About Rhona Fitzpatrick, The Diamond Expert

I’m Rhona Fitzpatrick, founder of The Diamond Expert, and if you’d told teenage me that I’d end up spending my life talking about diamonds, gemstones and designs, I would have looked up from the stable yard, laughed politely, and gone straight back to my horse.

The first part of my career was in the horse racing industry, which makes perfect sense when you know that as a child I was completely obsessed with horses. I rode and competed all through my teens and into my twenties. Horses were not a phase. They were my world. I went on to work in the horseracing industry as a marketeer and I loved it. It was fast, it was high energy, it was full of characters, and it taught me a lot about people, pressure, and performance. But after eight years in that world, I started to feel a pull towards something else. I wanted to spread my wings. I wanted to travel. I wanted to get my teeth into a different kind of challenge.

So I did something that, in hindsight, was both sensible and slightly mad. I travelled around the world for a year. It gave me perspective and it gave me appetite. Then I landed back in London (staying with Orla!) and had far too much fun until eventually reality arrived, as it does. I remember the moment of thinking, with total clarity, I need to get real.

The turning point came through a chance encounter that led to a meeting with one of the directors of Boodles, the British luxury jeweller. One conversation became another, and before I knew it, I was back in Dublin working for them at their Grafton Street store. It still makes me smile because it was not a carefully mapped career move. It was one of those moments where life opens a door and you either walk through it or you don’t.

I walked through it, and I stayed for ten years.

Those years shaped me. Working at that level taught me what luxury fine jewellery looks like when it is done properly. It is not just the product. It is the pace, the people, the design, the depth of knowledge, and the standards. The ability to understand what someone wants even when they cannot quite articulate it. I had immense success with high net worth clients and with rare, exquisite gemstones. It was a real education in relationships and in trust. People do not hand over that level of spend unless they feel safe with you. They need to believe you know what you’re doing, and that you care as much as they do. That became the baseline for me.

Eventually, I left the retail beast, and took time off to have our daughter. For a while, I was happy to step away. It is a big change, and I enjoyed the shift in life. But after a couple of years, I found myself missing work in a way that surprised me. Not the commute. Not the pressure. But the challenge. The pace. The focus. The satisfaction of guiding someone through a decision that really mattered to them.

Around that time, I was visiting my sister Orla in Dubai, and she introduced me to the owner of a well renowned jewellery workshop. We had a chat, and in a matter of minutes he said something that, looking back, feels almost obvious. He suggested I set up on my own and have my jewellery made by him.

That was the moment The Diamond Expert was born.

It did not start with a grand launch or a big plan. It started with me, quietly, doing what I knew how to do. I redesigned my own engagement ring first because I wanted it to suit my change in style. I then bought a pair of diamond stud earrings. Then friends and family started asking me to do the same for them. It was natural. Someone would see a piece, ask where it came from, and suddenly I was looking at stones, advising, designing, and making jewellery that felt personal, not off the shelf.

Then it grew legs. Word got out, as it always does when people feel genuinely looked after. My prices were better because I was not carrying the overheads of a traditional retail model. The experience was better, because people were dealing with me directly and getting honest guidance. And the jewellery quality was phenomenal, because it was being made by exceptional craftspeople with unrivalled skill. That combination is hard to ignore.

I worked solo for six years. Properly solo. I was the person doing the consultations in Dublin and beyond, the sourcing, the design decisions, the timelines, the quality control, the follow ups, and the steady reassurance when someone suddenly realised they had no idea what their partner’s ring size was and the piece was due to be made. I loved the closeness of that, but I would be lying if I said it was easy. Bespoke is not a “set it and forget it” business. It’s personal. It’s detailed. It’s high stakes in the best possible way.

Orla (COO) (Left) & Rhona (CEO) (Right)

Then my sister Orla, who had spent 25 years in banking and finance, was made redundant. I jokingly asked her to join my business. I honestly meant it as half a joke - half a “you’d be brilliant at the bits I don’t enjoy”, and to my surprise, she said yes!

That ‘Yes’ changed everything.

And I thank my lucky stars every day that I get to work with my sister. It is not just that she is brilliant, although she is. It is that we care about the same things. Standards. Integrity. Detail. Doing things properly. Looking after people. We are so proud of how far we have come in a short couple of years, and we have done it without losing the heart of what made The Diamond Expert work in the first place.

What I love most about our business is the relationship side of it. We get close to our clients because the pieces are rarely “just jewellery”. They are life moments that mark special occasions. People come to us when they want to get it right. Engagement rings, anniversaries, milestone birthdays, push presents, a personal “I did it” moment, or an heirloom that needs to be reimagined. When someone trusts you with that, you don’t treat it casually. You listen. You guide. You explain. You make it feel manageable, even when it’s emotional and significant.

That closeness is also why I’m so particular about the final piece. A design can look stunning on paper and still not feel right when it’s worn. Proportion matters. Comfort matters. Practicality matters. The difference between “pretty” and “perfect” is usually in the details no one notices until they’re missing.

My favourite designs? I’ll always have a soft spot for pieces that feel timeless but not predictable. A beautifully proportioned solitaire is the ultimate test, because there is nowhere to hide. It has to be right. I love an emerald cut when the ratio is spot on and the perfect diamond gives you goosebumps. I love refined, wearable pieces that look effortless because the craftsmanship is doing the heavy lifting. I also love subtle personal touches, hidden details, little nods to meaning that aren’t designed for anyone else’s approval.

Remodelling unloved or heirloom jewellery is a particular favourite of mine because this is where emotion and craftsmanship meet. Taking something sentimental and making it wearable again is one of the most satisfying parts of what we do. It’s also one of the most personal, because you’re not just making jewellery, you’re carrying a story forward in a way that fits the person wearing it now.

If you’re wondering what makes me tick, it’s probably this. I care about doing things properly. I like clarity. I like quality. I like people feeling looked after rather than sold to. I like being the calm voice in what can feel like a stressful decision. I also like the moment a client sees their finished piece, and you can tell it’s not just that they love it, it’s that they feel understood.

Looking ahead to 2026 and 2027, our plans are simple in the best way. We want to keep growing steadily, without ever compromising on standards. We want to keep refining the client experience so it stays personal, calm, and beautifully managed. We want to keep educating, because confident clients make better decisions, and better decisions lead to pieces that are worn and loved for years. And we want to keep building The Diamond Expert into something that feels established and enduring, while still keeping the service as personal as it was when it was just me.

And that’s my story. Horses to diamonds, with a few detours, a lot of learning, and a business that grew because people trusted us with moments that mattered.

If you’re new here, I’m happy you found us. Explore what we do, and if you’re at the stage where you want guidance that’s straightforward, personal, and properly expert, you are exactly who we built this for.

Your private jeweller,

Rhona Fitzpatrick,
The Diamond Expert