Forevermark Black Label Launch Party
@ De Beers, NYC
2016
Private Launch Event
De Beers
Forevermark
When Forevermark invited me to create a series of paintings for the launch of their Black Label Collection, I knew immediately that this project would be unlike anything I had done before. The Black Label Collection is described as the most exclusive selection of diamond cuts ever conceived! After seeing these stones up close, I understood why.
Forevermark unveiled the collection at a private cocktail event in New York City, where the diamonds’ brilliance took center stage. For the first time, fancy-shaped diamonds could exhibit the same maximum brilliance traditionally associated with round brilliants.
Alongside the diamond debut, we revealed four of my large-scale paintings created specifically for this collection. Each piece highlights one of the Black Label shapes — round, oval, square, and cushion — magnified more than 1,000 times.
The precision behind these stones is unreal: each one is cut with such exceptional craftsmanship that a perfect “Compass of Light”™ emerges from within. It’s this asymmetric arrow pattern that gives Black Label diamonds their unmatched sparkle, and it immediately became the foundation of my artistic inspiration.
I wanted viewers to step into the diamond, to see every facet, every angle, every moment where light breaks and becomes something new. These works were also my first time painting on shaped canvases, each one custom-wrapped to match the geometry of the diamond it represented. Translating the perfect symmetry of these stones into paint was a challenge that pushed me creatively, but it felt completely natural the moment I began.
Painting these Black Label diamonds was different from anything I’ve done before, simply because the cuts themselves are so uniquely designed. My passion for painting diamonds actually began years ago, inspired by the timeless line “A Diamond Is Forever.” There’s something deeply emotional about the symbolism of diamonds, and through hyperrealism, I try to invite people into a more personal, intimate experience with them.
The event drew a wonderful mix of guests, including Olivia Culpo, Rachel Hilbert, Danielle Bernstein, and Arielle Nachmani, to see the collection’s debut and the paintings that brought these diamonds into an entirely different scale and form.
Hearing Charles Stanley, President of De Beers Forevermark US, speak about the collaboration was an especially meaningful moment for me. He said, “In our constant pursuit of absolute beauty, we are proud to unveil this new exclusive range of diamonds. Angie Crabtree was the ideal artist to collaborate with on the launch of De Beers Forevermark Black Label. The artistic realism in her work allowed her to flawlessly capture the perfect symmetry and unrivalled sparkle of the diamonds in her paintings.”
As an artist, there’s nothing more rewarding than being able to translate something so meticulously crafted into a visual experience that people can stand in front of, absorb, and feel. Being part of the Black Label launch was a true honor, a full-circle moment that reminded me why I fell in love with painting diamonds in the first place.
Angie
