Throughout the long history of hip-hop, jewelry has been an important way for artists to convey their ideas and richness, or simply to dazzle viewers. Diamonds, in particular, are an important motif, famously illustrated by Drake’s $400,000 diamond-encrusted iPhone case.
But not everyone is a millionaire rapper, and most people can’t really afford to wear ruined watches flooded with ice. Still, there’s certainly a market for such jewelry at a lower price point, and venture capitalists seem to have noticed: A direct-to-consumer diamond jewelry startup called Pascal has raised nearly of $10 million in venture capital funding, including $2.5 million. came from Andreessen Horowitz in early 2023, TechCrunch has learned.
Additionally, the company expects to generate between $20 million and $30 million in revenue this year and has a three-month customer repurchase rate of around 20%, according to its founder and CEO, Adam Hua.
Pascal’s argument is that he can make diamond jewelry accessible by using lab-grown diamonds that are chemically and physically similar to natural diamonds but cost one-twentieth the price. The company’s gem-studded jewelry starts at just $70, and it hopes that using cultured diamonds will help it gain a foothold in the more affordable segment of the broader jewelry market.
“The diamond is unique to hip-hop; it’s a status symbol. But most people can’t afford diamonds,” Ms Hua said. “Cultured diamonds are fundamentally transforming the industry’s offering. »
Synthetic diamonds have been around since the 1950s and are often used to make high-value jewelry. These diamonds are typically “grown” in a laboratory, where extreme forces and heat are applied to the graphite, similar to the process that gives rise to natural diamonds. Synthetic diamond manufacturers often like to tout their more environmentally friendly process, and some even take their mission a step further by making diamonds from the captured carbon.
For Pascal, the emphasis is on “culture” and it is not about disrupting the natural diamond sector. “The demand for luxury diamond engagement rings (for jewelry like) will remain,” Hua said. “We are creating a new category of affordable diamonds. »
Pascal’s diamonds adorn everything from watches to lipsticks and come in a wide range of colors, which is rare in natural diamonds. Synthetic diamonds, Hua pointed out, are also shinier, “which makes them perfect for TikTok videos.”
To find supply, Pascal turned to Henan, a province in central China that has become a major center of synthetic diamond production in the world, as well as to China’s emerging manufacturing neighbors, such as Vietnam and Thailand.
“This is a naturally cross-border business,” Hua said of his business. The United States is currently Pascal’s largest market, followed by Europe, he added.
Hua seems to have a knack for running fashion companies. While studying physics at UC Berkeley, he sourced sneakers in the United States and supplied them to resellers in China, earning his first million dollars. He then founded a peer-to-peer streetwear marketplace in China, which raised more than $10 million in equity and generated $1 billion in gross merchandise value in its third year of operation. His experience running this company ultimately inspired Pascal’s idea.
“I realized that most of my customers were Gen Z and their purchasing power was increasing over time,” he told TechCrunch. “By 2022-2023, the average ticket size had increased to $500, but there was no good product category for the $500 and above price range.
While navigating the consumption landscape, Hua chose hip-hop fashion. He observed how fans of rock bands often buy clothing and merchandise ranging from $30 T-shirts and $200 sneakers to $500 leather jackets and $1,000 jewelry to make a statement about their identity. cultural.
“What if there was a category of diamond products ranging from $500 to $1,000 for hip-hop fans and other diamond enthusiasts?” he said, speaking about his thought process. “People want value for their money when they buy something that meets cultural and quality needs.
techcrunch
