Lab-grown Diamonds Are an Evolving, Growing Business on Chiltern Street
LONDON — Chiltern Firehouse, the beloved celebrity-spotting luxury hotel and restaurant, may have caught fire last week, but that hasn’t stopped anyone on the street from doing business.
Kimai, the lab-grown diamond brand, is hard-launching into retail with the reopening of its Chiltern Street store and on Wednesday evening what was meant to be a six-month store contract in December 2022 rolled into a full-time location for the brand.
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It’s clear that the brand’s founders Jessica Warch and Sidney Neuhaus love the street and its community.
According to Kimai, sales in the U.K. market tripled within less than two years following the opening of its store.
The reopening of the store, which has switched from white and green interiors to sophisticated chocolate browns, marks the evolution of the brand. There’s wood paneling and white walls with inserted boxes that showcase the jewelry under the light. There are even hidden mirrors built into the walls.
The store’s back room now resembles a stylish villain lair from a James Bond film with its moody lighting and minimal interiors. The space will be used for piercing parties, engraving and embroidery, private events and one-to-one consultations.
“We’re doing more and more high-end pieces and engagement rings have become a bigger part of our business. The store now has a luxurious touch to it,” said Neuhaus in a joint interview with Warch.
The duo worked with interior designer Sandra Benhamou, who is synonymous with mixing pieces from a vintage flea market with rare pieces from auction houses and contemporary ceramics.
The little details in the store now matter more than ever for Neuhaus and Warch as it has become a driving force behind the spike in engagement ring sales.
Bespoke engagement rings account for 15 to 20 percent of Kimai.
“People want to try on and inspect engagement rings in person,” said Warch.
Kimai’s retail expansion strategy includes opening stores in Paris, New York and Los Angeles. The founders called the U.S. a “big market” for the brand.
Neuhaus adds that despite being London-based, the U.K. wasn’t the brand’s biggest market until they opened a store.
The Kimai founders want to open stores in major cities because they’ve seen that engagement rings are the one piece of jewelry that clients commute for.
According to Warch, the split between engagement rings and everyday jewelry is 50 percent. She’s noticed that consumers have become more knowledgeable about lab-grown diamonds and walk into the store already knowing what they’re buying into.
“The jewelry market is a crowded one because you have many talented designers, but in bridal, there’s still a lack of options for women who want uniqueness, engagement rings that are more contemporary,” added Neuhaus.
Kimai’s engagement rings are certainly different from what’s on New Bond Street — the gold bands twist, curve and turn, while the diamonds are shaped like almonds or tear drops sitting on the side rather than in the center.
The brand’s engagement rings vary in price from $2,020 to $11,995.
Today the brand also offers earrings, bracelets and necklaces, which retail for $15,995.
Neuhaus and Warch have found their comfort zone within the business and are going from strength to strength.
Last year, the company secured a 250,000 pound investment from “Dragon’s Den,” a British business reality television series that follows the same premise as “Shark Tank.”
The Antwerp-born best friends opted for Steven Bartlett’s offer, which includes a 3 percent equity stake in the business. It was Bartlett’s largest investment offer since he joined the show in 2022.
Other investors in the brand include Diane von Furstenberg and Rebecca Minkoff.
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