Steven Bartlett tonight made his biggest investment since joining Dragons’ Den – after offering £250,000 to a lab-grown diamond jewellery brand loved by Meghan Markle.
On the BBC show this evening, the entrepreneur, 31, backs the London-based fine jewellery company Kimaï in exchange for a 3 per cent equity stake.
The deal is the biggest investment made by The Diary Of A CEO podcast host since he first joined the programme in 2022.
Kimaï’s founders, Antwerp-born friends Sidney Neuhaus and Jessica Warch, were frustrated with the lack of supply chain transparency across the industry, so pioneered the use of 100 per cent traceable lab-grown diamonds.
Founded in 2018, the brand was worn by The Duchess of Sussex in 2019 during a royal engagement in London and is a favourite of Emma Watson and Jessica Alba, while Diane von Fürstenberg was the first female investor to back the business.
Sidney Neuhaus (left) and Jessica Warch (right), who founded jewellery brand Kimaï, have secured a £250,000 investment from Steven Bartlett on tonight’s show
Prices for Kimaï jewellery range from £225 for a single stud earring to £12,195 for a Toi et Moi engagement ring.
The Belgian-born duo requested £250,000 for a three per cent equity stake in their luxury jewellery brand.
Jessica and Sidney presented each judge with a piece of jewellery to showcase their designs, and Steven was particularly impressed with his £16,000 lab-grown diamond ring.
The duo explained their profits over the past few years, and how Meghan Markle played a significant part in spiking sales.
In 2019, the pair made £350,000 in revenue and a net loss of minus £350,000. The second year of trading saw a revenue of £890,00 and a net loss of minus £350,000 again.
Last year, sales spiralled, and they made £3 million, with a net loss of £100,000. ‘And this year, we’re on track to do £5 million, and a profit of £500,000,’ Jessica told the judges.
She continued: ‘We’ve launched without investment, and then two months after our launch we got Meghan Markle to wear our pieces, which enabled us to grow the revenue significantly, and from there we raised $1.2 million.’
Meghan Markle sporting a pair of lab-grown diamond earrings by Kimaï while visiting Smart Works in London in January 2019
The London-based brand specialises in lab-grown diamond jewellery and unique designs (pictured)
Sidney Neuhaus (right) and Jessica Warch (left) appeared on BBC’s Dragon’s Den to promote their jewellery brand Kimaï
Steven questioned the duo on how they got the Duchess of Sussex sporting their jewellery, to which they replied: ‘Cold emails’, ‘We’re big believers in cold emails,’ Jessica added.
Several of the Dragons fought to be picked by the brand’s founders as the duo received offers from Deborah Meaden and Sara Davies.
‘You’ve got us all mesmerised,’ Deborah said while calculating her offer. She praised the company for its sustainable values and offered Jessica and Sidney their asking price in exchange for a five per cent equity stake of the business.
Sara offered the pair the total sum of money they asked for in return for three per cent. ‘You two are very good in this space,’ she said.
Next, Peter attempted to lure the founders in with his connections in the industry, ‘I’m very close friends with the owners of Cartier,’ he said. But Peter failed to match the requirements after hearing the offers from other judges.
Jessica and Sidney showcased their fine jewels, and offered each judge a piece of their jewellery to observe
The Diary of a CEO host was particularly pleased with his rock, which costs an eye-watering £16,000
Steven was impressed with the duo’s method of cold emailing Meghan Markle to get her wearing their designs
Ultimately, it was Steven who managed to secure investment in Kimaï. ‘The moment you told be about hounding down Meghan Markle, you had me,’ he said.
Steven offered the duo their asking price in exchange for a five per cent equity stake of the company, which they rejected. Jessica’s negotiating skills successfully haggled Steven down to the original three per cent Kimaï offered.
Kimaï’s global e-commerce is growing at a rapid rate of 120 per cent year-over-year, as the online market for sustainable fine jewellery is on the rise.
‘They are two of the most impressive entrepreneurs I have ever seen in the Den’, said Steven. ‘Rock solid on their numbers, vision and convictions. Kind, humble, smart, tenacious and passionate.
‘Annoyingly, really incredible negotiators – which is annoying as an investor but perfect as business partners, so I’m happy to be in business with them.
‘They are the absolute full house. I’m going to support them in any and every way I can – I’ll bring a wealth of knowledge to the business as it relates to marketing, innovation, community growth, scaling and I’m planning to use my vast network of contacts to open doors that will help to accelerate their incredible business even more’.
