Tanya Farah has kept all of her childhood jewelry as a tribute to her mother and as a symbol of her journey from a young girl to a jewelry designer and entrepreneur.
Growing up in Iran, Farah’s mother would take her to a shop in Tehran called Tala (meaning “gold”). “I would visit the store every month and choose a piece of jewelry that spoke to me,” Farah recalls.
“That’s when I fell in love with jewelry. Over time, my collection grew, and I realized that these pieces weren’t just items—they were telling a story. My story.”
As the founder of Tanya Farah Fine Jewelry, this New York-based designer says that revisiting those pieces reminds her of her thoughts and feelings as a young girl and what she now aims to bring to her jewelry as a designer.
During the Iranian Revolution in the late 1970s, Farah, along with her parents and brother, relocated to California, where she graduated from Santa Monica High School.
Her first job was as an assistant in a custom men’s tailoring shop, where she learned about textiles, patterns, and shapes. “Each piece of fabric was a work of art,” she says.
Education was highly valued in her family, so Farah knew she was expected to go to college, start a career, get married, and have children. She pursued her undergraduate degree at California State University and earned her Ph.D. in organizational psychology by the age of 26. She then worked as a consultant for a Fortune 500 company.
“It was a fascinating job, and I loved it. Being a woman in that environment made me feel empowered,” Farah says.
In 1990, she got married. By the mid-90s, after the birth of her two children, Farah decided to stay at home and focus on motherhood. As her son and daughter grew, she began exploring her childhood passions—art and creating things with her hands.
“Becoming a mother sparked a desire in me not only to fulfill my dream of becoming an artist but also to start my own business,” Farah says. “I started looking at things differently. I began taking classes and making pieces with silver wire.”
It wasn’t until she created jewelry for her children’s school fundraisers that her friends and family encouraged her to take her hobby to the next level. In 2001, her brand was born, focusing on fine jewelry—pieces meant to be passed down, allowing the jewelry to transcend generations. Jewelry, she says, becomes a way to share the original wearer’s identity with future generations, just as her childhood pieces have been shared with her own children.
One of her brand’s most iconic designs is the Tree of Life, an 18k gold pendant featuring approximately 2 carats of diamonds, shaped like a tree with many branches. Farah describes it as a symbol of women’s strength and resilience, reflecting the journey a woman takes through her own growth and that of her loved ones.
The Tree of Life pendant also includes a butterfly perched at the top and pomegranates on one side, representing eternal life and hopeful renewal, Farah explains.
“I explore the stories that inspire me—my upbringing in Iran, my journey as a woman and a mother,” she says. “When you wear a piece from my collection, you become part of a beautiful tapestry. Your story can be shared again and again. It reminds us that our journeys are part of something greater and more beautiful.”
AIDI International Smart Diamond Association's How I Got Here series aims to promote more independent jewelry designer brands, as we believe that with the growth of the lab-grown diamond industry, the global jewelry market will become more diverse and filled with smaller, exquisite brands. We also invite Chinese jewelry designers to share their stories. Please email us at: info@aidi.org