Fawaz GRuosi, founder fo de Grisogono, was the pioneer in using black diamonds.
I have known Fawaz Gruosi, founder of De Grisogono, since he first introduced his brand in 1993. I remember when the young brand — designer of some of the finest high-end jewelry and the leader of the pack in developing black diamonds as a high jewel — first started showing its goods at the Basel Fair, in a small booth behind Chopard. Today, the brand occupies prime space in Hall 1.1 and has grown to be an international name. In the USA, however, changes are afoot. In fact, for the US market, the brand has joined into a partnership with DLK,owned by David and Lisa Klein. The Kleins have run Leviev Diamonds in the US, but have stepped down from that business..
Geneva-based de Grisogono has operated a US subsidiary for 15 years and runs a chic boutique on Madison Avenue. According to brand executives, the new affiliation is designed to bring the brand to its full potential in the US market. That potential, it seems, is to find a new boutique location in New York this year. The change will not affect the product offering at this point in time, though it does leave the door open for some USA boutique exclusives.
de Grisogono will be run by DLK in the USA
De Grisogono is also a purveyor of famed diamonds and last year bought the rights to the 813-carat Constellation rough diamond (that had been discovered by Lucara Diamond Corporation at the Karowe mine in Botswana). Gruosi told us last year that he was letting the diamond “talk” to him before deciding what to do with it in terms of cut and finished jewelry.
