Rocky Barnes Designs Her Dream Jewelry with Norman Silverman

With 3.4 million Instagram followers, Rocky Barnes is a go-to when it comes to style inspiration and tastemaker advice. Her fashion-forward looks are on-trend but never too trendy, classic but modern, and always include a sprinkle of natural diamonds. This year, Barnes teamed up with legendary jeweler Norman Silverman to create a capsule collection of dainty, wearable natural diamond pieces. From a stunning snake lariat to a bezel set, mixed-cut band, there’s something for everyone in the collection, plus more pieces set to debut just in time for holiday gifting.

Only Natural Diamonds caught up with Barnes after her event with Norman Silverman during the Newport Beach Film Festival x OC StyleWeek to talk the power of natural diamonds, jewelry style and what’s next in her work with the jeweler.

Only Natural Diamonds: Tell me about your jewelry style! What kind of pieces do you gravitate towards?

Rocky Barnes: My style is kind of reflective of my overall fashion style, which is more is more. I’m definitely not a minimalist when it comes to clothes. I love bright colors, statement pieces, and eclectic pieces. I obviously follow trends but I always make sure that there’s something that fits into my aesthetic and that I’m wearing the trend, the trend is not wearing me. So, I feel like that kind of goes along with my jewelry selections as well.

I love vintage pieces. My mom was a vintage collector her whole life and passed that trait down to me. And I like finding things and putting stuff together that creates a unique piece whether it’s adding charms or layering or just stacking in general is really my favorite thing, I’d have to say, I think I’ve become a little more known for my necklace stacks.

OND: What is your first memory of a diamond?

RB: It’s funny because my mom and my grandmother, neither of them had a ton of money growing up so I wasn’t one of those girls who inherited diamonds from her family, which would’ve been so nice. And I feel really grateful that I have such a beautiful collection now. I have two boys but hoping they marry some amazing girl or have daughters that I get to pass everything on to them.

But I remember being really young and one of my mom’s friends is a vintage jewelry saleswoman and I remember she gave me a tiny little diamond ring when I was way too young to probably even have diamonds. I’m pretty sure I still have that ring to this day and it’s the kind of thing that when you’re given a diamond, especially at a young age, it really sticks with you. It wasn’t a special occasion, it wasn’t a family member, but she gave me this ring and I just remember it being one of my most cherished possessions until I was old enough to buy my own diamonds.

OND: Do you have any pieces in your collection that have special meaning or an emotional connection for you?

RB: I would say the majority of my pieces do. My husband and I just had our sixth year wedding anniversary and I’d say that every year, he knows me and he knows not to buy clothes or anything like that, he always buys me jewelry. Luckily my husband has a really amazing sense of style and always gets me really special pieces for anniversaries, birthdays, or Christmas. And especially since having babies too, it became this whole memento of I would get a push present and then my boys’ names on nameplates. And so I have a lot of really special pieces that are a storyline of my life, which is really cool.

OND: Tell us about your collaboration with Norman Silverman.

RB: It was a very serendipitous event. I stopped by one of their trunk shows in Venice two or three years ago now and I met the team. And Trudy, who’s one of their salesgirls, was just so sweet. Trudy’s daughter actually had been following me on Instagram forever and when I came to the trunk show, Trudy and I just hit it off.

They are such a staple in the industry and I feel like most people don’t really know about them but then when you get behind the curtain, you realize how insanely special all of their diamonds are and how well-known they are in the industry but maybe not to the normal consumer. So, I think partnering with me was a great way to expose them to a new clientele.

They were an amazing collaboration partner for me because they just gave me free rein on anything. They put zero limitations on me designing the pieces and I was selfishly just designing pieces that I wanted for myself, which was really great. I have been playing with jewelry and wear it so often I kind of knew the pieces that were missing from my collection or that I really had my eye on and wanted. So I was able to create this dream capsule with them of pieces that I wanted for myself.

They are just so open and excited to have a new perspective in their business, which is a really amazing trait to have in a collaboration. They’re not just sticking pieces on you saying these are going to be yours. They really allowed me to have my own voice, which was great.

OND: You’re such a tastemaker yourself so it’s just natural that people are going to like what you like.

RB: I always feel like those collaborations do the best when you’re really excited about something. The energy expands into the consumer, they can feel it. It’s also funny because I was creating all these things that I thought are so crazy and they’re little peanuts to Norman because his diamonds are so big. [laughter] They’re just like, oh this half-carat thing over here?

