Misfit Diamonds: Beauty in the Imperfect
At the AGTA show, we spoke with Alex Skachkov of Misfit Diamonds (Vancouver, Canada) about some of their unusual diamonds (figure 1). When asked what was popular, he showed us their aptly named “salt and pepper” diamonds (see also figure 5 of the Tucson 2023 overview), which contained eye-visible black and white inclusions. These had a very distinct look and were cut into various nonstandard shapes (figure 2).
Skachkov described the appeal of these unique and beautiful “imperfect” diamonds, particularly to younger designers and consumers. In his words, younger customers are not necessarily interested in absolutely flawless gems. Rather, many are looking for gems that charm in their distinctive and rare “perfect imperfection.” He noted that these diamonds are also a more budget-friendly option. In addition to the “salt and pepper” diamonds, we got a close look at diamonds and sapphires cut into nontraditional shapes, including slices (figure 3).
Skachkov mentioned that many of their customers now look for full disclosure of the entire mine-to-market custody chain. Misfit Diamonds provides this information whenever possible, though at times their diamonds arrive in mixed-origin parcels, with stones from a variety of global locations. Moving forward, they aim to meet the challenge of reporting full chain of custody, as they predict increasing demand for this feature.
