Smith offers retailers guidance on creating an environment where natural and lab-grown diamonds can both thrive.
Jewelry Brand to Know: Marlo Laz
The New York-based brand is multiculturally inspired, with a distinct joie de vivre.

New York--Looking at the jewelry by Marlo Laz, one would be hard pressed to guess the provenance of its creator.
There are pendants and earrings in vivid, unexpected color combinations of pink and blue, or pink and orange, reminiscent of India, heavy medallions that bring to mind baptismal medals, and French wording throughout that is etched across rings and sturdy metal cuffs.
Designer Jesse Lazowski hails, in fact, from Hartford, Connecticut, and now resides in New York, but has lived in Switzerland and France and traveled extensively, visually mining the planet for inspiration. Last year alone she visited 28 places in 12 countries.
“The Marlo Laz woman is both a citizen of the world and an absolutely curious traveler,” Lazowski explained. “(She’s) culturally conscious, a spontaneous bon vivant with a taste for the exotic and the extraordinary.”
Lazowski launched her brand in 2014, after returning to New York from Paris and studying jewelry design at the Gemological Institute of America. Marlo is her middle name and Laz is a shortening of her last name.
She credits her aunt, an antique jewelry dealer, for helping her cultivate a passion for jewels from the very beginning.
“She is a collector of unique finds who connects deeply with her possessions on an intellectual level,” Lazowski said.
Like the antique jewelry she studied as a child, Lazowski designs each of her pieces with the intent for it to be treasured and treated as an heirloom, passed down to future generations. Her pieces have a deliberate heft with much attention paid to quality.
The vibrant colors Lazowski employs are a reference to her travels, Jaipur and Mexico City in particular, with the former’s orange and pink colors becoming something of a Marlo Laz signature. “My color combinations are such an essential element of the designs,” she said.
The brand’s various medallions are inspired by coins Lazowski has picked up on her travels, and her versions of them function as good luck charms.
“The Lucky Talisman coin contains various symbols of good luck from different cultures--an evil eye from Turkey and the Middle East, an elephant from India, a four-leaf clover from Ireland, a horseshoe, heart and peace symbol. It reminds me of all the souks, bazaars, and marketplaces I’ve visited on my travels,” she explained.
J’e porte bonheur, or “I bring good luck” is inscribed across much of her
Marlo Laz retails from $350 to $11,000 and is being stocked at a slew of coveted retail accounts, including Five Story, Broken English and Bergdorf Goodman.
While the brand is young and still carving out its niche, Lazowski has a mature sense of its identity.
“The personal connection between the owner and her jewelry is what I think about first when I design,” she said.
For more information, visit MarloLaz.com.
The Latest

Former Emerald President and CEO Hervé Sedky has transitioned to the role of senior advisor.

The 12-piece capsule collection transforms from brooches to pendants.

Colored gemstones, artisan finishes, mixed metals, and meaningful details are shaping demand in bridal jewelry.

A Botswana government official told lawmakers Anglo has selected The Global Diamond Consortium, an entity chaired by Penny, to buy De Beers.


The new tariff, imposed after a Trump administration study, is 25 percent and will stack on top of existing tariffs.

The collection from 2014 has been reinterpreted into high jewelry with its signature triangular-shaped elements.

DCA is preparing the next generation of professionals by supporting workforce development, leadership growth, and career advancement.

She will also take on the role of vice president of jewelry for SmartWork Media, a newly created position.

Organizers are looking for presentations on topics like manufacturing, technology and research, bench work, gemstones, and sustainability.

Woodley is seen in the campaign wearing our Piece of the Week, the “Frida” collar featuring 13 pieces of hand-carved Venetian glass.

A WeBuyVintage jewelry expert uncovered how much the flea market find was actually worth.

The founder of natural colored diamond wholesaler Pancis Gems shares stories from his five decades in the industry.

Submissions for the milestone 25th annual Gem Awards will be accepted across three categories from now through July 31.

Valeriya Guzema and Mariana Lenha look back on the last decade and discuss the Ukrainian brand’s first U.S. store.

The diamond mine, which opened nearly 30 years ago in Canada’s Northwest Territories, is expected to shut down by mid-August.

Jewelry sales for the company, which owns Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Vhernier, and Buccellati, rose 21 percent in the first quarter.

The graduate, Grace Barden, credited the program with helping her secure a job as a bench jeweler.

The event, scheduled for next month in New Orleans, will include dinner, a custom jewelry design contest, and education sessions.

The yet-to-be named stone is the 10th diamond weighing more than 1,000 carats to come out of Lucara’s Karowe mine.

The founder of Fords Jewelers, Berman is remembered for his love of connecting with his community.

The watch and jewelry retailer had a strong fiscal year despite what its CEO described as a “complex operating backdrop.”

The open-to-the-public luxury jewelry and timepiece show, in its second year, is slated for July 23-26.

Bold color, expressive gem-setting, and sculptural form define the three chapters that make up “Stile Libero.”

The New York-based jewelry brand has expanded overseas, opening a store in London’s Mayfair district.

Rising revenue does not automatically mean a healthy business, particularly in the current economic landscape, Smith writes.

Alberto Perez-Elias is one of four men charged with robbing a Cape Coral, Florida, jewelry store and is the only one still at large.























