Thanks to kismet, Manju Jasty’s transition from an investment banker at Barclays Capital to a purveyor of fine jewelry was seamless. After a Lanvin trunk show in 2005, Jasty (whose full name is a derivative of “jewelry box” in her native India’s Sanskrit) realized that the “incredibly down-to-earth” woman she had chatted up was Julie Gilhart. As Barneys New York’s fashion director and senior Vice President, Gilhart has made the careers of many fledgling designers. It was at a cocktail party months later, however, that Jasty’s work again caught Gilhart’s discerning eyes—and the rest, as they say, is history.

Jasty has sold a small collection at Barneys since last year, but is now expanding her stable of deliriously haute baubles. Using only the highest EFG-graded diamonds, her collection features a set of regal chandelier diamond earrings set with rows of briolettes that look heavy but feel delightfully light. Other standouts include a beaded necklace with Japanese corals and silver balls enrusted with diamonds (suggestive of the ones Indian Maharajas wore), and a decadent 18k yellow gold diamond peacock bangle for a whopping $95,000.00. Though the price tags on these luxuries are not exactly recession-friendly, they are, as the former banker explains, “investment pieces that you can pass on for generations.”

For more information, see manjujasty.com.

—Robert Cordero