The Antwerp-born duo were chuffed after receiving three offers, but it was Steven they went for
After the negotiating was over, Steven embraced both Jessica and Sidney with a warm hug
Crafted without environmentally harmful mining practices, the firm’s sustainable stones are said to be physically, optically and chemically identical to mined counterparts.
Using cutting-edge technology, labs are able to replicate the heat and pressure that create natural diamonds found in the earth. These sustainable gems can also provide 100 per cent supply chain traceability.
Catering to an eco-conscious clientele, the brand offers a range of lab-grown diamond and recycled 18k gold earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings and is proud to be one of the few fine jewellery labels to be certified B-corp.
Kimaï will be working with Steven and his team to amplify their digital presence, and the investment will be used to elevate the customer experience at the brand’s flagship store in Marylebone, London.
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‘We know that lab-grown diamonds are the future’, said co-founders Jessica Warch and Sidney Neuhaus.
‘Sharing our story on such a huge platform like Dragons Den was a unique opportunity to help spread the word about this relatively new technology, which allows beautiful diamonds and jewellery to be made, without costing the earth.’
Tonight’s episode comes after the BBC defended the inclusion of a wellness business in Dragons’ Den after campaigners for myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) complained the show promoted ‘unfounded’ claims that a product could help the condition.
In the episode, which aired on January 18, businesswoman Giselle Boxer said she had used ‘diet, acupuncture, Chinese herbs and ear seeds’ to aid her recovery from ME, and had turned the latter idea into the brand Acu Seeds.
An open letter organised by Action for ME to the chairs of two House of Commons select committees said they were ‘very concerned’ that the way in which her pitch was presented suggested the product was ‘responsible for her recovery and should therefore be considered an effective treatment’.
ME is a long-term condition with a wide range of symptoms including extreme tiredness, sleep issues and concentration problems, according to the NHS website.
It states that while there is currently no cure for the condition, there are treatments that may help manage it.
During the show, the Sheffield-based businesswoman told the potential investors that she had established the product after seeking treatments when she was diagnosed with ME at the age of 26.
She said: ‘Four years ago I was diagnosed with ME. I went from working in a top advertising agency with a busy social life and exercising regularly to being mostly housebound, unable to walk for more than five minutes without having to get back into bed.
Kimaï’s Nava tennis necklace, costing £12,795, features bezel-set lab-grown diamonds
The duo’s flagship store is on Chiltern Street in Marylebone, London
Kimaï offers a range of fine jewellery incorporating lab-grown diamonds, with prices starting at £225
‘I was told by doctors that I would never recover, work again or have children. I went on a personal healing journey using diet, acupuncture, Chinese herbs and ear seeds. Using this combination, I believe, aided my recovery within 12 months.’
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Her pitch to the Dragons produced a historic moment for the show as all six put in an offer for her Acu Seeds product, which is described as a ‘DIY needle-free ear acupuncture for anxiety, migraines, hormonal issues, insomnia, weight loss and more’.
After hearing their offers, she decided to pick Steven to invest in her business.
Following the episode, a joint letter signed by ME campaign groups was sent to Culture, Media and Sport Committee chairwoman Dame Caroline Dinenage and Health and Social Care Committee chairman Steve Brine.
The groups said that, as the episode was aired in primetime on BBC One, they were concerned that a larger audience would have heard the pitch which they alleged ‘amounts to an unfounded claim that this form of alternative medicine can cure ME’.
It added: ‘Sadly, there is currently no known effective treatment for ME. There has been a distinct paucity of research into this disease, compared to other long-term conditions, which means that ME is still without a cure.
‘As a result, we remind people to only take medical advice from appropriately qualified healthcare professionals and to ensure that any treatment decisions are evidence-based and fully informed.’
The letter also said broadcasters must make ‘every effort to ensure that content is accurate and does not contain misleading and potentially dangerous information’.
Action for ME said on social media that it has also written to BBC Director-General Tim Davie to voice its concerns about the episode.
A statement from a BBC spokesman said: ‘Dragons’ Den features products from entrepreneurs and is not an endorsement of them. Dragons’ Den shows real businesses pitching to investors to lift the lid on what happens in the business world.
‘This episode features an entrepreneur sharing their own, personal experience that led to a business creation.’ Acu Seeds has been contacted for comment.