Place Vendôme. Home to the world’s most celebrated jewelry maisons, this Paris landmark evokes exclusivity and elegance. Into this rarified setting, steeped in tradition, comes a disrupter: Courbet and its lab-grown diamonds.
In fact, being a disrupter is at the core of Courbet’s strategy. “We are placing lab-grown diamonds in a luxury context, with an ecological positioning,” explains Marie-Ann Wachtmeister, the jeweler’s creative director and cofounder. “Many brands give up on luxury to be environmentally friendly. We’re disrupting that proposition by offering lab-grown diamonds and recycled gold without sacrificing any quality.”
Indeed, she says, all Courbet stones are F color and higher, with clarity at VS or better.
Shaking things up
Launching Courbet has taken Wachtmeister full circle, combining her marketing expertise and creative bent. Wachtmeister, who is Swedish, says she “always painted,” but found herself on the business management track at consumer-goods corporation Proctor & Gamble and consulting firm McKinsey & Company. Designing jewelry was a hobby. After studying gemology, however, she joined Parisian jeweler Poiray under the leadership of Manuel Mallen, a 20-plus-year veteran of various Richemont brands. Together, they founded Courbet in May 2018.
Even the choice of company name is significant. Nineteenth-century artist Gustave Courbet gained fame not only as a painter, but as a political activist. At the time of the Paris Commune (1871), he helped destroy the column in the Place Vendôme dedicated to Napoleon’s victories, arguing that the column should represent peace instead.
“So we thought, that’s what we’re trying to do — shake up the Place Vendôme for a good cause,” Wachtmeister says.
The local response
For Wachtmeister, using lab-grown diamonds was a given. “We have this beautiful diamond, which on a molecular level is the same thing as a mined diamond, but just different in its origins.”
However, French law mandates that these diamonds be labeled specifically as “synthetic” (unlike in the US, where “laboratory-grown” and “laboratory-created” are the preferred terms). Wachtmeister attributes the French ruling to strong lobbying by the Diamond Producers Association (DPA).
“The term is misleading, because it gives the impression the diamond is something else,” she argues, though she concedes that “the law is the law.”
Courbet’s neighbors view the brand with curiosity, she reports. “They are watching and wondering as to how will we do, who are our customers and what will our collections look like.”
Overall, she says, the reaction has ranged from positive to neutral among these fellow brands. But the reaction has been less positive among diamond dealers. “The brands are not in the diamond business; they are using diamonds for their collections,” she explains, adding, “We’re not into the diamond business, either. We’re choosing these diamonds for our brand.”
Who’s buying the goods
Wachtmeister identifies two primary market segments. The bridal segment consists of younger and millennial consumers, a group that tends to be educated and inquisitive. The average price of a 1-carat Courbet engagement ring is approximately $10,000.
The second, non-bridal segment, is more value- rather than age-based. While also curious and educated, these consumers are either attracted by the opportunity to purchase luxury jewelry with an ecological profile, or intrigued by the novelty and innovation of lab-grown diamonds. Courbet’s fashion jewelry ranges in price from approximately $900 to $16,000.
Wachtmeister defines the company’s marketing strategy as digitally native vertical brand (DNVB) — a model that emphasizes using digital communication, especially social media. The “vertical” aspect refers to selling directly to consumers and exerting more control over supply and distribution.
Courbet jewelry is available online, in the company’s Place Vendôme “apartment” showroom, and in a boutique in the Paris flagship of department store Printemps.
Sustainable philosophy
In keeping with its stated goal of reducing its ecological footprint, Courbet’s diamonds are sourced only from producers utilizing clean energy, either hydraulic or solar. Courbet has just launched its Pont des Arts collection from diamonds made in France. And as far as design goes, Wachtmeister believes jewelry should not be based on fleeting fashion trends, since constantly producing pieces with limited wearability can negatively impact the environment.
As such, multiple-use jewelry and repurposing are part of the company’s design philosophy. Its playful O2 collection includes rings that can change into earrings, as well as stackable rings and flexible bangles. Wachtmeister encourages customers to come back and update their designs — again, to reduce the environmental footprint. She also works one-on-one with clients for bespoke designs — though she admits that for the first seven years of her jewelry career, she designed in PowerPoint; it was only later that she mastered computer-aided design (CAD) programs.
While Courbet strives to be disruptive in most aspects, it produces its pieces in France and Italy using techniques rooted in the fine-jewelry tradition. Wachtmeister describes the Courbet style overall as classic with a twist. “I want the jewelry to be something you can live with your entire life,” she declares.
Breaking into new markets
Wachtmeister envisions a growing market for lab-grown diamonds. “Like any emerging brand, our goal in this green market is to expand outside France to where we have the highest visibility and impact,” she explains, noting that Courbet is currently carving out plans for this expansion.
Of course, some markets are harder to break into than others; New York, for instance, is highly competitive, and having an established reputation helps. “The day you see us in New York is when we will have already succeeded in other markets,” she says.
Rather than revolutionizing the Place Vendôme, Courbet seeks to reinvent it with the “next generation of jewelry.” The brand has already sold the largest lab-grown diamond ever — a 9-carat white — for over $500,000. With an eye to the future, Courbet will likely continue to shake up the local scene.
Image: CourbetArticle from the Rapaport Magazine - February 2020. To subscribe click here.