When Dan Raz started his career, he always said that he didn’t choose diamonds, diamonds chose him.

“I had a good friend whose uncle owned Diamonds International in the Caribbean and I got a job — that was my first,” Raz, the founder of Raz & Company New York, said. He’s struck off on his own with the brand, which launched in late 2024 with a showroom in New York and a website where it sells directly.

Already, Raz said, he’s seen traction in the market.

“We had a community of clients and referrals by word-of-mouth and I was doing jewelry for a lot of people,” he said. “This felt like the right time to put all the efforts that were made in baby steps to an actual brand. And that’s how the brand came about.”

Raz entered the market with bridal jewelry and engagement rings, the rationale for which was pretty straightforward. “I strongly believe that once a person trusts you with an engagement ring, they’re usually coming back to you with all the other special occasions,” he said. “I concentrated on bridal when ideating the product line, and I went with more engagement rings and wedding bands. Now we’re breaking into more fashion jewelry.”

Prices on the engagement rings range from around $1,200 to $8,200, according to his website, and the offerings are customizable by metal, stone and shape. Although the existing designs are more classical in their sensibilities, he’s branching out with a new campaign.

“We have a bunch of hoops and necklaces, and we’re coming out with things that are a bit more eccentric and ‘risky,’” he said. “We’re doing what we call the ampersand campaign, and it’s built on the premise that jewelry is something you buy for someone else. It’s about being together with someone else. The ampersand is that ‘and’ of joining two people together. And we’re adopting that into our pieces, whether it’s stamped or we’re also coming out with ampersand pendants.”

That goes in lockstep with Raz evaluating different opportunities for distribution. “We have the showroom here in Midtown Manhattan that we’ve revamped as sort of our flagship,” he said. “We accept walk-ins, but it’s a very private atmosphere. But I have a lot of experience in the wholesale market and on the manufacturing side, so we are now slowly intertwining those businesses in order to create authorized retailers.”

In that vein, he already has a few partners with which he distributes in Barbados and in Pennsylvania. “That’s more of the idea, as opposed to launching brick-and-mortar locations nationally,” he said.

He’s not too concerned about the broader macroeconomic pressures that are hampering other industries. “No matter what economic crisis is happening, jewelry is very much here to say,” he said. “The gift-giving aspect — whether it’s ladies or men — puts a smile on people’s faces. You could buy someone an apartment, but somehow, that’s not the same as buying someone a 10-carat flawless diamond.”