In addition to my collab, I did an edit of their pieces and I got to wear a few of them for one of the photoshoots. And it’s just like they take your breath away. It’s really shocking.

OND: How did you feel when you put on some of those pieces?

RB: It’s so weird because you can have a designer something but the feeling when you get when you put on diamonds is just surreal. You literally feel just like a princess, it’s crazy. And no matter how many times you look at them, you never get over that feeling. They are always – you’re always in awe of them. It’s something special.

The whole thing about crystals in L.A.,  you think it’s a little woo-woo-y. But then you look at a diamond, which is like the ultimate crystal, and it’s like, okay, I get it. [laughter]

OND: Do you have any pieces from Norman Silverman or from your collection that you’ve been gravitating towards?

RB: So I had a pair of earrings, a ring, and two necklaces. I pretty much have been living in my snake lariat, and I haven’t taken off the ring. But the snake lariat for me has been the standout piece. It just has so much flexibility in being able to wear it. I think for me, especially stacking pieces, being able to adjust the height of a necklace so easily is just so great. I feel like it’s always kind of a struggle to make sure things are the right length and layered properly so having that flexibility is really great.

I just feel like it’s one of those pieces that can also stand alone. It’s just so sexy on its own. There is something about a lariat that just feels so sexy to me. Especially all summer long I was wearing it with bikinis. It just has this really sexy appeal to it. I’m working on a few pieces for an upcoming drop with Norman Silverman as well, which I’m really excited about.

OND: That is exciting! I can’t wait to see.

RB:  It’ll be out before the holidays. But I have a double ring that I’m really excited about.

OND: What goes into your decision-making process when you buy an investment piece like a natural diamond?

RB:  Of course. I would say I use my girl math for this. I have my three diamond necklaces that I literally don’t take off. And I feel like, yes, they’re expensive, especially when you’re thinking about the total cost, all in all. But the fact is, I have probably worn these every day for the past five years. And if you think about that, how much you’re spending cost per wear, it’s really not bad. When you’re buying natural diamonds and gold, I don’t take them off to shower, to swim, or anything and they just last forever. So there is something to be said about that. And they also just immediately elevate any outfit. It takes jeans and a white t-shirt to a new level. And all it takes is a necklace or a bracelet, a diamond necklace in accessories just elevates anything, always.

OND: Totally agree. I always feel naked without my jewelry. My outfit doesn’t feel complete without it.

RB: Yeah, same. I’m like, something is missing, what’s going on? [laughter]. Because my ears are stacked; my neck is stacked. People are always like how do they not tangle; how do you sleep in it? I’m like, I don’t know, I don’t even feel them anymore, they’re just part of me.

OND: Do you see yourself passing down your pieces one day and creating an heirloom collection of your own?

RB: Of course. I think also the older you get – I have such an amazing collection already and I’m not even that old [laughter] or I don’t think I’m that old! So I think there’s something about being able to share these pieces as you get older and being able to give them to people who you know are going to enjoy them for the rest of their lives as well. There is something really special and it’s just like a really beautiful thing to be able to pass stuff down like that.

Either my sons are going to go through their jewelry era themselves or they will have amazing partners or kids. So it’s one of those things as you get older, it’s such a gift to be able to give to other people, especially since I didn’t get that. I’m very excited to be able to pass that on. And half my jewelry has my sons’ names on it so it will be really fun to either give it to their wife or sibling or a child or something like that.

OND: What does luxury mean to you?

RB: I think luxury has really changed since I was growing up. My perspective on luxury versus my parents’ perspective on luxury has completely changed. I grew up in a house where you have your special clothes that you wear on special occasions or you only take things out on holidays or whatever. I feel like if I’m gonna spend my money on luxury stuff, it’s stuff I want to wear every day.

So I’m like wear the bag, wear the diamonds. Why are we saving it for something special? Let’s wear them. Luxury to me is buying nice things and being able to wear them every day and not having to save them for that special occasion. I think that’s my perspective.

OND: We always say in our office jewelry isn’t meant to sit in a box. It’s meant to be worn and shown off.

RB: Yeah! Let’s wear the diamonds. [laughter] I get so much joy out of them every day. I can’t imagine having to wait for a special occasion to put them on. Being able to wear the special stuff every day and not having to save it, that to me, like luxury pieces were meant to be used and worn not to be in a museum, in your closet… Let’s get our cost per wear in there!