by
Photo: Courbet
Courbet co-founder and creative director Marie-Ann Wachtmeister’s vision for her company is not just about creating beautiful jewellery; it’s about redefining luxury itself. By prioritising sustainability and ethical practices, Courbet is creating a quiet revolution in the industry, proving that luxury and responsibility can go hand in hand.
As the world becomes increasingly aware of the importance of responsible consumption, the Place Vendome-based Courbet stands as a shining example of how the luxury industry can adapt and thrive more consciously and responsibly.
In an exclusive interview, Wachtmeister shares her insights on luxury, sustainability, and the challenges and successes Courbet has faced since its inception.
The world of luxury is traditionally defined by excess and indulgence. Courbet’s tagline, however, is “Without goodness, beauty means nothing”.
Luxury is not just about the value of the raw material. It’s about the quality of the design, the craftsmanship, and the investment in the image that goes with this design. Real luxury is about doing everything with an awareness of being good.
When I started Courbet, I was deeply influenced by the concept of creating a brand that is beautiful inside and out. Walking down the streets of Paris and looking at the luxury shop windows, I realised that many beautiful items often had an ugly side — an unseen environmental or ethical cost. Real luxury should not have such a hidden cost.
How does Courbet compete against the legacy brands?
When we launched Courbet six years ago, our competition was the existing legacy brands. Initially, we could not launch super high-end jewellery because it was too expensive.
However, after a while, we managed to do so. Today, our competition comes from other eco-conscious brands and traditional luxury maisons.
Interestingly, when we first entered the market, we were seen as a small player — almost like a mouse among giants. However, we never aimed to compete directly with the massive, established brands.
Instead, we wanted to offer an alternative to their customers, showing that it is possible to enjoy luxury without compromising ethical and environmental standards. Over time, we’ve seen new brands entering the market inspired by our approach, which is encouraging because it indicates a shift in the industry towards sustainability.
Bridal jewellery, such as this white and yellow lab-grown diamond ring, is a Courbet forte. (Photo: Courbet)
Courbet is not just a B2C jeweller; you also produce your own lab-grown diamonds.
We have full vertical integration. We own the company that grows our lab diamonds and also manufactures jewellery. This allows us to keep our supply chain short and efficient while reducing costs and environmental impact.
For instance, while traditional diamond supply chains involve numerous intermediaries, each adding its own markup, our direct control over production allows us to offer high-quality diamonds at more accessible prices without sacrificing our ethical standards.
How has the reception to lab-grown diamonds been?
The reaction has been polarising. Some people, usually older generations, view lab-grown diamonds as fake. However, younger generations are excited about this alternative and are more inclined to buy diamond jewellery with a lower environmental impact.
Engagement rings are a significant part of our business because they appeal to young people making conscious ecological choices. They are more willing to embrace new technologies that offer sustainable alternatives. They appreciate the transparency and ethical considerations that go into lab-grown diamonds.
Courbet’s Origine Couture yellow gold brush-finish ring with white lab-grown diamonds. (Photo: Courbet)
How do you ensure that all aspects of your business align with sustainability values?
Sustainability is at the core of everything we do. This means rigorously assessing every part of our supply chain and operations to ensure they meet our standards. For example, we use recycled gold in our jewellery, significantly reducing the environmental impact compared to newly mined gold.
We also prioritise using renewable energy in our diamond production processes. Furthermore, we conduct regular third-party audits to evaluate our environmental footprint and identify areas for improvement.
This transparency and accountability are crucial for maintaining the trust of our customers and staying true to our mission.
That sounds like a challenge in itself.
What is great is that you learn a lot. During an audit, they come into your company, look through all your invoices, and interview all the employees. The auditors see everything you purchased and evaluate the impact of everything.
You don’t even know about some things you do that impact a certain magnitude. We discovered surprising impacts from certain purchases, such as coloured stones from Thailand, which had a high environmental cost due to the energy used in their production. This knowledge allows us to make better decisions and continuously improve our sustainability efforts.
Efforts to offset our impact are also important. The objective is to reach carbon neutrality in the best possible way.
Today we are donating to five foundations: two that regrow trees and remove plastics from oceans; two for rescuing animals, both marine and terrestrial; and a local project in France for helping children in adoption cases. But none of these projects are on the list for carbon compensation because we didn’t select them based on that.
We selected them because we think they’re doing great. So we might be adding to this list of who we help. The best compensation is when you invest in regrowing trees because they capture carbon.
Courbet’s Constellation high jewellery necklace features a Big Bang-inspired design. (Photo: Courbet)
What other roadblocks do you face?
The biggest has been overcoming the deeply ingrained perceptions and biases against lab-grown diamonds. The diamond industry has spent decades marketing mined diamonds as the only “real” diamonds, and this message has been widely accepted. Changing this perception takes time and persistent effort.
When first conceptualising our high jewellery collection, we wanted to have a world-record-sized lab-grown diamond over 15 carats with at least D or F colour as a centrepiece for a necklace. Our partner in Russia, which was the best at growing large diamonds and was powered by a hydraulic plant, tried this several times.
The first attempt failed, the second produced a yellowish stone, and the third broke. Finally, the fourth attempt was a success, but just as we received the news, the war in Ukraine began, and we could no longer use that diamond. This forced us to change the design to one with a Big Bang motif. There are a lot of failures and experiments that people don’t know about.
What have been Courbet’s greatest achievements since its inception?
We are proud to be a catalyst for change in the industry. We have raised awareness about the environmental impact of traditional diamond mining and placed lab-grown diamonds in the high-end segment.
One of our significant achievements is the shift in perception we’ve helped foster within the industry and among consumers. Today, over 30 new brands in France alone position themselves similarly to us.
How do you address concerns about the environmental impact of producing lab-grown diamonds, especially regarding energy consumption?
Energy consumption is indeed a significant factor. However, we are committed to using renewable energy sources as much as possible. For example, our lab diamond production facility in France is powered by low-impact energy, with only 42g of carbon dioxide emissions per kilowatt hour.
French electricity has a very low impact; the two countries that have cleaner electricity are New Zealand and Norway. We also continuously look for ways to improve the efficiency of our production processes and reduce our overall energy consumption.
A selection of bridal and fine jewellery that features recycled gold and white, pink, and cognac diamonds. (Photo: Courbet)
Courbet is already producing coloured lab-grown diamonds. What else does the future hold?
It is now possible to create high-quality lab diamonds that are virtually indistinguishable from mined diamonds. And the quality and size of lab-grown diamonds are continuously improving.
We believe the market will eventually be dominated by recycled or lab-grown diamonds. Traditional diamond mining will become less viable due to environmental concerns and the depletion of easily accessible resources.
In the coming 10 years, we will see innovations you can’t even imagine today, such as growing lab diamonds with completely new technologies and controlling the movement of the carbon atoms when they’re crystallising to achieve shapes not found in nature, such as cylinders.
This opens up new creative opportunities for designers. We are currently exploring the potential of growing diamonds in more unique, traditionally very rare, and expensive colours. Lab-grown technology can produce coloured diamonds in shades that are difficult or impossible to find in nature.
Other industry players are also innovating, such as creating diamonds that can capture and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, contributing positively to the fight against climate change.
Technology can also help to streamline supply chains, improve transparency, and reduce waste. For instance, blockchain technology could be used to track the journey of our diamonds from production to the final product, providing customers with verifiable information about the origins and sustainability of their purchases.
