Jesse Marlo Lazowski Walks to the Beat of Her Own Drum

Jesse Marlo Lazowski is celebrating 10 years of her fine jewelry brand, Marlo Laz, which was brought to life by her love of antique jewelry and years of travel. From creating hand-beaded necklaces to designing bespoke natural diamond jewelry, Marlo Laz has evolved into a global brand with two flagship NYC boutiques. Lazowski sits down with Only Natural Diamonds to reflect on the brand’s achievements over the past decade and what the future has in store.

Lazowski has loved jewelry since she was thirteen years old. She grew up surrounded by women who collected, “And most importantly, wore their fine jewelry,” Lazowski tells Only Natural Diamonds. “My great-aunt first exposed me to fine jewelry in her antique jewelry shop.” The first piece of jewelry she ever received was a diamond and ruby brooch in the shape of a bow from her great-grandmother, whom she is named after. “I later refashioned it into a necklace. I couldn’t get over the brilliance and energy of the piece, and from that moment, I was addicted.” When describing the household she grew up in, she says, “We were taught that you could turn your passion into your profession and that one could be successful in anything they put their heart and soul into.”

Along with her affinity for natural diamond jewelry, Lazowski loves to travel and takes inspiration from different destinations to create her pieces, such as her iconic Porte Bonheur pendants and the Desert Rising collection. “I am forever inspired by a mix of cultivated periods, places, and things: Art Nouveau, the Vienna Secession, the Maharajas, the American Southwest, the energy of Brazil, the Bay of Cadaqués, the Orientalists, the Silk Route, the Victorian Era, the Surrealists… the list goes on.” 

Lazowski lived in Paris for three years while she was at university in her 20s. During that time, she traveled to India and met the first artisans who produced her initial designs. Lazowski continued to travel back and forth from India to Paris until she moved to New York City after graduation. “I had my first trunk show in 2012 with my pieces from India,” which were hand-beaded necklaces that she created while she was living at the Bowery Hotel, she tells OND. “It’s safe to say we’ve come a long way!” 

people tell us how much luck and joy Marlo Laz has brought to their lives.

Lazowski later attended GIA for jewelry design and planted herself in the Diamond District to work on the collection that would become Marlo Laz. “The first pieces I designed with diamonds were the Porte Bonheur with a diamond halo, the Talisman coin with rays of sunshine in shimmering diamonds, and the Eyecon collection with a border of diamonds.” She adds, “From the onset of my collection, I have incorporated at least a sprinkle of diamonds into basically every piece I design—whether it be a few bezels hidden on a pendant or ring, or a pavé bail, there’s always a way to include natural diamonds in jewelry.”

Lazowski opened her first store in the West Village in 2019 and recently opened a boutique on Madison Avenue. In the West Village, guests can expect to walk into a treasure trove of jewels, while on Madison Avenue, shoppers are welcomed into a warm, sunken living room. “Both locations bring the inspiration and influences of Marlo Laz to life, merging Italian, Indian, and Moroccan design elements, like our iconic pink walls, infused with the energy of New York.” Lazowski adds, “I love that we are this global brand, but our stores enable us also to be a local jeweler for our New York clients and all those who come to visit.” At the stores, Lazowski and her team get to work personally with clients on special bespoke pieces, resets, and engagement rings. In addition to natural diamond jewelry, Lazowski has added a home accessories collection made in Italy.

Lazowski explains the brand is constantly evolving from her NYC stores to her global retailers, saying, “We sell to clients and stores on every continent except Antarctica.” She refers to her clients as collectors, and they are just as passionate as she is. “Our collectors, new and old, constantly tell us how special and distinctive they feel Marlo Laz is, and that means the world to me in a highly saturated market.” She continues, “Even better, people tell us how much luck and joy Marlo Laz has brought to their lives.” In addition to her collectors, Lazowski has also had countless celebrity placements, including a notable moment when Sarah Jessica Parker wore the Spiked Heart Pendant in an episode of And Just Like That. “We’ve had iconic moments with Beyoncé, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and countless other incredible women from the arts, politics, tech, business, and beyond,” adding, “These are women [that a designer] dreams of having wear their jewelry.” 

“It has been a wonderful, exciting, eventful, expansive, enlightening, nonstop, and beautiful journey,” Lazowski says of the last 10 years. “It’s been amazing to have a series of hit jewelry pieces that have set the tone for the industry in many ways.” For example, the Porte Bonheur pendants are made with Marlo Laz’s bespoke font and the Desert Rising collection introduced what Lazowski calls “gold embroidery” into the market. With sustainability at the forefront of her designs, Lazowski says, “We’ve worked with Fairmined gold and Botswana-mark diamonds for a capsule collection to discuss traceability in the industry.” 

From selling hand-beaded necklaces in 2012 to opening two New York City boutiques full of iconic designs and evolving collections, Marlo Laz continues to grow and expand its reach. “It’s amazing to be in a place where the plan is to keep doing what we’re doing. Just more of it. It happens thoughtfully and organically,” she adds. “We definitively walk to the beat of our own drum and do things in a way that feels authentic to the brand and what it stands for.”