Lionheart Celebrates 13 Years of ‘Cassandane’

There are collections that arrive with a press release, and then there are collections that arrive with a story so old it predates the brand that carries them. Cassandane is the latter. Designer Joy Haugaard first created and copyrighted the Cassandane heart motif in 2013, five years before she and her sister Sarah officially founded Lionheart in 2018. The collection began as something made for private clients alone, a quiet obsession shaped into fluted gold forms that felt more like excavated artifacts than new jewelry. Thirteen years later, Lionheart honored the milestone during Nowruz, the Persian New Year observed on the spring equinox. The timing is not incidental. It is the entire point.

The Story Behind the Name

Joy was inspired by the Persian Empire, founded around 550 BC, and specifically the love story between Queen Cassandane and Cyrus the Great. "The romance between them really stands apart in ancient imperial history. Queens were barely recorded, but I love that Cassandane appears in historical accounts with unusual reverence," she said. "When she died, Cyrus is said to have ordered mourning throughout the empire, a rare decree that speaks to his depth of devotion and to the respect that Cassandane commanded. I see this collection as a celebration of female empowerment and a testament to the enduring power of true love."

That framing matters for understanding what Cassandane is not: it is not a Valentine's Day collection, not a bridal capsule, not a seasonal sentiment. Beyond symbolizing romantic love, the heart motif is a tribute to the many forms that love can take, between partners, friends, family, and oneself. The historical anchor gives the collection gravity that purely commercial jewelry rarely achieves.

Three Motifs, One Language

The Cassandane collection speaks in symbols: heart, sun, and clover. Each carries its own weight in the Lionheart vocabulary. Framed with delicate beaded borders and symbolic of love, light, and luck, these timeless pieces are designed to be worn daily, cherished for a lifetime, and passed down through generations. The fluted surfaces are not decorative arbitrariness; they are a deliberate reference to coin medallions, giving each charm the heft and presence of something handled across centuries.

The collection features a large clover medallion set with 1 carat of diamonds in 18-karat yellow gold, priced at $8,950; a pair of sun drop earrings with 1.20 carats of diamonds in 18-karat yellow gold at $7,950; and a heart signet ring featuring 0.20 carats of diamonds in 18-karat yellow gold at $4,850. The range of price points is deliberate: from the signet's entry into the collection to the clover's statement-level presence, Cassandane invites accumulation, one motif at a time. Together, they compose a personal iconography rather than a uniform set.

Craftsmanship Built for the Long Wear

Each piece is crafted in 18K gold with diamond accents and serves as a tangible symbol of love meant to be cherished and passed down through generations. The collection features a range of offerings, including rings, pendant necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. That breadth is central to Cassandane's everyday utility. A single motif appears across forms that suit different moments: the medallion pendant that anchors a layered neck, the signet ring worn on the same finger every morning without thought, the drop earring that clears a collar without catching.

Every piece of Lionheart's jewelry is handmade in New York using solid 18k gold and ethical materials. Joy's husband is a fifth-generation jeweler, and that lineage informs the production standard. The handmade aspect also explains the weight and finish: these are not cast-and-polished pieces stamped in volume. The beaded borders and fluted detailing require hands.

The Haugaard Sisters and Their Method

Lionheart is a two-sister operation: Joy is the designer and creative director; Sarah is the operations director. Together, they have built a company grounded in symbolism, craftsmanship, and purposeful design. Their working dynamic has been described as a productive tension: Joy sketches dozens of pieces, Sarah enforces the edit, narrowing a sprawling creative vision to a precise and coherent collection. The result is jewelry that feels simultaneously ambitious and restrained.

Sarah's statement for the anniversary captured the brand's philosophy plainly: "As Lionheart marks 13 years of Cassandane, the number itself feels especially fitting: a symbol of fortune and transformation, and a reminder that the most powerful designs are those that endure." She added: "This Nowruz, the Cassandane collection celebrates renewal, devotion, and the timeless beauty of love... an heirloom of luck, light, and love to carry into the year ahead."

It is worth noting that in fine jewelry, 13 is almost never celebrated. Brands skip from decade anniversaries to the round fifteenth. Lionheart leans into the number instead, reclaiming it as a symbol of fortune and transformation rather than deflecting it.

Why Cassandane Endures as Everyday Jewelry

The collection launched during Nowruz, the Persian New Year that signifies renewal, and has since become a cornerstone of the brand. Inspired by the enduring love story of Queen Cassandane and Cyrus the Great, it highlights themes of female empowerment and devotion. Joy notes the historical significance of Cassandane, whose legacy is honored through intricate designs that blend ancient artistry with modern craftsmanship.

The collection's longevity as a daily-wear staple comes down to a combination of structural and conceptual decisions. Solid 18k yellow gold resists the tarnish and brittleness of plated or sterling alternatives. The medallion silhouette, convex and smooth on the back face, sits comfortably against skin without catching or lifting. The symbolic content, love, light, luck, is open enough that it belongs equally on a first anniversary or a Tuesday in February when you simply want to feel grounded.

Joy was moved by the tale of Queen Cassandane and her legendary love for Cyrus the Great. Blending her passion for history with vintage design influences, Joy envisioned each charm to feel like a weighty coin medallion, rich with texture, depth, and meaning. That instinct — to design from a specific emotional and historical anchor rather than from trend forecasting — is what separates Cassandane from collections that peak and recede. A piece rooted in a 2,500-year-old love story has no expiration date stamped on the design brief.

National Jeweler named Joy Haugaard one of six jewelry designers poised to have a breakout year in 2026, a recognition that reflects both the collection's momentum and the broader industry acknowledgment that Lionheart's model of meaning-driven, handcrafted fine jewelry is precisely what collectors are gravitating toward. The Cassandane collection did not arrive at 13 years by accident. It arrived there because someone designed it, from the very beginning, to last.