Changing the world… one beautiful piece of jewelry at a time.
It was 2004. An interesting confluence of events was occurring.
Our team believed that the internet would become the dominant way for people to buy things. This was crazy talk at the time, especially for the jewelry industry. Most “experts” in the jewelry business were still saying “no one will buy engagement rings online.” Second, there were technological breakthroughs occurring that allowed gem quality diamonds to be, for the first time ever, grown in a laboratory economically.
With these two factors in mind we started with a blank sheet of paper and a simple objective based on this confluence of opportunity: Create, for this new world, the best engagement ring and fine jewelry company on earth. One that would not be beholden to “the way things had always been done” in the jewelry world. One that would be free of pretensions and elitism. One that was free of ethical and social conflict. And free of the environmental damage that comes from mining diamonds. Our vision was to bring the same innovation to the jewelry world that Apple brought to the computer and device world, and through that innovation, bring value to our customers.
And it would have the potential to disrupt the $60 billion global diamond business, which is an industry that was and continues to be rife with conflict, corruption, environmental abuse, and unsavory consumer practices.
Our new company had the potential to bring change to this dirty and destructive industry. At the same time it could deliver a far better value and a superior experience for its customers.
It was this rare nexus of events – the rise of e-commerce dramatically changing the landscape of retail, and the fast moving technology that had the potential to shatter and remake, for the better, the global diamond industry – that made our dream company possible.
We named our first brand Diamond Nexus. And applied for and received a utility patent for our unique process that created the Nexus Diamond™ alternative.
Here’s What We Do Differently
- No Mined Stones. Period. We only use our Nexus Diamond™ alternative, lab grown diamonds, and lab grown rubies, emeralds and sapphires. These manmade stones are better for the earth, its people and our customer’s wallets. As soon as any land mining or ocean dredging is part of the equation, some amount of evil comes with it. Even “ethically sourced” diamonds are often taken from the earth in environmentally harmful ways.
- High Quality Manufacturing. We built our own jewelry manufacturing facility in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We hired some of the most talented fine jewelry artisans in America and created our own training programs to take our employees from apprentice to Master Jeweler. We do our best to keep the manufacturing process in-house as much as possible, and only outsource components or materials when necessary to uphold the quality and value of our products. (Most people don’t know that it’s almost impossible for jewelers to manufacture 100% of their products in the USA.) Everything we create is done to our own high-quality standards. It’s a difference you can see with your eyes and feel in your hand. Setting and finishing our jewelry, as well as housing our creative and Customer Care operations under one roof, gives us tremendous advantages. Our Customer Care Advisors can walk out on the workshop floor and talk to the jeweler creating your ring. It creates a virtuous circle connecting our people, our customers, and our craft.
- Legendary Service and Customer Focus. Our #1 stated, written value is, “Treat Our Customers Like You Would Like Your Mother Treated.” We have had, for many years, the highest rated customer service in the jewelry industry as rated by several third-party sources, industry leading customer-friendly policies, and our unprecedented “Everything’s Covered” Warranty. This laser focus on the customer has resulted in over 450,000 satisfied customers worldwide and a tremendously high re-order rate and lifetime value of our customers.
We currently serve our customers through our three individual brands, 12FIFTEEN Diamonds, Diamond Nexus and Forever Artisans.