Last March, Diamond in the Rough, a U.S. based jeweler, announced the opening of its first online store - diamondintherough.com. The site has a boutique of wedding jewelry, including rings graced with rough diamonds and small polished diamonds worth between $3,500 to $10,000. "Remarkable, natural, one of a kind – rough diamond engagement rings are as unique as your love," says the ad on the site.
Daniel Eskapa, the company’s founder and chairman, personally buys diamonds immediately from mining companies (for which purpose he often travels to Antwerp, Tel Aviv and Africa), while its president Anjanette Clisura together with her creative team determines the design of each product, proceeding from the characteristics of gems.
Anjanette Clisura, President and Creative Director of Diamond in the Rough, answered the questions filed by Rough&Polished.
When, why and how did it occur to you to use rough diamonds in jewelry?
Daniel and I fell in love with rough at different times. Daniel saw rough as a child when his family had moved to Africa for some time and the beauty of the rough always stayed with him. I was exposed to rough about ten years ago and was totally enchanted. It was then, in 2003, that we started creating one of a kind jewels with rough diamonds and it was magical - the pieces began selling right away and we knew that there was this niche that wasn't being filled and we felt this real desire that people had to see the beauty of the rough diamond and we decided to start Diamond in the Rough as a brand. In 2006, we officially launched our jewelry exclusively at Bergdorf Goodman, later expanding to Neiman Marcus, SAKS and various jewelers around the US and globe, including MOUSSAIEFF in London who exclusively carries our line in the UK and her other stores. And 2006 was a great time as well because people could understand this idea of "Natural Luxury" and all the clients we knew were looking for something unique - they had their big white and yellow polished diamonds and were always asking for precious "fashion" jewelry and we really fit that need and no one in the market was using rough this way and creating couture pieces.
What are the advantages of rough diamonds compared with polished?
Rough is our muse and is what inspires us to create our jewelry...it's like this amazing gift every time we buy our new selection because you never know what the earth will give you. There are so many beautiful characteristics of rough that get lost when you polish them out - sometimes the inclusions are splashes of color and make the stone come alive; sometimes it is this amazing color and texture of the stone; sometimes just the physical shape as well can been incredible - like finding a natural heart-shaped rough. One of our headlines is "Born Beautiful" - it is what greets people when they enter our site. We feel that the rough diamond is perfect just as it is, like people - our unique characteristics make us who we are, and we love showing people how beautiful the rough is untouched. Polished is also beautiful and we use it in everything we do to frame and beautifully accent our work. But our desire is to show the world the beauty of the natural stone and how it has always been cherished since its discovery and to this day it is still how it is valued - in its natural, untouched form!
What kind of opportunities do they provide for designers in the creative aspect?
Rough allows us to be most creative because you have to design around the stones and think of special ways to set the rough so that they are both beautiful and secure. With our engagement rings, for example, it allows brides to have a ring that no one else will have because no two roughs are the same and that is so special to us. We bring our clients back to a place where they focus on the beauty of the rough itself and the sentiment of the engagement versus the commodity aspects of what a polished diamond has become in simply getting the "best price". It's amazing what our clients tell us - how they choose the rough and they say "as soon as I saw that color and shape I wanted that exact stone because it reminds me of my girlfriend." It inspires us to keep creating unique jewelry for them. Our first collection, Orielle, was inspired by a woman being wrapped in love and affection - so there is this very delicate micro pavé 'x' that embraces each rough and this is still one of our best selling collections.
What is your pricing policy with regard to rough diamonds set in jewellery?
Price is primarily based on the type of rough we buy, the craftsmanship and cost of making the jewelry itself, the workmanship, and all the resources and time that are put into finding each unique rough diamond and making each piece.
What are your plans for future collections?
We design one-of-a-kind pieces throughout the year and are working on expanding our bridal collection. We will probably add in some men's wedding bands at some point as well, as we have been asked to create custom bands for some clients and it's a natural progression for us.
Are you satisfied with your marketing policy (online sales, promoting, etc.)?
We are extremely happy with our branding and sales efforts. We have a very specific marketing strategy - online being a big component; the social media world and the celebrity endorsements we get are incredible. Having fashion icons and celebrities like Hilary Swank, Alicia Keys and Kate Hudson (to name a few) wear our jewelry has also been extremely effective with getting our brand name out there. We had to launch an e-commerce division this year because of the demand for our Bridal Collection from clients in the US where there weren't any stores that carried our line, as well as major demand from all over the world - Japan, France, Australia. We launched our new site this past March, which includes our Bridal Boutique and it has been very exciting to work closer with our clients and share the experience with them. I get to work closely with clients at our retail partner stores when I do a Personal Appearance during the year and they invite their clients in to meet me, but now I get to speak with clients regularly and especially with the engagement rings it's such a beautiful moment to share in someone's life.
Galina Semyonova, Rough&Polished
