Jessica Warch and Sidney Neuhaus founded ethical diamond business Kimaï.
In 2024, the pair pitched their startup on Dragons’ Den.
But what is the story behind the two friends from Antwerp?
Who are Kimaï founders Jessica Warch and Sidney Neuhaus?
Jessica Warch and Sidney Neuhaus grew up in Antwerp, Belgium which has been at the heart of the diamond trade for years.
They were both surrounded by families who were in the diamond and jewellery industry.
READ MORE ON THE 24/7 PROJECT
For Warch and Neuhaus, it was important for them to know where things they were buying originated from.
In 2018, they joined forces and founded ethical jewellery line Kimaï.
Their main goal is to build a brand that delivers progressive but still luxurious fine jewellery, catered to an ethically and environmentally conscious generation of consumers.
The pair believed they could attract younger shoppers by providing more ethical options.
Diamonds are mined from the ground and form over centuries but advances in technology in recent years have meant the same process can now be created in a lab.
Diamonds are made of carbon in a high pressure and high temperature environment, and this can now be reproduce in a lab.
Kimaï’s diamonds are chemically and physically identical to mined ones.
Jessica Warch and Sidney Neuhaus have been friends since in 1990s when they met at a girls scouts club.
They launched Kimaï with around £7,300 ($10,000) of personal savings.
At first, they only had a few pieces to show potential customers.
They would draw up the designs in London, have the diamonds made in labs, and then get other metals set around them using goldsmiths in Antwerp.
In the early days of the business, the pair used infleuncers to promote their brand.
They have since sold to A-list celebrities including Meghan Markle who once wore their ‘Felicity’ Earrings which costs £630 ($800).
What is Kimaï?
Kimaï is an ethical jewellery line.
Warch and Neuhaus say their USP is “bringing a new level of transparency to the jewellery industry. Our pieces are crafted exclusively from 18k recycled gold and lab-grown diamonds. High-quality, low-impact, and fully traceable – it’s that simple.”