And now for a strange bit of trivia: the historical origins of the Marquise cut gemstone.

The Marquise cut, also known by some as the “Navette” cut, was commissioned by Louis XV of France to emulate the shape of his favorite mistress’ lips: the marquise Madame de Pompadour. She was by far his most intelligent, talented, and politically powerful mistress.

The Marquise, Madame de Pompadour

Born Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, the daughter of a financier and a prostitute, she was told by a fortune-teller at the age of nine that one day, she would command the heart of a king. Though she married another man ten years later, her mother was still determined to see the prophecy come true.

King Louis XV

In February of 1745, at the age of 22, the beautiful young Jeanne-Antoinette finally met the king at a costume ball at Versailles, where she appeared dressed as the goddess Diana and he came disguised as a tree.

(No, really. He was dressed as a tree. Truth really is stranger than fiction.)

Within a month, she was his mistress. By July, he had purchased her a vast estate, given her the title Marquise, and she had left her husband. The two were lovers for five years and, afterwards, remained friends until her death in 1764 at the age of forty-two.

Many fashions inspired by Madame de Pompadour are still in existence, such as the Pompadour heel, the Pompadour hairstyle, and the classic rose de Pompadour color of Sèvres porcelain.

The Marquess ring of the Revelation Collection by Diamond Nexus Labs was named as a subtle reference to her, owing to the four Marquise cut gemstones that give it its unusual shimmering grace.