Laurence Graff, the founder and chairman of Graff, generated excitement in the jewelry world after his $12.4 million purchase in October of the 15th largest rough diamond ever found — the 603-carat Lesotho Promise. It will take about a year to see the cut and polished stone.
If Daniel Eskapa had bought the gem, it would have been set into jewelry almost instantly.
Eskapa believes diamonds are even more beautiful before they are cut and polished. Now he is bringing the precious stones to consumers in their natural state through his new company, Diamond in the Rough.
The Manhattan jewelry firm, which first showed its line to retailers this spring, offers jewelry incorporating rough diamonds, such as a pair of diamond-stud earrings wrapped in strands of micropavé and solitaire rings using cognac, yellow or white rough diamonds. Although the stones aren”t cut in the traditional sense, prices still run steep: $5,000 to $540,000 at retail.
“As a child, I was exposed to rough diamonds in Africa and they always interested me more than polished diamonds,” said Eskapa, 36, an Israeli and former head of business development for LLD Diamonds. “I feel there is a character and energy to them.”
Eskapa, who designs the pieces along with company president Anjanette Clisura, scours diamond markets in Tel Aviv and Antwerp, Belgium, for interesting stones that a traditional cutter might not value. His recent finds include a rough diamond shaped as a heart, another in the shape of a Star of David and a triangular rough weighing 106.59 carats. The company will offer one-of-a-kind pieces in addition to standard designs in rings, necklaces and earrings.
The line will make its official U.S. retail debut Thursday at Bergdorf Goodman, after a short testing period last month.
“[Our customer] is very sophisticated and loves to wear unique and special product,” said Sydney Price, vice president and divisional merchandise manager for watches and jewelry for the store. “Diamond in the Rough is understated. It”s almost like a secret society for women that know it and appreciate its true value.”
The company”s principals want their pieces to be valued as an insider luxury.
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“Our goal is to bring rough diamonds to the consumer and to keep the interest growing,” Clisura said.
The company does not plan an expansive wholesale rollout. In the U.S., Diamond in the Rough will be available at Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf”s, and internationally the firm is in three doors each in Italy and China. There is also a blueprint for extending into categories such as watches, fragrances and sunglasses.
“It”s an amazingly difficult task to find the right rough diamonds,” Eskapa said. “But people are mesmerized by them. Even if they don”t know it”s a diamond, for some reason, they are drawn to it.”