At At Glance

Brian Gavin represents the fifth generation of his family in the diamond business, but his journey from Holocaust survivor descendant to luxury diamond pioneer took him from South Africa to Houston and into uncharted digital territory. In 1997, when a professor showed him the World Wide Web, Brian became one of the first people to sell diamonds online, with the industry calling him both visionary and "pariah" for embracing e-commerce. After a bitter business divorce in 2009, customer loyalty alone drove his comeback, selling $1.2 million off a simple blog in three months. Operating Brian Gavin Diamonds with proprietary light performance patents, he's built a business that positions itself as "the Porsche GT3 RS" of diamonds, focusing on ultra-high-end specialization rather than competing in the mass market.

Who is Brian Gavin?

Meet Brian, the CEO at Brian Gavin Diamonds!

About Brian Gavin Diamonds

Brian Gavin Diamonds is an online jewelry retail store with an emphasis on attractive pieces that prominently feature diamonds. From custom pieces to ready-made earrings and engagement bands, there is something for everyone. 

Brian’s Journey

Brian Gavin represents the fifth generation of his family in the diamond business, tracing back to Amsterdam when diamonds were first discovered in India. His grandfather and great-uncle escaped to South Africa before World War II to teach the cutting industry, while "70 members of his family were killed in the Holocaust." Brian's own journey to America began when his wife, a refugee from Zimbabwe's civil war, insisted they leave South Africa. "When we got married, she said she didn't want to stay in South Africa. She doesn't want for her children to have what she went through," he recalls. The couple emigrated to Houston in the 1980s with their infant son. Brian's entry into E-Commerce came through curiosity about emerging technology. In 1997, a University of Houston professor showed him the World Wide Web. "I said, what's that, some kind of spider? What does that mean?" 

This led to what he believes was "probably the first internet wire transaction that ever happened" when a Chicago lawyer purchased a $25,000 diamond online in 1999. The industry called him both "well ahead of my time" and "the pariah of the industry" for embracing online sales. After a difficult business partnership ended in 2009, customer demand drove him to launch Brian Gavin Diamonds, which sold "$1.2 million off the blog" in its first three months. Today, he operates with a deliberately personal approach: "My sales staff and my support team are an in-house team, and I would never outsource it because of that personal service that we offer." His specialty remains luxury diamonds with proprietary light performance patents, positioning the brand as "the Porsche GT3 RS" of the diamond world.

Business Growth and Revenue Strategies

Brian Gavin Diamonds' revenue journey reflects both the explosive growth potential and volatility of being an early e-commerce pioneer in luxury goods. After his first online transaction in 1999, Brian experienced rapid growth during the internet boom, but his conservative business partners held back expansion.

 "We were growing rapidly, but my partners who were from the computer business held it back. I don't think they realized the animal that was growing," he explains. This cautious approach may have cost them market leadership: "I think it was a mistake because I think we would have grown into the biggest. They developed the syndrome of burning cash as much as they could in the shortest space of time with free massages. And they just weren't into burning the cash."

After leaving his original partnership in 2009 and launching Brian Gavin Diamonds, the company achieved remarkable initial success through pure customer loyalty. "In the first three months, we sold $1.2 million off the blog. No eCommerce or anything like that. And just a list of goods and people were buying from us again." The business continued growing rapidly, "doubling ourselves year after year" until COVID disrupted operations. 

Pandemic Induced Headwinds

The pandemic presented unique challenges for luxury goods: "A lot of internet companies did well in COVID. It wasn't good for us. I think we were very specialized. Yes, if we would have been selling widgets, maybe it would have been better. And literally overnight, we were down to two" from their peak performance levels.

The company has faced additional headwinds in recent years from multiple industry disruptions. "You also had the advent of lab-grown diamonds. Which definitely affected the business. So there were multiple things," Brian notes, along with supply chain issues and tariffs. His response has been to become even more specialized: "I think long-term, we're just going to become more specialized and less mass market as we used to be. And so it's even more specialized. We do some amazing jewelry in that sense. And it's very personal one-on-one, more so than click and buy."

Brian Gavin Diamond’s CX Philosophy 

Brian Gavin Diamonds' customer experience philosophy centers on what Brian calls "a brilliant diamond buying experience" that removes fear from luxury purchases. "For most people to go buy a diamond is very scary and it shouldn't be. It's probably one of the largest purchases besides a house or a car that you'll make and you're blind," he explains. His solution focuses on transparency through education and proprietary technology like hearts and arrows certification and laser inscription. The company's commitment to extraordinary service became legendary through dramatic gestures during critical moments. When a casting failure threatened a wedding ring delivery, Brian put a staff member on an airplane to hand-deliver the product. During Houston's devastating floods, "for two weeks, every day we would get into a truck and we would travel across all the way to College Station up north where we would drop off our packages to make sure that people got their packages when we said they would be delivered." Brian takes complete ownership of customer satisfaction: "I will do anything to make a customer happy. If I can't make the customer happy, it's because they don't want to be made happy."

Innovation and Adaptability

Innovation at Brian Gavin Diamonds has always centered on technological advancement and specialization rather than mass market expansion. Brian was among the first to embrace online diamond sales and 3D design capabilities: "CAD CAM came into being, and we were probably one of the first people that offered 3D design online." His approach to innovation involves developing proprietary solutions when industry support doesn't exist: "The photography, we had to develop all the cameras ourselves. Today, there are many companies that produce cameras for online photography." This pioneering spirit continues as the company adapts to industry changes, particularly the rise of lab-grown diamonds and increased competition.

Brian's strategy for the future involves becoming even more specialized rather than scaling broadly. "I think long-term, we're just going to become more specialized and less mass market as we used to be," he explains. The company is focusing on rare, high-end natural diamonds as a store of wealth: "People who want to find a storage of wealth or a place to store wealth that's in a small, compact place, the people are doing that." This direction emphasizes personalized, one-on-one service over mass market click-and-buy transactions.

Advice for Business Owners

At this stage of his career, Brian's approach to growth is more measured than his earlier aggressive expansion efforts. "Do I have the energy of when I was 50? No. Do I still have energy to do things? Yeah. And we will do things," he says, acknowledging that future development may happen "in a different manner" with less aggressiveness than in the 1990s. 

His advice for aspiring entrepreneurs emphasizes market analysis and technological adoption: "Analyze your market, understand it, and look for the gap and run for it. I think you have to embrace what technology brings. For young guys who are entering the space, definitely embrace the technology and use it to your advantage."