Diamond Jeweler Jessica McCormack Welcomes Investment From Agnelli Fund as Sales Soar

LONDON — Diamond jeweler Jessica McCormack is riding a powerful wave of demand despite a cold climate for luxury, with sales growing in the high double-digits and a new investor in Lingotto Horizon, which is owned by the Agnelli family’s Exor holding.

The London-based Lingotto Horizon, which was established last year and targets mostly private companies and “opportunities in idiosyncratic niches,” has taken an undisclosed, substantial minority stake in the jeweler known for its celebrity clientele, vintage-inspired styles and laid-back approach to wearing diamonds.

Lingotto Horizon joins long-standing majority shareholders Michael Rosenfeld, a diamantaire, and Rachel Slack, a businesswoman and a member of the Oppenheimer family, both of whom helped McCormack launch the brand in 2008.

In an interview, the brand’s new chief executive officer Leonie Brantberg said the latest investment will help with the brand’s international expansion plans, which include a debut U.S. store at 743 Madison Avenue in New York, and a concession on Harrods’ ground floor, near to Cartier.

Both units are set to open in 2025, and Brantberg said the plan is to add around 10 stores over the next few years. Roughly one-third of those will be in the U.S., while the company is also exploring locations in the Middle East and Asia, both of which are growing markets.

Brantberg said the brand does not want to over-distribute. The plan is for well over 80 percent of the distribution to be wholly owned, with limited wholesale.

Flagships “set the right tone” for the brand, and allow the team and sales staff “to know the customer, and get close to them. The growth will be very considered. We are such a small company that every statement we make matters,” added Brantberg, who joined Jessica McCormack from Burberry, where she served as chief of staff, strategy and growth projects, and was a member of the executive committee.

Jessica McCormack currently has two stand-alone stores in London, an art-filled flagship in a townhouse on Carlos Place in Mayfair, and a 1,300-square-foot store on Sloane Street that opened late last year with neighbors including Tiffany & Co. and Cartier.

With Brantberg at the helm, the brand is also eager to grow by positioning itself as an alternative to heritage, big-name jewelry houses, such as Tiffany & Co. and Cartier, and independent art jewelers such as JAR.

Brantberg believes there is significant untapped potential for stylish diamond jewelry that can be worn on all occasions, not just special ones.

“We’ve got great momentum now, and we want to step on the gas,” said Brantberg, adding that Jessica McCormack is profitable with healthy margins, and has been growing organically. Revenues have quadrupled since 2020, and were just shy of 30 million pounds last year.

She believes there is great potential for the brand, which is offering diamonds that are “wearable, modern and effortless. These are diamonds you can live in, sleep in, swim in and wear from day to evening.”

One of the big sales drivers has been women buying for themselves. They account for nearly 50 percent of all purchases.

They’re buying for birthdays, anniversaries and professional milestones, and hoping to hand down the jewelry to children and younger generations, she said.

Brantberg added that growth is also coming from customers who have switched their spend from high-end fashion and accessories — where prices have been spiraling upward — to fine jewelry.

Despite the rocketing cost of gold, she said Jessica McCormack has not raised prices in the past three to four years.

“We have people who are trading out of certain categories into our category. Diamond jewlery in particular is seen as a store of value, an investment. It’s just not the same as fashion and leather,” which in most cases don’t hold their value, she said.

Just to compare, Jessica McCormack’s white gold Gypset hoop earrings with 0.40 carat diamonds cost 5,500 pounds, which is 500 pounds cheaper than a Bottega Veneta large canvas tote with leather trim.

The Gypset hoops with 0.20 carat diamonds cost 3,250 pounds, roughly the same price as the Sofia leather shoulder bag from The Row.

Sales have also been buoyed by the resilience of high-end clients. Brantberg said that single purchases of 100,000 pounds or more have risen by 30 percent in 2024.

Prices range from 1,625 pounds for a single Gypset diamond hoop earring to the hundreds of thousands of pounds for bespoke and high-jewelry pieces. The average transaction value is 15,000 pounds.

Some 50 percent of the business comes from core styles, such as the Gypset hoops, the Ball’n’Chain gold necklaces and the detachable studs or diamond charms — smiley faces, starfish, and shells — that dangle from them.

On average, the brand sells two pairs of Gypset hoops a day, online and in-store.

The rest of the business comes from seasonal collections, bridal, bespoke orders and high-jewelry pieces, such as the Tapestry bracelet, made from multicolored stones arranged in a chevron pattern.  

The lightweight, flexible bracelets are made from emeralds, diamonds and sapphires, and have a watch-style clasp which the wearer can click on, and take off, by herself.

“I would never make a bracelet that I couldn’t take off by myself,” said McCormack, who grew up in New Zealand.

The designer uses Georgian and Victorian techniques for her jewelry and also transforms vintage heirlooms into new pieces. She consults on engagement rings and urges her clients to wear diamonds fearlessly and instinctively, whether they’re bespoke pieces reworked from a grandmother’s jewelry box or simpler styles.

She also wants her designs to work well together. “I want the new pieces to fit into what a client bought five years ago,” said McCormack from a sitting room in the basement of the townhouse overlooking the jewelers’ workbenches.

Her customer demographic is broad, and McCormack loves the idea of multiple generations — mother, daughter, grandmother — wearing the same Gypset hoops in different ways. She also likes it when “non-jewelry” people wear her pieces and realize how easy they are.

Earlier this year, she named the 35-year-old actor and director Zoë Kravitz as the first brand ambassador. She and Kravitz met through London friends during the pandemic, and connected immediately.

Kravitz said that when she first saw McCormack’s jewelry on her friend, she assumed it was vintage.

“I feel like her pieces are treasures that you find. They feel old, but they’re also modern — and timeless. There’s this incredible juxtaposition,” said Kravitz, adding that she’s also “inspired by the fact that this company is run by a woman and feels so human — not corporate.”

McCormack said her end goal isn’t so much about size or revenue, but about longevity, quality and consistency. She wants Jessica McCormack to endure well beyond her lifetime, and said it’s about time that a legacy jewelry house had a woman’s name above the door.