How Meghan Markle helped a small jewelry brand raise more than $1M

The Duchess of Sussex helped Kimai jewelry gain investors after she wore a pair of the brand’s diamond ear crawlers in 2019.Getty Images

The Meghan Effect strikes again.

Whenever Meghan Markle wears something, it’s sure to be a swift sellout — and the founders of London-based fine jewelry brand Kimai recently shared that they raised $1.2 million in investments after the Duchess of Sussex wore a pair of their diamond earrings.

Sidney Neuhaus and Jessica Warch, co-founders of the ethical lab-grown diamond company, appeared on “Dragons’ Den” (the BBC’s version of “Shark Tank”) last week, sharing that they “launched without investment” and managed to convince Markle to wear one of their pieces just two months later.

The duchess sparkled in Kimai’s 18k yellow gold Felicity crawler earrings during a 2019 visit to the Smart Works charity, with the soon-to-be-relaunched style — which retailed for $845 per earring — featuring three diamond eye charms dangling from a wave of pavé stones.

Warch shut down rumors that Markle accepted the earrings as freebies, confirming to Page Six Style that the Duchess of Sussex purchased them from Kimai directly.

Markle wore the brand’s Felicity earrings. Kimai

The duchess rocked the diamond ear crawlers during a January 2019 visit to Smart Works. Getty Images

On “Dragons’ Den,” Warch explained that after the royal wore the earrings, the company was able “to grow the revenue significantly,” enabling Kimai to raise $1.2 million in investments.

“I think for us as a young brand starting out it’s very hard to get out there, and her wearing our designs really attracted people’s attention from a design perspective but also from a lab-grown diamond perspective,” Warch tells Page Six Style, adding “it was the first time royalty was seen wearing lab-grown diamonds.”

The jewelry pro told us that, in 2019, lab-grown stones were “a very new and controversial topic” and that the Duchess of Sussex’s support “definitely launched” the business.

When “Diary Of A CEO” podcast host Steven Bartlett, who serves as one of the show’s “dragons,” asked how they pulled off getting a member of the royal family to wear the unknown brand, the duo admitted that they sent “cold emails.”

She was pregnant with Prince Archie when she first wore Kimai. GC Images

The brand’s founders posed in front of their London store. Adam Kang

Markle wore Kimai’s diamond hoops to the 2023 Invictus Games. Getty Images for the Invictus Games Foundation

“We’re big believers in cold emails and it’s the same way we got all of our investors. We didn’t know anyone in the space,” Warch said, impressing the team of “dragons.”

For more Page Six Style …

Shop our exclusive merch

Browse the best fashion and beauty products, according to celebs

Bartlett went on to offer the duo a £250,000 ($316,000) investment in their business, telling Warch and Neuhaus, “The story you told me of you hounding down Meghan Markle was the moment you had my heart, because that’s what it takes.”

The Duchess of Sussex has since gone on to wear Kimai ‘s semi-hoop earrings ($795 each) at the Invictus Games in 2023, and stars like Jessica Alba and Emma Watson have also worn the ethical brand.

Seems like that Markle Sparkle just can’t be dulled.