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During their orientation days, the students of the MSc in Luxury Management & Marketing and Programm Director Michel Phan, attended a company visit at Korloff’s flagship store in Lyon. Korloff is one of the world’s most famous and luxurious jewelers and its story is full of passion, love, adventure and family heritage. From selling diamonds and jewelry collections to writing instruments, fragrances, timepieces (watches) and couture, Korloff is definitely one of France’s precious stones. 

Worth 88-carat diamond and with 57 edges, the Korloff Noir, known as the largest black diamond in the world, was first owned by the Korloff -Sapojnikoff, a Russian noble family from St Petersburg. When the family traveled to France in the 1920s, the Korloff Noir was sold to a diamond dealer and purchased five decades later by Daniel Paillasseur, the current owner and founder of the Korloff Company. According to the legend, the Korloff Noir brings happiness, luck and prosperity to any person who has the privilege of touching it. Korloff is very unique and stands as France’s last independent and family owned jewelry company.

While Korloff’s uniqueness revolves around the fact that the company created a new diamond cut with 73 facets, the Korloff cut, Sandrine Ameux, store manager, mentioned that today the company created a “Korloffluxury universe” as they sell loose diamonds, jewelry, timepieces, accessories including perfumes, and haute couture for very specific fashion shows and clients. Rough diamonds are found in volcanoes and “it takes at least 30 000 years to create a diamond” stated the store manager, a key figure that impressed the students.

Sandrine Ameux also talked about Korloff’s workshop in Antwerpen, where the company’s diamond experts work on cutting and shaping the diamonds. It takes about 3 to 6 months to cut a single diamond. For the past few decades, the company has designed several collections including Yasmine, Harmony and Korloff Eternity. After hearing about the expertise of Korloff, the students got to try on some of the jewelry!

They also went up to the first floor to see one of Korloff’s workshops. They discovered the different stations within the workshop and talked to the diamond and jewelry experts who explained their role within the

company. From the 3D experts who focus on the design of the jewelry to the polisher and stone setter, the students had the opportunity to ask specific questions about the different steps of creation. 

At the end of the visit, the students had the privilege to enjoy refreshments in the private salon reserved to the high-end clients of Korloff. M. Paillasseur and his wife Valérie came to meet the students. After answering questions, Valérie Paillasseur stated that “the love story between Daniel Paillasseur and his black diamond is one of wonders, but it’s not as wonderful as ours.”

“I appreciate the fact that the company is very family oriented. That’s the kind of brand I like as it’s not too industrial and with a very small structure. What I appreciate in the luxury industry in general is the fact that it brings a whole new level of quality and excellence to this world.” – Djewui Bledjo, a current student of the MSc in Luxury Management & Marketing from Paris