Game Changers: Seamus Fahy of Voltaire Diamonds

A little over two years ago, Limerick man Seamus Fahy returned to Ireland and established Voltaire Diamonds. Offering top quality diamond jewellery at prices that traditional sellers find impossible to beat, things have gone so well that he’s now looking back towards London for expansion.

By Shane Breslin

Diamond jewellery, eh? Whether you view it as a necessary evil (in which case you’re one of us), or a high point of your adult life (in which case, clearly you’re a girl), there’s no doubt that it’s a high-end business.

It’s so high-end that no individual could really expect to start up a small business and make significant inroads straight off the bat. Or could they?

Limerick man Seamus Fahy wasn’t swayed by all the talk of high overheads involved in the diamond industry. He just found a way of avoiding those overheads, and the result is a fantastic up-and-coming Irish business.

Just two and a half years after opening the doors of Voltaire Diamonds’ private offices on Dublin’s St Stephen’s Green, Seamus is already considering expansion plans, from hiring extra sales professionals here and opening up another branch in London, where he worked in the oil and equities industries for the best part of a decade before making the move into diamond jewellery.

For someone with a background in oil and equities, diamonds sounds like a bit of a jump, and Seamus admits that it was a serendipitous meeting that helped to put him on his current path.

“I had kind of got fed up with London and I was looking to come home,” he tells JOE, “so for the last couple of years there I was constantly racking my brains trying to come up with a business idea.

“It was then that I met a couple of diamond traders at a wedding. They were from Antwerp – 80 per cent of the world’s diamonds go through there – and they explained to me the difference between the wholesale price of diamonds and the retail price.

The real secret to my business is low overheads. All the rent, the rates, the high stock levels, the staff, the security costs, the shop insurance. I’ve none of that.

“So I said to myself, if I could eliminate the overheads of a jewellery shop, the high rents, the rates, etc, then there’s no reason I couldn’t make a success of this.”

Coming up with an idea is the first hurdle. Seeing to through is quite another, so what was his next step?

“Well, I put a lot of work in before ever getting the business off the ground,” he says. “I did a lot of market research, I studied gemology at night-time for nine months in London with the Gemological Institute of America, I went into jewellery shops in London and Dublin trying to figure out what their sales tactics were and what their margins might be.

“And I quickly realised that there was an opportunity to sell top quality diamond jewellery at very competitive prices.

“Traditional jewellers can’t compete with me. So long as people hear about me and meet me, the chances are they’ll buy from me. Thankfully, lots of people do hear about me.

“Everything I supply is top quality and fully certified, I’ve wholesale suppliers of diamonds from Antwerp, I’ve a workshop here in Dublin that makes all the rings.

“But the real secret to my business is low overheads. If you compare it to a typical jewellery shop, all the overheads they have make it impossible for them to compete. All the rent, the rates, the high stock levels, the staff, the security costs, the shop insurance. I’ve none of that, and that’s why my prices can’t be beaten, my prices are probably 30 per cent less than the high street, and everything is top, top quality.”

A good proportion of Voltaire’s customers are men buying the engagement ring on their own, ready to pop the question in an opportune time and place, like the top of the Eiffel Tower, gazing at a sunset on the Beara Peninsula or sitting on the couch after Hollyoaks.

Relaxed environment

And Seamus says that, far from the environment of a traditional jeweller’s, which can be daunting to any man on the verge of making a substantial investment, the lads love the experience of Voltaire Diamonds.

“Some guys are intimidated by going into a shop,” he says. “Guys like the idea of going into a private environment where no-one can see them, where they’re not embarrassed. With me it’s totally relaxed, it’s not stuffy and a lot of guys really like that.

“About 30 per cent of my clients would be guys on their own – the rest are couples. But the guys on their own, they generally love the experience. There’s no hassle, no pushy sales techniques, I just educate them on the important things when buying a diamond, and then they can make up their own mind.

“Guys buying a ring on their own are taking a bit of a risk but if for any reason she doesn’t like the ring, if she wants to change the setting or whatever, they can come straight back to me and I’ll change it free of charge.”

Offering private rooms where lads, or couples, can make an appointment and view hundreds of different samples, Voltaire Diamonds is also able to reproduce an identikit ring if herself has set her heart on one she’s seen in a magazine or online. Irrespective of which route you take, rings - which are available from Voltaire Diamonds from approximately €1000 - will be ready within three weeks or so.

And Seamus has also noticed that people are so happy with the Voltaire Diamonds experience that they come back to him down the line.

“We also do wedding rings,” he says, “so a lot of people who buy engagement rings off me come back and buy their weddings rings too.”

Future expansion

As for the future, Seamus has turned his sight once again towards the UK, a market he feels he could tap into via the rapidly growing contingent of new Irish emigrants.

“I’m also looking at opening an office in London. There is a big Irish community in London, and it’s growing all the time. I’ll be aiming to target them. Not just them, I’ll supply anyone, but that will be how I’ll be starting it out.”

So if you’re looking to show your appreciation for your chica bella by investing in some precious stones, you could do worse than drop a line to Seamus Fahy and Voltaire Diamonds.

For more information, check out www.voltairediamonds.ie.