How I Got Here: Jade Ruzzo Seeks to Spur Connection With Her Jewelry

By Karen Dybis | March 11, 2026

Fine jewelry designer Jade Ruzzo (pictured) thinks of her years working at Vogue and other fashion titles a kind of boot camp, since the magazine industry had to focus on survival.

“It was at a time when the media landscape was changing really quickly, and we all learned how to adapt and be scrappy,” says Ruzzo, who spent more than 10 years in marketing, merchandising, creative services, and strategic partnerships for magazines and other media.

“I worked for some of the smartest and most creative people in the world and was able to just be a sponge,” she says. “I learned the ins and outs of the business, marketing, and creative sides of the industry.”

Those experiences helped her transition into fine jewelry, along with a few lessons she got from her beloved father, Vic. Motherhood, too, was an inspiration behind her eponymous brand. “Jewelry holds the power to tell your story and mark special moments and chapters of your life,” Ruzzo says.

Jade Ruzzo Gloria necklace — *The Matilda necklace, in 18k yellow gold with 24 cts. t.w. green tourmaline and 164.6 cts. t.w. jade, comes from Jade Ruzzo’s Gloria collection, named after her daughter.*

Her story starts in New York’s Hudson Valley, where she was one of three girls—she has a twin and an older sister—raised by loving parents with a hippie kind of vibe.

“My father was a professional drummer with long hair and wore one of his baby teeth that he’d lost hanging from a hoop on one of his ears,” Ruzzo says. “I guess I’d say that was my first jewelry memory.”

Vic was a hands-on dad in every way: She remembers him rolling up newspapers and driving her through their small town for her first job, delivering papers. “He was all in with my sisters and me—out biggest champion and always there for us,” Ruzzo says.

She headed to New York City for college, and graduated from FIT (the Fashion Institute of Technology) in 2008 with a degree in fashion merchandising and fabric styling. During her senior year, Ruzzo interned at Vogue, which got her a full-time job at its parent company, Condé Nast, upon graduation. Ruzzo held various titles at Condé Nast magazines, including Allure, GQ, and Details, until 2015. She also worked as a personal stylist on the side.

Jade Ruzzo Vic ring — *This Vic ring, shown here in large size with pearl ($10,200), is also available in small and medium and with several other gemstones, including garnet, turquoise, and purple tourmaline.*

Two life-changing events altered her career and life paths: the death of her father, in 2015, and the birth of her daughter, Gloria, in 2019. “Once I had her, I kept searching for meaningful ways to honor my father, hold him close, and also sort of ‘connect’ him and Gloria. I found I was able to do that through jewelry,” says Ruzzo, who still lives in the Hudson Valley, working both at home and in New York City.

“What started as a passion project for myself—to ultimately pass down to Gloria—and then taking commissions from my styling clients for pieces for themselves, ultimately landed in the launch of my company.”

Ruzzo says her design lens comes from her styling background. What does she want to wear? What will work with clothes already in her closet? What fits into her life?

For her jewelry brand, Ruzzo uses 18k gold, antique diamonds, and hand-selected colored gemstones that are big, chunky, and sumptuous. She has collections named Vic and Gloria, as well as Tennessee, after a favorite place of hers.

“Every collection is super wearable but also special,” Ruzzo says. “Every design has to check these boxes. We like to refer to it as ‘bold minimalism.’”