Diamonds are these girls’ best friends.

The Stavropoulos sisters—Trissia, Jasmin and Hannah—are the creative force behind the Belgium-based jewelry brand Stavros Sisters. Their designs are 100 per cent handmade from 18-karat gold, and many pieces are peppered with natural diamonds.

Trissia joins FAJO over Skype from her home in Antwerp. Her house is dark; after all, it’s nighttime in Belgium. She is wearing a cozy tan turtleneck sweater, with hair casually pulled away from her face. When she laughs, Trissia reaches to her mouth with bright red-painted nails.

The sisters behind the line: Trissia, Hannah and Jasmin Stavropoulos.

The daughters of a diamond trader, all three women grew up “always in contact with jewelry.”

“Every year, our grandmother would buy us a piece [of jewelry] in Greece,” Trissia recalls. “She once gave me a big gold Greek cross with my name on it. It was a classic piece.” Inspired by the vintage cross, the sisters designed a similar piece with cognac diamonds.

A complementary team

The Stavropoulos team is busy, each working a full-time job on top of jointly designing their jewelry line. Despite demanding schedules, they get together often, usually in the evening at Trissia’s house, to talk, brainstorm and get down to business. “It’s nice to see my sisters so often” says Trissia. “When you have a stressful day and you go home to [do chores], then all of a sudden my two sisters are there. We talk about diamonds and jewelry, and I can relax.”

They often start by brainstorming on what they’d like to wear. Then, Jasmin sketches the piece, and an experienced jeweler makes it by hand. Each of the women has a different input: Trissia describes herself as “strategic,” whereas Hannah is “social” and Jasmin “creative.” “It actually works really well, [and] the older we get, the better we get along,” says Trissia.

Drawing from their Greek heritage, the designers create pieces using a modern twist on classic symbols like the evil eye and crosses.

One of the cross designs came from a piece of Greek jewelry, gifted to Trissia by her grandmother.

“In Greece, the tradition is to give crosses at someone’s birth,” Trissia clarifies. “[Since we use] 18-karat gold, you can keep the jewelry in your family for [many] years.”

What’s next?

The Stavros Sisters hope to create their first engagement ring this coming Valentine’s Day. “Being in the diamond city, we have access to the nicest stones, so we would like to make engagement rings with the Stavros Sisters’ signature. Because it’s so typically Greek, maybe in the future we will make a small collection out of 24-karat [gold].”

In terms of their favourite classic pieces, Trissia recommends the circle necklace: “It’s more understated and easy to wear.” The necklace is shaped like the sun and is the first thing the sisters designed together.

“It’s a long necklace; something light, not too heavy [and something that is] nice to wear in the summertime on the Greek islands!” says Trissia.