FEATURE Story

CUT ABOVE THE REST

Talitha Cummins – The Cut Jewellery

Talitha Cummins is shining bright like a diamond. The former television presenter has pivoted her career to become the Founder & Design Director of The Cut Jewellery, which specialises in lab-grown diamonds.

Some would say this a controversial move with the lab grown diamonds pitted against the mystique and prestige of mined diamonds.

Cummins points out that both types of stones are made from the same mineral – carbon. They’re also graded in the same way when it comes to the 4 C’s: clarity, cut, colour and carat.

And she points out, they both measure a 10 on the MOHS scale of hardness. Plus, she adds, lab diamonds also come with certification and an inscription on the girdle to identify the diamond.

But they do differ in one area – price. Lab-grown diamonds are much less expensive than mined diamonds, which is why the lab grown market is booming.

According to diamond analyst, Paul Ziminsky, global sales of lab-grown diamonds rose from 2 per cent in 2018 to 10 per cent in 2022. And with the current tight economic climate being experienced around the world, the percentage of lab grown diamonds is rapidly escalating.

Bling it on, says Talitha Cummins, who launched The Cut Jewellery in October 2023 which also includes ready-made rings, bracelets and necklaces, all sparkling under the lights.

Her career’s come full circle, as she had briefly worked in the industry while still at university. Now she has joined forces with her uncle, The Cut’s head jeweller, Craig Blizzard (pictured below), who’s been in the jewellery business for around 50 years, along with her cousin, Cara Blizzard – The Cut’s head designer.

“My uncle contacted me a couple of years ago and said that I would really love this business,” she tells Australian Life. “He suggested I do some study with the GIA and see what I thought of lab-grown diamonds.”

It was a big commitment for Cummins, who shares two young children, Ollie and Riley with her husband, Sydney gym owner Ben Lucas, of Flow Fitness.

However, she was happy to leave the media industry behind and take on a diferent challenge. After all, she’d experienced some tough times in media, including being relieved of her role as Weekend Sunrise Newsreader while on maternity leave. She’d had to fight hard then and was given a confidential settlement.

So, she started studying in both Sydney and London, returning home as a GIA certified diamond grader and jewellery designer. Her new business awaited.

Cummins expected more resistance to lab-grown diamonds, when she launched the Cut Jewellery in Sydney’s Paddington.

“Of course, there were some people who said they would never buy them,” she says. “But they eventually changed their minds.”

Cummins used her journalism training to embark on a series of “high end trunk shows” to show prospective clients how their budget could go so much further with lab-grown diamonds.

“When people understood that the diamonds look exactly the same but you could buy a 15-carat tennis bracelet, set in white gold for $18,000, as opposed to $150,000 for mined diamonds, then it’s a pretty compelling argument,” she explains.

Soon young couples were turning up to the Paddington showroom with designs in mind, centred around radiant and emerald cut stones. They had no qualms about lab-grown diamonds, only relief that their wedding budget was going to stretch so much further now. Another pleasant surprise is that it doesn’t take very long to create a diamond ring.

“We do everything in Australia because my uncle has always manufactured here, “Cummins says. “No doubt it would be cheaper to take overseas but we’re proudly Australian.”

She acknowledges that working in jewellery is rewarding on so many different levels, especially when it comes to experi- encing some of life’s most cherished moments with the newly engaged.

“It’s the best thing that I have ever done,” she says. “I’m so happy having this business along with its mechanics. It’s great to be in control of my destiny.”