DIAMOND MASTER

Rings with Kwiat Cushion™ diamonds

Greg Kwiat

As CEO of a growing family business, Greg Kwiat grew up with diamonds all around him.

Igrew up with diamonds all around me,” Greg Kwiat said as he sat at his desk in Kwiat’s offices on Manhattan’s tony Madison Avenue. “On school holidays my brothers and I would go into the

office with my father. We were paid to crawl around on the floor and

see if one of the jewelers had dropped a 1 or 2 point diamond. If we found one, we’d get $1. ”On a good day, each boy could make $7 or $8, and receive an even more valuable recompense—a feeling they

were contributing value to the family business.

Greg Kwiat’s leap from diamond scavenger to CEO of the family

diamond firm wasn’t always inevitable. “I joined in 2004, after 5 years

at Goldman Sachs,” he explained. His father Lowell is Chairman, his

brother Russell the COO and his other brother Cory, the Chief Digital

Officer. “In a family business we all collaborate,” Greg said. The secret

to working together, he continued, is “having respect for each

others’contributions.” It's a formula that works. The Kwiat diamond business was started

115 years ago by Greg’s great grandfather, Sam Kwiat, a diamond

trader. “In the 1930s my grandfather, David, started designing jewelry,

making classic things like engagement rings and ear studs.”

Kwiat also started supplying diamonds and making jewelry for the

top luxury houses, like Harry Winston and Cartier. But in the 1990s

that line of the business stopped and Kwiat started focusing on mak-

ing a name for its own jewelry. Today there is a Kwiat diamond bou-

tique further up Madison Avenue from the company’s offices, and

Kwiat jewelry is also available at the country’s top luxury retailers.

One of the stars of retail is the Cluster Collection. “By mixing different

shapes and sizes of diamonds we can create an elegant piece that has a

larger scale and more texture and drama,” Greg explained. Referring to a

floral cluster earring, he said “by grouping five pear shaped diamonds in

an earring you create a very important look, but keep the price down.”

Cluster Collection From the Cluster Collection

The five diamonds in the cluster can deliver the same impact of one

much larger, and much more expensive diamond.

“Cluster styles have a long place in our history,” Greg said. “They

were a favorite of my grandfather, he loved a cluster. It’s in our

DNA. This year we added a number of new designs to our Cluster

Collection including some larger scale styles and some ‘front and

back’ designs. In the front and back designs, part of the earring is

on the ear as a stud and an additional part appears to float below

the earlobe, connected to the top behind the ear. Some new

clusters are extensions of our iconic American Beauty collection,

which combine marquise and pear shape diamonds to create

movement and texture.”

Kwiat is also renowned for its Kwiat Tiara cuts—a collection of

exclusive cuts including the Kwiat Round™, Kwiat Cushion™, Fred

Leighton Round™ and Ashoka . These cuts return more light to

the eye, creating a brighter looking stone that sparkles more,”

Greg said. “The cut of a diamond is what unlocks its fire and

brilliance, and the Kwiat Tiara cuts give the diamond the widest

possible diameter to appear larger than other diamonds of

comparable carat weight.”

The most recently introduced is the Kwiat Cushion™. “It is our

proprietary elongated cushion shape, cut to ‘Kwiat perfection’ with

maximum brilliance and beauty,” Greg explained. “It has been a tre-

mendous success immediately from the launch, and we will build

on that. “Kwiat diamonds earn the highest accolades possible. Each round diamond has been awarded the Triple Excellent status

from the GIA, the Gemological Institute of America which is the

standard bearer of diamond quality. The Triple Excellent status

applies to round diamonds that have been graded on cut, polish

and symmetry. The grades range from Poor to Fair, Good, Very

Good and Excellent. Kwiat’s round diamonds earn “Excellent” in

all aspects.

It’s crystal clear: Whether creating a dramatic statement earring

to ornament an evening gown for a black tie night, or a simple pair

of diamond studs to wear every day with jeans and a t-shirt, the

Kwiat diamonds used are of the highest quality.

Little wonder demand is growing and Kwiat plans to grow its re-

tail presence. “Our future plans are to grow our partnerships with

our local authorized dealers across the United States. The strength

of the Kwiat brand is built on the discerning quality and fine rep-

utations of our local partners. These relationships have always been

at the core of our business, and growing them is the foundation of

our future.”

Another plan for the future might be grooming a fifth generation

of Kwiats to join the business. Greg’s and his brothers’ children are

all still very young, (the oldest is 12), so it’s too early to predict their

future talents and tastes. But just in case they might be headed to

the family firm, they do as their fathers did. They visit the office and

hunt for dropped diamonds, just like the generation before them— except now they receive $2 for each diamond discovered.