery Council’s new head of North American development, and Effie Marinos is its new specialist advisor for technical standards. Elyssa Jenkins-Perez and Effie Marinos](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/94332af0c7a776e7a8c36fabf76baa5f.jpg)
The organization also announced Effie Marinos as its new specialist advisor for technical standards, as well as four other appointments.
![Karen Rentmeesters, who joined the Antwerp World Diamond Centre in 2010, will take on the role of CEO. Karen Rentmeesters](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/3256fcc71cd43a399055c61f68486269.jpg)
Rentmeesters has served as interim CEO since April following former CEO Ari Epstein’s resignation.
![Longtime Washington, D.C., jeweler Brian Mann (right) with his wife Jessie Mann, an artist who custom-paints porcelain Limoges Boxes, at a 2016 Jewelers of America member event. Mann, the longtime co-owner of David Mann Jewelers, died June 21 at age 70. Brian and Jessie Mann](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/be4debc6e0b3198943a66ef0e2197c2c.jpg)
Mann, whose family’s jewelry store was located inside the Pentagon, is remembered for being a thoughtful champion of the industry.
![The 1916 Company recently opened a new Tudor boutique in Denver’s Cherry Creek Shopping Center. Tudor store in Denver](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/9f8600ea53ed731963331ebd28a10d16.jpg)
The 500-square-foot boutique is located in Denver’s Cherry Creek Shopping Center.
![This necklace from Messika’s “So Move Max” set is made of yellow gold with 19.18-carats of brilliant-cut diamonds and designed with circle motifs that move within the links (price upon request). Messika’s So Move Max Necklace](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/14c78af4a4e8c6b996a81bbb5a5bc69f.jpg)
Dance all night long with the “So Move Max” set’s necklace.
![On Sept. 1, Julien Tornare (left), current CEO of TAG Heuer, will become CEO of Hublot. Antoine Pin, now the general manager of Bulgari’s watch business, will take over Tornare’s role as CEO of TAG Heuer. (Images courtesy of LinkedIn) Julien Tornare and Antoine Pin](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/b24627b34ece895ddd254bae22751fb8.jpg)
Luxury giant LVMH is reshuffling the leadership in its watches division.
![A rendering of a billboard from Etsy’s new campaign. The campaign is designed to highlight the platform’s creators and how their products are made. Etsy billboard rendering in NYC](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/9a94f394f326b90dc1c9da6a711c5e09.jpg)
Sellers and shoppers have spoken out against a rise in mass-produced merchandise on the platform meant to highlight handmade goods.
![Ariana Grande said she cannot wait “to inspire others to embrace their own unique sparkle,” as Swarovski’s brand ambassador. (Photo credited to Mert Alas and Marcus Piggot for Swarovski) Ariana Grande Modeling in Swarovski Jewelry](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/adaa79dce0741a275427155078691611.jpg)
The celebrity will star in Swarovski’s holiday campaign.