VOGUE – Last week, the Tiffany & Co. Botanica: Blue Book presentation in sunny Miami invited a host of jewelry lovers to view the company’s latest dazzling collection, as well as their archive, which included none other than the iconic Tiffany Yellow Diamond. One of the most stunning guests was Adria Arjona, who donned a black dress by Tove and a glinting Tiffany Victoria diamond necklace. The actor’s love of jewels goes back to her childhood. “I’ve had my ears pierced forever,” she said.

Arjona, like many of those in attendance, was stunned by not only the amount of megawatt jewelry, but also the stories behind them. “It’s like looking at a baby and you can’t stop staring at the baby. That is what I just did with that diamond!” said Arjona about a green cuprian elbaite paraiba and diamond necklace she saw. “It is so impactfully beautiful. Pharrell’s child was there and he was in awe. Even a little kid can see it!”

And while she is an avid fan of Tiffany & Co.—who isn’t?—her love is sentimental. One of her earliest memories is of her mother’s bijoux. “My mom had a pair of favorite earrings and I would play with them while I had a bottle. She never took them off,” she says. “When I was older, I asked her [if I could] try them on and she said, ‘One day, they’ll be yours.’ When I turned 15, she gave them to me.” One of her other favorite pieces of jewelry from when she was a teenager was none other than the ubiquitous Return to Tiffany Heart Tag necklace. “All of my girlfriends had it, and it was the cool thing to have,” she says. “I’m glad I have it and I don’t have to purchase it again!”

She keeps her current favorite, a Tiffany & Co. diamond ring, with her constantly. “It is my prized possession. It is in my purse and it is with me everywhere,” she says. “I don’t trust a safety box!” Of course, though these pieces might come with a hefty price tag, Arjona notes there is an emotional tie to all things gem-encrusted. “There is something about diamonds and jewelry. It is a forever piece, and it is an heirloom for the family now,” she says. “There is poetry behind it. I’m not just buying this necklace, I’m buying it for the next 10 generations.”