Joely - she's one diamond gal

Joely Richardson's trainers have seen better days. Her hair is scraped back casually from her face and her telescopic legs are encased in roughed-up jeans. Yet she manages to exude a quiet, regal poise.

It could, of course it's all be down to breeding (mother: Vanessa Redgrave; father: Tony Richardson; grandmother: Rachel Kempson; sister: Natasha Richardson).

Diamond retailers, who are enjoying a glittering fashion renaissance, have become the canny new best friend of girls such as Joely. Those bastions of real rock design - such as Cartier, De Beers and Mouawad - were quick to cotton on to the marketing potential of celebrity endorsement, and frequently - and gladly - loan their finest gems to A-grade stars. Flashing cameras on the red carpet guarantee priceless coverage in the papers the following day.

The competition for the stars to out-dazzle each other with obscenely expensive gems reached a climax just three weeks ago when Liz Hurley was offered a heart-shaped 33-carat diamond worth £1 million from Chopard to wear to Sir Elton John's White Tie and Tiara Ball. She never wore it - but that didn't get in the way of a good story in the following day's press.

Compared to Liz, in the world of gem-wearing, Joely is still wearing training wheels. But she has had some pretty fabulous practice. Two years ago, she wore some rather gorgeous diamonds to the film premiere of Maybe Baby (where she dazzled, literally, in that memorable Julien Macdonald excuse of a dress), and again to the Oscars ceremony three years ago.

'Wearing the diamonds then was all part of the dressing-up process,' explains Joely. 'And what I love about my job is that occasionally I get to play dress-up. In everyday life, when I'm just walking down the street, I don't dress up at all and, unfortunately, all the paparazzi pictures you see of me have me looking like a bag lady. But on occasions it's a joy to dress up.'

Joely seems almost apologetic about her love of fashion. Growing up with a mother who banged the Marxist drum, and into an acting dynasty that worshipped art rather than filthy lucre, she clearly feels both uncomfortable and excited by glamour. Her career has also been a paradox. She has just finished filming a docudrama for the BBC2 series Art That Shook The World (screening 27 July) in which she plays Virginia Woolf (she gets to kiss Saffron Burrows who plays Vita Sackville-West). Yet she seems just as happy abandoning art-house drama for roles in American blockbusters such as The Patriot.

'A few years ago, I think that there was the argument that there were serious actresses with talent and then there were glamour girls, and I think it's great that there is now a fusion of the two,' says Joely.

'I think I'm pretty grounded about fantasy and reality,' she says, pausing, 'and usually when I get dressed up, it's a celebration of something I've worked on. Basically, I wear what's right for the occasion and if I were attending something that wasn't to do with me directly, I wouldn't get that dressed up. It wouldn't fit in with my whole value system.' Liz Hurley, one hopes, is taking note.

Joely's blossoming in recent years has been clear for all to see. After a painful split from her husband, Tim Bevan, in 1997 (he is the father of her ten-year-old daughter, Daisy), Joely effectively hid herself away from the limelight for a couple of years to regroup. But when she returned, she did so looking sleeker, happier and hotter than ever. 'Maybe some people come into their own at different times,' she says, slowly. 'But I do love my life now, and I'm having fun - even though I get bad days, the same as anyone.'

Today isn't one of them. Smoking her way through the shoot, Joely removes a pair of gobstopper earrings that are pinching her lobes. 'Look at us,' she laughs, handing them to the stylist. 'We're just passing these round like they're nothing!'

'I love them, but they have to be in the right context,' she says defensively. 'If they're there just to speak of money and ego, then they're vulgar. I used to have a couple of pieces of diamond jewellery but my house was burgled a few years ago and I never saw them again. One piece was from my grandmother, and one from my father [who died in 1991]. When I was younger, I used to imagine stories about where the pieces came from and how I came to own them because they were such fairy-tale things. I think my father gave me the jewellery when I turned 21, and I was really upset when it was stolen because it always reminded me of him when I looked at it. But it's gone now,' Joely says softly, 'and I can't get it back.'

She says she loves 'the idea of modern women buying jewellery for themselves, and I think if I saw something incredibly beautiful, I would do the same, too.' And have boyfriends ever given her diamonds? 'Possibly,' she laughs. 'Diamonds are usually to do with love or passion or triumph, and I think men are sometimes nervous of giving women jewellery. Diamonds are forever, after all, and I think it's easier for them to buy underwear - and it's more to their liking anyway!'

So since her infamous pairing with Jamie Theakston, does Joely have a boyfriend now to lavish her with diamonds? 'Well, I don't think I shall answer that,' she twinkles. 'But good try, anyway!'