Yahoo Finance EXCLUSIVE: Lab-grown Diamonds Land on London’s Bond Street for the First Time
LONDON — The Diamond Lab is going where no laboratory-grown creator has gone before by opening a shop on Bond Street, home of some of the biggest names in fine jewelry.
The London-based jeweler, which has a concession at Selfridges, has signed a 10-year lease for a store at 109-110 New Bond Street, according to the real estate company Savills, which acted on behalf of the landlord, Sunny Oasis Global.
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It will be the first stand-alone store for The Diamond Lab, which secured series A funding last year from a private individual. The brand was founded by former fine jewelry and watch consultant Jamie Patel.
The jewelry is made from 18-karat gold and lab-grown stones from India. It creates collections and also offers bespoke services for clients. The brand said its mission is to be sustainable, Earth-friendly, and offer an “affordable alternative” to traditional mined diamonds.
The store is set to open on May 10, and will take over the former Russell & Bromley space. It will span 3,000 square feet, including the basement, ground, first, second and third floors.
Neighbors on the street will include Diptyque, Georg Jensen, Canali, Opera Gallery and Dsquared2.
Anthony Selwyn, co-head of Global Retail at Savills, said The Diamond Lab “is the first lab diamond brand to open on Bond Street. It will allow them to become the most high-profile in a fast-growing market.”
Bond Street, and particularly New Bond Street, where The Diamond Lab plans to open, has become hot property for luxury brands. Selwyn said that in 2023 investment into Bond Street accounted for 70 percent of all central London activity.
Last October, Swatch Group purchased the building at 171 New Bond Street, which its brand, Harry Winston, has occupied since 2006. The transaction was worth 90 million Swiss francs, or about 81 million pounds.
The Harry Winston building, built in 1856, showcases fine jewelry, timepieces and some of “the world’s rarest diamonds and precious stones,” according to Swatch Group. Other big jewelry names on the street include Cartier, Graff, De Beers and Chaumet.
With its investment on New Bond Street, Swatch joined marquee names including Kering, Compagnie Financière Richemont, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton and Chanel, all of which own at least one property on the swanky Mayfair shopping street.
New Bond Street is the fourth most-expensive street globally, and the second most-expensive shopping street in Europe, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s 2023 “Main Streets Across the World” report.
New Bond Street is the only U.K. street to feature in the 2023 global ranking, with average prime rents standing at $1,462 a square foot, per year. In Cushman’s European ranking, the street came second after Via Montenapoleone in Milan.
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