I’m not one for opulence. I genuinely can’t see myself paying thousands of dollars for a designer bag, or putting a house deposit amount into a car. I’ve always said I’d be happy with an engagement ring made out of tin foil, or even a cable tie… but even I am not immune to the allure of coloured diamonds, especially pink ones.
I’m convinced women are hardwired to be drawn towards shiny things, like magpies or dragons… either that, or it’s thanks to the expert marketing, monopolisation and supply restriction by the De Beers diamond company.
Yep, the notion of ‘3 months salary’ and ‘diamonds are forever’ aren’t tropes that you find in romcoms. They’re the clever marketing ploys De Beers used to build exclusivity and ensure the demand for diamonds, embedding their value into society and culture.
De Beers is still around, but not without competition capitalising on the foundations laid by the original diamond peddlers. Burgundy Diamond Mines (ASX: BDM) is a company focussed on the end-to-end production and sale of polished Fancy Colour diamonds. Their business encompasses mining, production and sale through a vertically integrated business model.
The Company cuts and polishes rough diamonds from their own mines, and third party producers in one of the most resource rich regions in the world near Perth, Western Australia. The Company’s plans to sell their stones through their retail facing brand, Maison Mazerea.
The Brand was officially launched in Paris during a landmark event at the prestigious Hotel Marois on July 1. The gold gilded ceilings and walls were arguably the least glittery part of the event where Maison Mazerea displayed the Grace Diamond, one of the rarest pink diamonds ever found.
Named after Princess Grace of Monaco, the 1.79 carat stone is one of five ‘hero stones’ found during the last year of production at the Argyle Mine in Western Australia. Originally the Argyle Stella, Maison Mazerea decided to rename the stone to align with their collaboration with the Princess Grace Foundation which “celebrates and embraces an exceptional community of world-class artists, philanthropists and entertainment.”
As an adjunct to the collaboration, the diamanterie engaged Place Vendome designer and jeweller, Lorenz Baumer to create a collection of jewellery paying homage to the Grace Diamond with the theme “La Vie en Rose” in mind. Baumer’s collection was exhibited alongside the Grace Diamond at the recent launch event.
Managing Director of Burgundy, Peter Ravenscroft said: “With the official launch of Maison Mazerea and our collaboration with select leading design jewellers, we concurrently celebrate the extraordinary beauty and value of Fancy Colour diamonds, and restore the soul, personality and individuality to these exquisite natural diamonds through the practice of Haute Diamanterie. We now have all the pieces in place to rapidly grow our diamond business, from discovery to design, delivering greater returns to shareholders.”
The event contributed to Burgundy’s mission to establish Maison Mazerea as an ultra-luxury brand, reviving Haute Diamanterie, and elevating the retail experience with all the embellishments. (Is it just me, or does it feel like Burgundy took a leaf from the book of Matthew McConaughey’s “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” character, who had a similar diamond based event…?)
The Brand plans to sell ethically sourced Fancy Colour natural diamonds with characteristic cuts. Owning the entire process from discovery to sale will aid Burgundy as they seek to De Beers-ise the Fancy Colour diamond industry.
Although I’m not quite sure how many people are looking to buy diamonds in this economy, the Company seems to think the Brand will gain traction.
My suggestion? Get McConaughey involved.
Samantha Freidin is a business journalist at Emerald Financial whilst also completing a Masters of Marketing and Digital Communications at Monash University.
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