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interview<br />
Dayekh Jewellery is fast<br />
becoming one of the most<br />
renowned firms in the diamond<br />
business. Managing director<br />
Alexander Dayekh found time in<br />
his hectic schedule to talk to<br />
Richard Bence about his<br />
company’s success and what it<br />
means to him to live in Antwerp<br />
I inherited a hugely successful company<br />
that my father grew from scratch. He<br />
started in the late 1950s in West Africa as a<br />
small-time river miner, before setting up in<br />
Antwerp as a wholesaler of rough diamonds.<br />
He then moved into polishing and made<br />
history by crafting a 295-carat stone, one of<br />
the largest diamonds ever known, into the<br />
four Challenger gems. Next it was<br />
manufacturing and finally retailing. We’re<br />
now proudly one of the few companies in the<br />
world who can start with a rough diamond<br />
and end with a finished jewel.<br />
We tackled the recession by introducing<br />
Investment Grade Diamonds. We sold them<br />
to financial institutions and private buyers<br />
as an anti-inflationary commodity to protect<br />
liquid wealth. Our customers were amazed<br />
that 25kg of gold equated to just 2gr of<br />
diamonds, saving them high costs in storage<br />
and security.<br />
Evolution is key to our success, and my<br />
favourite innovation is our own diamond<br />
shape, the “D” Brilliant Cut. It’s a 105-faceted<br />
diamond with a Lotus Flower Pattern on the<br />
pavilion, which breaks the light into even<br />
more frequencies than the round brilliant<br />
shape, giving our diamonds more sparkle, fire<br />
10 Brussels Airlines b.there! magazine November <strong>2011</strong><br />
Alexander Dayekh
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