Throughout hip-hop's long history, jewelry has served as an important means for artists to convey their ideas and richness, or simply to captivate viewers. Diamonds in particular are an important motif, with Drake's $400,000 diamond-encrusted iPhone case being famous.
But not everyone is a millionaire rapper, and most people can't afford to wear a broken watch that's filled with ice. Still, there is certainly a market for such jewelry at lower prices, and venture capitalists seem to be aware of it. A direct-to-consumer diamond jewelry startup called Pascal has raised nearly $10 million in VC funding to date, $2.5 million of which was announced by Andreessen Horowitz in early 2023, according to TechCrunch. It is said that
Additionally, founder and CEO Adam Hua said the company expects to generate $20 million to $30 million in revenue this year, with a three-month customer repurchase rate of about 20%. .
Pascal's pitch is that diamond jewelry can be made more affordable by using lab-grown diamonds, which are chemically and physically similar to natural diamonds but cost one-twentieth as much. He said the company's gem-encrusted jewelry starts as low as $70 and hopes that by using cultured diamonds it can gain a foothold in the more affordable segment of the broader jewelry market.
“Diamonds are unique to hip-hop. It's a status symbol. But most people can't afford diamonds,” Hua said. “Cultured diamonds fundamentally transform the supply side of the industry.”
Synthetic diamonds have been around since the 1950s and are often used to make high carat jewelry. These diamonds are typically “grown” in a laboratory where graphite is subjected to extreme force and heat, similar to the process that produces natural diamonds. Manufacturers of lab-grown diamonds often tout their greener processes, and some are taking that mission a step further by producing diamonds from captured carbon.
For Pascal, the focus is on culture, and he is not trying to disrupt the natural diamond sector. “Demand for high-quality diamonds [for jewelry like] The engagement ring will remain,” Hoa said. “We are creating a new affordable diamond category.”
Pascal's diamonds adorn everything from watches to lipstick and come in a wide range of colors, rare for natural diamonds. Lab-grown diamonds are also shiny, making them “suitable for TikTok videos,” Hua emphasized.
To find a source, Pascal turned to central China's Henan province, which is the world's main production center for synthetic diamonds, and to China's emerging manufacturing neighbors such as Vietnam and Thailand.
“This is obviously a cross-border business,” Hua said of his company. Currently, the United States is Pascal's largest market, followed by Europe, he added.
Mr. Hua seems to have a talent for running a fashion business. While studying physics at the University of California, Berkeley, he sourced sneakers from the United States and supplied them to resellers in China, which helped him earn his first $1 million. He then founded a peer-to-peer streetwear marketplace in China, where in equity funding he raised over $10 million and in his third year of operation he generated $1 billion worth of gross merchandise value. . His experience running that company ultimately inspired Pascal's idea.
“We realized that most of our customers are Gen Z and their purchasing power is increasing over time,” he told TechCrunch. “From 2022 to 2023, the average ticket size has jumped to $500, but there was no suitable product category above $500.”
Hua studied the consumer situation and chose hip-hop fashion. Fans of rock bands express their cultural identity from $30 T-shirts and $200 sneakers to $500 leather jackets and $1,000 jewelry. We looked at how to purchase various clothing and goods, ranging from .
“What if there was a diamond product in the $500 to $1,000 category for hip-hop fans and other diamond enthusiasts?” he said of his thought process. “When people buy something for quality or cultural needs, they want to get value for money.