.jpg)
There are different tastes in different markets. What sells in America, for example, can be very different from what sells in Europe. Americans traditionally favor lower color with lower clarity but larger overall cuts. It’s all about size. The core determiner varies between different groups of people within our global markets. In Germany, where we have a showroom in Berlin and Munich, people are all about quality over size. The same goes for the Chinese market. The rest of Europe gravitates to middle colors and middle clarities.
In Italy, we’ve noticed that people come to us with more stylized designs. Color is more of a major factor in the equation. We see a lot of gemstones, colored diamonds, and an overall aesthetic that leans toward flamboyant. Quality craftsmanship, like most Italian apparel and accessories categories, is also very important to their market. We play a unique role there, as in London, we own a workshop on four floors which allows slow dedication to the craftsmanship that creates each piece.
Celebrities often influence trends that disrupt the market. For example, Selena Gomez’s engagement ring ignited a huge demand for marquee engagement rings and oval-shaped diamonds. These kinds of celebrity-led trends affect Italy less so than in the UK or Germany. Before that, there was a period when ear cuffs were super popular. So we expanded our ear cuff collection, while still selling classic designs that people wear for the rest of their lives. It’s all thanks to our bespoke approach. We’ll take the stones and recreate something flexible that clients value as a sentimental piece.
Milano has a distinct, understated luxury. There, our clients have the option of going for big-name brands, but they come to us instead. We don’t have any visible branding, which makes a huge difference; our Italian market is big on quality over flashy brand names. They don’t shy away from designing bold statement pieces; however, they come to 77 Diamonds to create a truly one-of-a-kind piece that is unique to them.
Milan’s design aesthetic is also all about creativity. People come to the showroom with special, original designs. Our designers will sit with them and customize every aspect of the piece from fittings to clarity. Our Italian clients have a clearer idea of what they want when they come in, while in our other markets in Scandinavia or Germany, clients are more hands-off and are happy to be guided.
We do get tourists who can afford luxury diamonds and want to get their engagement ring or necklace from Milan. However, most of our clients in Milan are Italians, with 60% being from Milan itself and 40% coming from Italy’s other regions.
If you’re buying for yourself, we’re happy to collaborate with you from scratch. Just you, your idea, and our designers. If you’re buying for someone else, it helps our designers to know their sizes or style preferences. If the piece is for an engagement, anniversary, or other kind of celebration, that also helps in the storytelling process. That’s the goal of every piece; they are unique to the person and therefore tell a story about who they were during a moment in time. It is unique to them and should reflect whatever season in life we represent in their story.
Absolutely. We have a talented head of design who has been working with us for many years. Her designs can be commercial and sell well, but she understands who we are as a brand and keeps us grounded within our core angle. Because of that, we can do everything from custom rings to tiaras. We can literally design and craft anything, as long as it works.
Pieces that might have a strange physical gravitational restriction. For example, if someone comes in with a sketch of a pair of diamond teardrop earrings, chances are we’ll have to tell them if it is too long or too heavy. We work with natural and lab-grown diamonds, which can tug on the earlobe or if it’s a necklace, can get caught on clothing. A necklace that’s charm is too pointy can also be potentially dangerous. Rings that are too long, thin, or narrow won’t sit properly on the knuckles and can restrict hand movement. We try to rethink our approach to designs that can potentially cause discomfort or clothing restrictions. We meticulously blend a piece’s geometry with the client’s anatomy. Because of that, nothing can be repeated; we take a person’s unique dimensions and create their diamond statement piece around their proportions.
Right now, we are working on an RJC certification. That’s for the Responsible Jewellery Council, which has given us credibility so clients can shop with a clear conscience. Our metal is recycled. We don’t sell Burmese rubies and make sure that we source from places that don’t have a history of human rights abuses. We recycle as much as we can. We try to consolidate shipments to minimize air travel time as well. We also spend a lot of time talking to our suppliers to ensure that their industrial processes are efficient and sustainable, from manufacturing to energy conservation to workplace environment.
Within the next five months, we are expanding our commitment to sustainability. We’ll be moving to an expanded workshop, which will allow us to streamline our production and supply processes even more. We have also tossed around the idea of opening a showroom in Rome. You’ll have to stay tuned for that one!
