The diamond industry told us diamonds are rare. They're not, and the moment you buy one it can lose 40% of its value.
A mined diamond and a lab-grown one are chemically identical. A certified gemologist cannot tell them apart without a machine, and the machine still gets it wrong. One of them costs three to four times more, and loses around 40% of its value the moment you buy it.
Jessica Warch grew up inside the Antwerp diamond trade, where her parents still work. She left to build Kimaï, took Diane von Fürstenberg as an investor and opened stores in London and Paris. She is blunt about what you are actually paying for.
In this episode:
◼️ The diamond industry explained... who controls the supply, who sets the price, and why diamonds were never actually rare
◼️ Lab-grown vs mined diamonds: chemically identical, and even specialist machines can't always tell them apart
◼️ Is a diamond a good investment? Why a mined diamond can lose around 40% of its value the moment you resell it
◼️ Why the average Kimaï engagement ring is about £5,000, and what the same ring would cost with a mined diamond
◼️ The cold email to Meghan Markle's circle that led to 100 articles in one day, with almost no stock to sell
◼️ Raising $2 million "way too early", and the branding agency mistake she'd never make again
◼️ How Diane von Furstenberg became an investor, sitting on her floor showing Jess her own jewellery
◼️ Why some magazines won't feature lab-grown diamonds, and the word Kimaï isn't allowed to use on its own
◼️ How she runs the business with Claude Code, from sales reports to checking supplier invoices line by line
Diamonds are forever… But overpaying for them doesn't have to be.
Chapters:
00:00 The truth about diamonds
01:39 From Antwerp's diamond trade to lab-grown diamonds
03:30 What the diamond industry doesn't want you to know
04:50 Is a diamond a good investment? (You lose 40%)
05:42 Lab-grown vs mined diamonds: is there any difference?
08:54 From 2% of the market to engagement ring favourite
09:17 Are lab-grown diamonds actually sustainable?
10:54 Bridal: 50–60% of sales and a £5K average ring
15:19 Starting a jewellery brand on the side of a full-time job
16:57 The cold email that got Kimaï on Meghan Markle
18:40 100 articles in a day: the Meghan effect
21:55 From online-only to opening retail stores
24:10 Raising $2 million "way too early"
26:01 Founder mistakes: branding agencies and hiring
28:24 How Diane von Furstenberg became an investor
30:28 Why Kimaï went on Dragons' Den
33:01 Why magazines won't write about lab-grown diamonds
35:44 The word "diamond" they're not allowed to use
36:42 Marketing without influencers
42:01 How to make a co-founder relationship work
44:25 Running a business with Claude Code and AI
47:35 Best business advice: never take no for an answer
50:12 How much should founders pay themselves?
52:10 Save or Splurge
Would you choose a lab-grown diamond for your engagement ring? Tell us below 👇
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