Twikit Partners with Baunat to Offer Customized Diamond Colliers from Antwerp’s Diamond district
Baunat, an Antwerp, Belgium, based pioneer in online diamond sales, has partnered with Antwerp based customization experts Twikit to offer their customers an option to buy online customized diamond jewels.
Baunat Customized, lets one personalize a handmade diamond necklace. Customers can add their name and the Twikit tool automatically writes their name in diamonds. The Twikit tool gives customers an easy and fun way to customize and personalize their diamond necklaces. This new innovation in the diamond market lets people have pieces that look exactly as they want them to. What’s more they can see what they will be buying and its price online in real time. Once the customer orders, the file is sent to a 3D printer, the mold will then be 3D printed. The 3D printed mold is then lost wax cast. This piece is then polished and the cut diamonds are added. The piece is handmade in Antwerp but uses cutting edge technology to do so.
Antwerp’s Diamond District has over three thousand diamond cutters and merchants. This neighborhood near Antwerp’s Central Station is truly the home of the diamond, and has been for hundreds of years. Here over 85% of the world’s diamonds are traded. Families have been in the business for generations. Deals are conducted solely on reputation and a handshake. The cutting of diamonds is a craft honed over a lifetime and often passed from father to son. The only form of automation is perhaps a cell phone or a calculator.
The Diamond District works because of tradition, trust and family. Fads, trends and modernization largely do not affect it. One company however wishes to bring innovation cutting edge technology to Antwerp’s Diamond District.
Founded in 2008 by Stefaan Mouradian & Steven Boelens, Baunat is one of the world’s few online diamond jewelry brands. Baunat sources and trades diamonds directly. The company buys from cutters and sells to consumers and investors. Their transparency and affordability cuts through the cloak of the traditionally opaque world diamond sales. Their direct model and efficiency also means that Baunat can guarantee unmatched prices in diamonds. In 2016, the company were awarded by being the first Belgian company on the cross-borders e-commerce list.
Additionally Baunat is using 3D printing for prototyping. The company can quickly integrate feedback from their customers into their designs. This enables a smooth and fast design process. Their focus on co-creation makes them pioneers in high end custom-made jewelry that is being sold online. By releasing Baunat Customized and integrating the Twikit software in their website, they can now also offer custom-made necklaces online through a user-friendly configurator.
Depending on the length of your name a necklace starts at around € 1.839. The chain can be white, yellow or rose 18Kt gold. The diamonds are G VS2, certified and conflict free. Baunat is doing well with its Twikit implementation and will continue to work hard to bring transparency and direct prices to diamonds.
