Dave to buff up global diamond brand

Dave has been appointed to create a consumer-facing luxury goods brand for British diamond company Backes & Strauss.

The work is expected to launch in the UK later this year, with a broader global roll-out planned for 2007. The group was appointed without a pitch.

Backes & Strauss was established in 1789 and supplies diamonds to top-end jewellers around the world. The company is now looking to tap into the lucrative luxury consumer market and before Christmas will launch a range of high-end products, competing with brands like Bulgari.

According to Dave founder Dan Rowe, the move is driven by a ‘renewed consumer interest in high-end luxury’.

The group has searched the company’s archives for inspiration and the marque will reference the brand’s heritage with a contemporary twist, Rowe adds.

‘We could have invented something new, but the brand has such a rich heritage that we decided to look to the past for a way to express the brand,’ he says.

The group will create marketing and communications material along with 3D pieces for use in stores. The products will initially be sold in luxury outlets. Standalone stores are not planned at this stage.