Let’s start with how we say Navette. It’s nah-vet. Rhymes with “corvette.” and it’s the French word for “shuttle”.
I hope you liked that tiny linguistic trip into the navette ring—one of jewellery’s most enduring, flattering, and frankly, misunderstood shapes.
Reminds me of a marquise shaped diamond…
The Shape of the Diamond
Different eras have fancied the navette for different reasons.
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Georgian & Victorian Eras: They went all in. Think navette rings with closed-back settings set with foiled citrine or amethyst, surrounded by delicate seed pearls or rose-cut diamonds. It was the height of romantic, sentimental jewellery.
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Art Deco: This is where the navette became a superstar. The bold, geometric, and symmetrical style of the 1920s and ‘30s was a navette’s natural habitat. Think sharp, geometric navette sapphires framed by rows of calibré-cut emeralds and lines of bright white diamonds. It was architecture for the hand.
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Mid-Century & Today: The love never faded. Designers in the 1950s and ‘60s used navettes in more organic, swirling designs. The navette (marquise) diamond is a chic alternative to the ubiquitous oval or emerald cut.
There’s a few examples of navette rings and other original antique jewels on my website to check out:
Right, So is this the navette for you?
If you’re bored of the obvious, if you love jewellery that has a whisper of history and a heavy dose of artistry, if you want something that feels “unearthed” rather than “bought off the high street”—then yes, this is the ring for you.
Have a look for them in antique shops, or with me, your antique jewellery expert who loves discovering vintage diamond cuts. Navette rings have been on my mind since the Marquise de Pompadour has decided to make her lips the inspiration for the iconic Marquise diamond shape.
Covered with beautiful diamonds, navettes are one of the most flattering shapes to ever grace a hand.
From the studio,
Guillaume Stapylton-Smith
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