We recently connected with Steven Gad and have shared our conversation below.

Steven, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you come up with the idea for your business?

How did you come up with the idea?
Essentially, the idea has evolved over time. At the beginning of my career, I became fascinated by fluorescence. Several years later, while working with color diamonds, I discovered that some of these stones display extremely rare fluorescent colors. Besides blue fluorescence – which is extremely scarce in itself — it is also possible to observe green, orange, yellow and pink fluorescence, among others.

As I contemplated the magic of these diamonds, I realized my passion to share their rarity with uninformed consumers. This is when I knew this story needed to be told – so consumers could experience the magic of these diamonds for themselves.

What Emotions were involved?:

There is something very symbolic about this feature in a diamond. There is a hidden property in it that only you are aware of. Without sounding too cliche, these diamonds symbolize an inner light that resides within each of us.
And my desire to share the features of these diamonds — this inner light — with everyone, parallels the desire within all of us to realize the best of ourselves. These qualities which we aspire to are not always readily accessible, and don’t always appear without an outer light guiding the way. But, once they are unlocked, their beauty is enduring.

How’d you know this was worthwhile? That this could work?

There’s never been a story in the diamond space — in my opinion — as powerful as the story of fluorescent diamonds. These are some of the most rare diamonds in the world, with a hidden feature that can only be unlocked with a special light. 
For that reason, it is symbolic of so many different things.
Each of us has a unique story.  Whether that be a personal challenge to overcome, or a hidden ability that needs to be nurtured to realize the fullest potential.

Were you solving a problem that no one else was solving?

Yes, over time I was realizing that the excitement and meaning in a diamond jewelry purchase was beginning to wane. With MALKA’s fluorescent jewelry, I wanted to create more meaningful and symbolic jewelry for consumers that could represent something important about themselves or their life (e.g.: a hidden initial of a loved one) in a way that has never been done before. In essence, the goal of the brand is less about highlighting the MALKA diamonds uniqueness, and more about reminding the consumers themselves of their own distinctiveness.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’ve been working in the diamond jewelry industry for over 30 years. In 1997 I founded my company — Finesse Diamonds. What sets me apart is my mission to add value to the diamond supply chain in the most innovative ways possible, while also providing one-of-a-kind diamond jewelry experiences.
One example of such an experience, was in 1998 when I introduced one of the first specialty cut diamonds — the patented Eighty-Eight.
What makes me most proud of The Eighty-Eight venture was my ability to deliver an extremely meaningful product — in particular to Asian clientele.
The number 8 is deeply ingrained in the ethos of many Asian cultures as a means of ensuring they will be touched by its lucky properties.

Beginning in 2006, Finesse became a client of De Beers, the world’s largest diamond mining company. Finesse was selected as an official De Beers Sightholder, one of 78 companies in the world doing direct business with De Beers.
While I was undoubtedly proud of this accomplishment and the manufacturing opportunities it led to, I still felt that there was more I could do in the industry.

So, when the opportunity to start MALKA materialized I felt it was the perfect opportunity to fulfill this goal.

Any fun sales or marketing stories?

In the early 2000’s I introduced one of the first specialty cut diamonds — the patented Eighty-Eight. The Eighty-Eight is a branded and patented diamond featuring 8 sides that form an octagon and 88 facets, 30 more than the traditional round brilliant cut. The Eighty-Eight was designed to create more sparkle and brilliance than a traditional round diamond. Similar to a round brilliant cut, the Eighty Eight diamond maximizes the appearance of size per carat weight, but it has the added advantage of being a non-traditional shape.
The Eighty-Eight is also tied to an ancient Chinese tradition. The number 8 is considered the most auspicious and blessed of all numbers. As a result, the number 8 is inextricably woven into the ethos of Chinese culture as well as most other Asian cultures, to such an extent that its people have taken great measures to ensure its presence in their lives as a means of ensuring they will experience its lucky effects.

Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.

In the diamond industry, one of the biggest achievements a diamond company can attain is to become what is called a “siteholder” — a client of De Beers. So, when I accomplished this feat in the mid-2000’s I was humbly honored. This siteholder status meant that I was one of 78 companies that could buy diamonds directly from De Beers. As a result of the allocation of diamonds from DeBeers, I was able to open a diamond-cutting factory in Namibia that trained local talent in the art of diamond cutting. Through these ventures I was able to learn the importance of giving back to the communities along the supply-chain. Certainly, without their contributions, there would be no end product to deliver to the consumer, and I am therefore grateful for their hard work and attention to detail.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.malkanewyork.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/malkanewyork/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MalkaNewYorkCity
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/MalkaNewYork
• Other: https://www.finessediamonds.com/

Image Credits
Jana Schuessler