Founder Story: Suzy Levian

Suzy Levian is the Founder and Designer of Suzy Levian New York, a jewelry and lifestyle design brand created to remind women of their inner beauty, strength, and worth. Her story is not simply the story of a designer. It is the story of a woman who grew up inside a centuries-old jewelry tradition and chose to build a legacy of her own.

Suzy comes from a 500-year Iranian jewelry lineage, where gemstones, craftsmanship, and heirloom design were part of family life for generations. As the youngest child in her family, she spent her early years surrounded by the beauty of jewelry and the discipline of the business. She helped her father, drew designs, watched how stones were chosen, and learned that a piece of jewelry could hold more than sparkle. It could hold memory, identity, love, and meaning.

Learning beside her father

Suzy’s first design lessons came naturally. She watched, listened, sketched, and absorbed. Her father’s world gave her a foundation in craftsmanship, but Suzy’s own eye gave the work emotion. She was drawn to color, shape, femininity, and the way a design could make a woman feel. Even before she built her own brand, the seeds of Suzy Levian New York were already there: beauty with feeling, detail with meaning, and design with a woman’s heart at the center.

Working with her brothers

Before starting her own company, Suzy worked with her brothers in the family jewelry world. She learned the business from the inside, from design conversations and product development to the realities of working in a fast-moving industry. But over time, she felt a personal calling that could not be ignored.

The jewelry industry had long been shaped by men, even though women were often the ones wearing, loving, gifting, and cherishing the pieces. Suzy wanted to create a brand that spoke to women in a deeper way. She wanted to design pieces that would make women feel not only beautiful, but powerful, recognized, and emotionally connected to what they wore.

Building her own brand in 2010

In 2010, Suzy founded Suzy Levian New York while raising six children. It was a thrilling, terrifying, and life-changing chapter. Although jewelry was familiar to her, building her own company was new territory. She was responsible for every decision, every detail, every design, and every direction.

In the beginning, Suzy built the early brand from her home garage so she could remain close to her children. Her days were full, and her nights were often spent designing after the house grew quiet. She wanted to be fully present for her family while also giving her heart and soul to the company she was creating. If she left early for a school play or sports game, she returned later to finish her work. If her children were off from school, they sometimes came with her and were given small tasks, learning the value of work just as Suzy had learned it from her father.

Motherhood and ambition

Suzy’s children watched the brand grow from the inside. They saw their mother work, sacrifice, imagine, worry, and keep going. They saw the discipline behind the beauty. They saw that building something meaningful takes patience, courage, and long nights.

One of Suzy’s most emotional memories came during a shopping trip with her oldest daughter. As they passed a Nordstrom jewelry counter, her daughter saw Suzy Levian jewelry displayed and said, “Mom, look! It’s you!” For Suzy, that moment meant more than a retail placement. It was her daughter seeing the dream in the world. It was a reflection of every late night, every sacrifice, every design, and every step that brought the brand from a home garage to a place where other women could discover it.

Confidence in a male-dominated industry

Suzy’s journey also required strength in rooms where women were not always expected to lead. In the early years, there were moments when prospective business partners assumed she was not the decision-maker and asked to speak to her boss or her brothers. Suzy answered those moments not with anger, but with confidence.

She learned to walk into every room with her head held high. She dressed with intention, spoke with certainty, and let her knowledge, experience, and vision speak for themselves. Her own principles for thriving as a woman in a male-dominated industry became confidence, determination, adaptability, experience, and humbleness.

The birth of The Secret Diamond®

Suzy’s personal journey became the heart of her designs. She wanted women to know that their worth did not come from the diamonds they wore. Their true brilliance came from within. That belief inspired The Secret Diamond®, the hidden stone and signature symbol placed inside her designs as a reminder of inner beauty and strength.

Across jewelry, accessories, and home décor, The Secret Diamond® appears as a discreet hidden stone, crystal, charm, accent, or symbolic detail depending on the design. It is a private message from Suzy to the woman who wears, carries, or keeps the piece close: you are the diamond.

A design world of her own

Suzy began with jewelry because that was the world she knew best, but she wanted her brand to feel different from anything she had done before. She reviewed designs, refined quality, changed details, and pushed until each piece felt right. Her collections grew with vibrant colors, feminine lines, symbolic details, and original design concepts shaped by her creative direction.

Over time, Suzy expanded into handbags, scarves, sunglasses, watches, and home décor crystals, including crystal vases, picture frames, and ornaments. Each category became another way to share the same message of beauty, confidence, and inner strength.

Her continuing mission

Suzy Levian’s mission has always been to inspire women to embrace their radiant selves. Through Suzy Levian New York and EmpowerHer™, she continues to encourage women to follow their dreams, believe in their own value, and move through the world with confidence.

Her story is a reminder that a woman can honor where she comes from while still creating something that belongs fully to her. She can be a mother, a designer, a leader, a dreamer, and a builder. She can carry tradition forward while changing what it means. And she can help other women see the diamond within themselves.