Downtown lights
The address may have changed, but a De Beers diamond is still forever. Decamping from its former location on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue and 55th Street to new digs at 716 Madison Avenue, the new De Beers Diamond Jewellers’ NY flagship is a two storey, 200 square metre space that pays tribute to the brand’s legacy, stretching all the way back to 1888.
Intimacy seems to be the key word here, with the store designed to look warm, in dusky and beige tones. The layout seems to echo a museum, with blue lights, blue accents and etched glass adding a futuristic gleam. Materials used have a deliberate raw edge, including natural rock crystal on the main chandelier and untreated wood on the furniture, a subtle reminder that a dazzling diamond was once an unassuming rock in the ground. That journey, from earth to ethereal, is chronicled at the store, climaxing in spectacular gems that can even be customised via De Beers’ bespoke ‘For You, Forever’ service.
