Throughout hip-hop’s long history, jewelry has served as an important vehicle for artists to convey their ideas and well-being, or simply dazzle onlookers. Diamonds, in particular, serve as an important motif, Drake’s famous example $400,000 Diamond iPhone Case.
But not everyone is a millionaire rapper, and most people can’t afford to wear watches flooded with ice. Still, there’s definitely a market for such lower-priced jewelry, and venture capitalists seem to have noticed: A direct-to-consumer diamond jewelry startup called Pascal has raised nearly $10 million in VC funding to date, $2.5 million of which came from Andreessen Horowitz in early 2023, according to TechCrunch.
In addition, the company expects to generate $20-30 million in revenue this year and has a three-month customer repurchase rate of about 20 percent, according to its founder and CEO, Adam Hua.
Pascal’s goal is that he can make diamond jewelry affordable by using lab-grown diamonds that are chemically and physically similar to natural diamonds, but cost one-twentieth the price. The company’s gem-encrusted jewelry starts at just $70, and it hopes its use of cultured diamonds will help it gain a foothold in the more affordable segment of the broader jewelry market.
“Diamond is unique in hip-hop. it is a status symbol. But most people can’t afford diamonds,” Hua said. “Cultured diamonds are fundamentally transforming the supply side of the industry.”
Synthetic diamonds have been released since the 1950s, and have often been used to make high-carat jewelry. These diamonds are usually “grown” in laboratories, where extreme forces and heat are applied to the graphite, similar to the process that causes natural diamonds. Manufacturers of lab-grown diamonds are also often keen to tout their more environmentally friendly process, and some even take their missions a step further by making diamonds from bonded carbon.
For Pascal, the focus is on “culture” and not trying to disrupt the natural diamond sector. “The demand for luxury diamonds [for jewelry like] The engagement rings will remain,” Hua said. “We’re simply creating a new, affordable category of diamond.”
Pascal’s diamonds decorate everything from watches to lipsticks and come in a wide range of colors, which is rare in natural diamonds. Lab-grown diamonds, Hua pointed out, are also brighter, “making them good for TikTok videos.”
To find supplies, Pascal turned to Henan, a central Chinese province that has become important production hub for the world’s synthetic diamonds and China’s emerging manufacturing neighbors such as Vietnam and Thailand.
“It’s a naturally cross-border business,” Hua said of his company. The US is currently Pascal’s biggest market, followed by Europe, he added.
Hua seems to have a knack for fashion business management. While studying physics at UC Berkeley, he bought sneakers from the US and supplied them to resellers in China, which helped him earn his first million dollars. He then founded a streetwear marketplace in China, which raised over $10 million in equity funding and generated $1 billion in gross merchandise value in its third year of operation. His experience running this company ultimately inspired the idea for Pascal.
“I realized that most of my customers were Gen Z and their purchasing power was increasing over time,” he told TechCrunch. “Around 2022-2023, the average ticket size had reached $500, but there was no good product category for the $500+ price range.”
As he explored the consumer landscape, Hua chose hip-hop fashion. It looked at how fans of rock bands often buy clothing and goods ranging from $30 T-shirts and $200 sneakers to $1,000 leather jackets and jewelry to make a statement about their cultural identity.
“What if there was a $500-$1,000 diamond product category for hip-hop fans and other diamond enthusiasts?” he said, talking about his thought process. “People want to get their money’s worth when they buy something for quality and cultural needs.
