LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton has a new acquisition in process to help in its quest to supercharge high jewelry sales.
The luxury conglomerate on Thursday revealed its intent to purchase the Platinum Invest group in order to strengthen its high and fine jewelry manufacturing capabilities — with a particular focus on enhancing Tiffany & Co.’s production output.
A spokesperson declined to reveal terms of the deal, aside from that it is expected to close before the end of this summer following standard regulatory procedures.
According to sources, the Platinum Invest group manufactures for luxury jewelers across the world, including brands like Cartier and Bulgari, the latter of which is also owned by LVMH. It is understood that those existing clients will remain unaffected by the acquisition and that LVMH will also utilize the workshops for other jewelry brands in its portfolio.
The Platinum Invest group is a holding company of five workshops across the Grand Est region in France that includes the companies Orest and Abysse. In 2018, Orest was able to expand with strategic investment from Andera Partners and BpiFrance — and renamed itself Platinum Invest. The group acquired Abysse in 2022.
The Platinum Invest group employs more than 800 artisans that will help Tiffany speed its high and fine jewelry pipelines. While Tiffany will add artisans in France, a spokesperson said that the jeweler’s existing workshops in Pelham, New York, and Cumberland, Rhode Island, will remain in operation and this acquisition is only meant to add that production framework. Tiffany’s high and fine jewelry design studios will continue to be based in New York City.
“We are delighted to be able to welcome Orest and Abysse into the Tiffany & Co. family,” said Tiffany chief executive officer Anthony Ledru. “This acquisition is an important step for our house; it will allow us to reinforce our commitment to the highest level of quality, while expanding our production capacity to meet the growing demand of our clients. We are certain that this acquisition will enable us to pursue our momentum and our ambitions for excellence in the global fine and high jewelry market.”
“After years of fruitful collaboration, we are very proud to join the LVMH Group and strengthen our ties with such an iconic house as Tiffany & Co. and, thus, be able to contribute to its growth and development. We will be keen to put our skills and technologies at the service of its products to design unique and durable jewelry,” said Denis De Becker, president for Orest and Abysse.
In a sit-down interview with WWD last month, Ledru laid out plans to accelerate Tiffany’s high jewelry sales. The category doubled in revenue in the 2022 fiscal year.
In its Q1 earnings call on Wednesday, LVMH highlighted Tiffany’s continued performance by calling it an “excellent start to the year.” A group presentation called out Tiffany’s “record performance of high jewelry.”
According to a source, it’s understood that LVMH will continue to eye similar acquisitions in the future as it works toward strengthening its vertically integrated capabilities.