LONDON — Kimaï, the young fine jewelry label known for its use of lab-grown diamonds and a favorite of the Duchess of Sussex, is now ready to bring on investors to lead its next stage of growth, having completed a seed investment round of $1.2 million
The round was led by Talis Capital, whose portfolio also includes the chat-based commerce platform Threads, as well as a number of high-profile investors including designer Rebecca Minkoff; head of the Facebook app Fidji Simo; Cartier France’s former managing director Coralie De Fontenay; and billionaire businessman Xavier Niel.
The brand’s founders, 26-year-olds Jessica Warch and Sidney Neuhaus — who are both Antwerp-raised and from diamond-trading families — said they were looking to bring together a group of people with the right type of background and experience, people they can always turn to for advice.
“Some of our investors didn’t even know about the concept of lab-grown diamonds before,” said Warch, pointing to the nascent brand’s ability to gain traction and build an audience from early on, even if it had zero backing at the time.
Kimaï was started in November 2018 as a response to Warch and Neuhaus’ desire to create a fine jewelry brand that was transparent and
The round was led by Talis Capital, whose portfolio also includes the chat-based commerce platform Threads, as well as a number of high-profile investors including designer Rebecca Minkoff; head of the Facebook app Fidji Simo; Cartier France’s former managing director Coralie De Fontenay; and billionaire businessman Xavier Niel.
The brand’s founders, 26-year-olds Jessica Warch and Sidney Neuhaus — who are both Antwerp-raised and from diamond-trading families — said they were looking to bring together a group of people with the right type of background and experience, people they can always turn to for advice.
“Some of our investors didn’t even know about the concept of lab-grown diamonds before,” said Warch, pointing to the nascent brand’s ability to gain traction and build an audience from early on, even if it had zero backing at the time.
Kimaï was started in November 2018 as a response to Warch and Neuhaus’ desire to create a fine jewelry brand that was transparent and