DAMAC Group, the Dubai-based parent group of Damac Properties, has acquired the famous Swiss jewelry brand de GRISOGONO. The brand, which filed for bankruptcy in early 2020, expands the developer’s portfolio and is part of its strategy to add distressed luxury assets to make them profitable. At least that’s what an official statement released on Tuesday reveals.
Best known for its “Creation I” necklace, which contained the world’s largest D flawless diamond and fetched a whopping $33.7 million at a 2017 auction, de GRISOGONO is a name synonymous with glamour. The jeweler has adorned many celebrities on the red carpet, including Hollywood actress Natalie Portman and supermodel Naomi Campbell.
“In line with our ambitions to grow our business in the luxury and high-end fashion space, the bid for de GRISOGONO came naturally to us. This relatively young, yet established brand has immense potential that needs to be discovered and exploited. I am convinced that with DAMAC’s expertise and know-how, we will be able to bring the brand to a justified success, strengthening its development and global network,” said Hussain Sajwani, founder and chairman of the DAMAC Group, which emerged as the highest bidder among several other candidates for the acquisition.
The Dubai-based developer, who bought Italian fashion house Roberto Cavalli in 2019, did not disclose the price of the deal.
“This relatively young but established brand has immense potential that needs to be discovered and exploited. I believe that with Damac’s expertise and know-how, we will be able to bring the brand to justified success, strengthening its development and global network.”
It should be recalled that the de Grisogono company, which had debts of $225 million when it declared bankruptcy in 2020, had been looking for its buyer for many months even then. The former owners, Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of Angola’s president, and her husband Sindika Dokolo, may have been operating the luxury brand as a front for “sneaking” diamonds through Dubai-based companies, according to a judicial investigation.
For its part, Damac also recently won a $120 million bid to acquire land in Miami’s upscale Surfside neighborhood, where it plans to build an ultra-luxury Cavalli-branded condominium project.
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Featured photo : © de Grisogono
