Enterprise: Prestwick Place
‘Wow’ factor: By creating jewellery out of a lab-grown substance developed to replicate crystals from a meteorite, this start-up avoids the ethical and environmental issues associated with natural diamonds.
Entrepreneurship is in Rebecca Klodinsky’s blood. At the tender age of 24, she appeared to have a fulfilling enough life – she was working full time while studying for a double degree – but she wanted more. Using $2000 of her savings, Rebecca launched a swimwear range that has become global brand IIXIIST. Now, less than a decade on from her first start-up adventure and spurred on by the anger she felt at finding out she had paid a hugely inflated price for a natural diamond ring, Rebecca has founded a new business creating beautiful jewellery out of laboratory-grown Moissanite.
In 1893, French scientist Henri Moissan discovered crystal fragments from a meteorite that had fallen to Earth. After many years of trial and error, the particles Moissan found were successfully synthesised to produce gemstones that are indistinguishable in quality from natural diamonds. These lab-grown gems – often dubbed ‘stardust’ or ‘space diamonds’ – were named Moissanite in honour of the scientist.
“We use no moulds or computer-aided designs, everything is done by hand.”
“Mined, natural diamonds have a controversial history that is directly tied to the use of child labour and illegally traded ‘blood’ and ‘conflict’ diamonds,” Rebecca explains. “We are seeing a surge in the popularity of lab-grown Moissanite and diamond – which we also grow and sell – linked to consumers simply becoming more aware of, and educated about, the environmental and social impacts of their shopping choices.”
After countless hours of research, Rebecca discovered that conflict surrounds every naturally occurring mined stone and that the base markup on a natural diamond is upwards of 300 per cent. “Knowledge is power, and I knew I never wanted to entertain a purchase in the natural diamond market again and if I felt this way, I was sure I wasn’t alone,” she avers.
Rebecca eventually learnt that over 150 million tonnes of toxic waste is dumped from mines every year and that it takes 20 tonnes of waste to produce a gold ring. Spotting a gap in the market and determined to offer consumers a more ethical, sustainable alternative to natural diamonds, she launched Prestwick Place a year ago, with in-house jewellers making each piece to order so that every gram of metal is accounted for and used, with no over-run and no wastage.
“We use no moulds or computer-aided designs, everything is done by hand,” Rebecca enthuses. “From the stones to the actual setting, each piece we create is done in a completely human way. We make an effort never to post filtered or staged images to our social media,” she adds. “We share our prices inclusive of everything, openly – there is no stone left unturned when it comes to transparency, and we see this as our social responsibility,” pointing out a three-carat colourless, flawless lab-grown Moissanite can be bought for around $6000, whereas a natural diamond of the same specs costs in the region of $200,000.
Rebecca describes consumers’ response to Prestwick Place as “mind-blowing”. “I always recognised and knew there was a gap in the market here,” she says, “but the response has exceeded any of my expectations.” Since launching Prestwick Place less than 12 months ago, Rebecca has already hit over $1 million in sales, has just opened a flagship store in Queensland, and is working through the process of expanding nationally.
This article is a part of our female founders feature which can be read in full here.
