Bigger Stones for Less Money: These founders make jewelry from lab-grown diamonds

Margin instead of mass. This is how you could summarize the move of the Frankfurt series foundersCem Dogan and Philip Deml. In 2020 they launched their first company, Flapgrip. Flapgrip is also the name of their product, a stick-on cell phone holder that can be used as a grip, stand and mount in the car. The two competed in “The Lion’s Den” and won Ralf Dumb as an investor. Just one year later, Dogan and Deml founded a second time: Veynou. Under the brand, they sell jewelry made from “sustainable diamonds,” as they call it. Diamonds that are not mined but created in the lab. The average price per start-up piece of jewelry is 1,000 to 2,000 euros, the most expensive engagement ring from Veynou costs 17,800 euros. What both companies have in common is their history of origin: Each time, Philip Deml has solved a personal problem. Deml and his fiancé Paulina Kurka are influencers. He provides 240,000 Instagram followers with pictures and videos of travel, restaurant visits and car journeys every day. His partner is followed by almost half a million people. Both have their smartphones in their hands almost all day. The bracket made their influencer life easier.

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When Deml decided to propose to Kurka, he had been looking for a very special engagement ring for a long time and finally came across the topic of laboratory-grown diamonds, he says in an interview with Gründerszene. “At first I couldn’t believe it, but then I quickly thought: Come on, let’s think about it. Can you make a business out of it?” The first Veynou ring then became Kurka’s engagement ring – and she co-founded her fiancé’s new startup.

How to make diamonds?

Synthetic diamonds are not a new invention. In fact, since the 1950s it has been possible to create stones in the laboratory with chemical and physical properties identical to those of natural diamonds. Emerald and sapphire can also be made in this way. The technology has been continuously improved, currently two processes are common: the high-pressure process HPHT (short for High Pressure, High Temperature) and high temperature. CVD, chemical vapor deposition, is the more modern variant, in which solids from hot gas are deposited atom by atom on a tiny core diamond in a coating process. The stone is cultivated here, so to speak. The USA, China and India are the market leaders in the production of synthetic diamonds. What is new, however, is the idea of ​​turning it into a digital business model – and selling the luxury product diamond jewelery through the aspect of sustainability. The Veynou founders primarily understand this to mean that their diamonds do not come from potential conflict regions. They are not mined under potentially questionable conditions by miners. And nature is not burdened by prospecting, by erosion, deforestation, pollution of water, soil and air. “But of course you have to be realistic when it comes to energy consumption,” Deml admits. The production of diamonds is very energy-intensive and Veynou cannot ensure that its suppliers work with green electricity. “But that’s the clear goal,” he says. So far it has been a mixed calculation. “We only use the more energy-efficient CVD method and are becoming more sustainable year after year, whereas a mine never turns green.” Veynou also works with recycled gold. “>

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Up to 70 percent cheaper And then there is the convincing selling point: the price. Yes, it is difficult and expensive to grow diamonds in the lab. But it’s significantly cheaper than getting them from hundreds of meters below ground. “Labor-grown diamonds can be 20 to 70 percent cheaper,” says Deml. “The bigger the stone, the greater the price difference.” A logic that is particularly effective with engagement rings: men usually go looking for the ring with a certain budget in mind. When they see that they can get a bigger stone for the same money, most are convinced. The Veynou founders want to open a showroom in Frankfurt soon. Pop-up stores, events, collaborations with other brands “that combine luxury and sustainability” in other German cities are to follow. And a round of funding tops the list. “We learned from Flapgrip that we need early financing in order to grow,” say the founders. Would Ralf Dümmel give money again? “We are in close contact and it’s nice to get input from him,” says Deml. “We have sustainability, but also luxury and tech – there is not a 100 percent match with him, but certainly with other investors,” adds Cem Dogan.

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