About Rebel Diamonds
Founded in 2018 by Stacey Marr-Frahm
The story of Rebel Diamonds, from its development to inception, is my personal journey of passion, determination, and a lifelong affinity with the world of jewelry. While the official start of Rebel Diamonds as a business began in 2018, the seeds of this journey were truly planted when I was just a child, gazing at the sparkling treasures in the front window of Wilshire Jewelers in New Hampton, Iowa. Little did I know that this early fascination of glittering wonders would ignite an unfettered spirit for the jewelry industry.
I made my official entry into the jewelry industry during my junior year of college, working for Kay Jewelers. This job in the chain store avenue of jewelry gave me valuable insights about their business structure, strategy, methodology, and the corporate culture.
After graduation, I moved to Illinois, joined my first husband's family jewelry business, and absolutely fell in love with the independent family-owned jewelry world. It encompassed genuine connections with customers, and we were creating the most magnificent custom pieces. The store, called Studio 2015 Jewelers, was a place of craftsmanship, creativity, experimentation, and a palpable entrepreneurial spirit. During my time with Studio 2015, we expanded into manufacturing with casting, assembly, fabrication, and state-of-the-art technology. We also created a product line of memorial keepsakes that would be distributed to funeral homes nationwide. In 2007, Studio 2015 moved from an 1,800 square-foot storefront to a brand new, free-standing store of 6,000 square feet. In fact, the jewelry cases in Rebel Damonds today are the very same cases I helped select for that retail store transition.
Over the next 14 years, I also took some time away from the family business. I managed the jewelry department for a new Kohls department store opening nearby and also spent 2 years working at an additional independent store that featured high-end brands and a commission-only pay structure. In 2014, I was happy to return back to Studio 2015 Jewelers and quickly earned my way into the General Manger position.
In 2015, I faced the challenge of a long divorce while working for the family business and co-parenting three children under the age of 13. Family business can be hard, and this scenario proved to be extreme. Business interests and personal relationships needed to be negotiated, and I found myself needing to advocate for my ability to continue my solo journey in the industry I loved. I also knew due to my parenting schedule and residential location, there would end up being a compromise in the logistics, whether it be the commute, the pay, or the hours. Turns out, I am a solid overachiever, and I took the risk of a lifetime by compromising all three of these variables.
I took a job in downtown Chicago on the renowned Jewelers Row for extremely low pay and a 4-hour roundtrip commute using mostly public transportation in diamond wholesale. I saw an incredible opportunity to make new business connections, learn the wholesale lane in the industry, and potentially make an unlimited income by also starting a private jewelry business. So, for the second time in my life, I took a leap of faith, bet on myself, and established Rebel Diamonds in May of 2018. Rebel Diamonds was initiated as my "side hustle", focusing on private jewelry services and sales. Outside of my daytime office hours in wholesale, I met with clients one-on-one, facilitated repairs, gold buying, appraisals, and specialized in custom jewelry creation on behalf of Rebel.
While working in Chicago, I connected with different cultures and learned very quickly the strong sense of religion and respect. I experienced that the industry still demonstrated sincere kindness, valued word-of-mouth referrals, and how trust was a quintessential aspect of the community. The bustling atmosphere of Jewelers Row introduced me to a vast network of industry experts and suppliers. By asking questions and experimenting with various manufacturing and vendor services, I was able to hone my knowledge of the right fit for quality, pricing, turnaround times, and specialization.
In 2020, I made a big move to Minnesota after reconnecting with a gentleman I first met when I was 14. Back then he was my pen pal whom I ended up dating a year later. I can now say that young boy became my husband in 2022.
After relocating to Minnesota and getting my feet underneath me, I put Rebel Diamonds on the shelf and took a job with a family-owned, third generation jewelry store in Rochester, MN. This store was also in the high-end segment of the market, offering Rolex and prestigious merchandise. This experience further enriched my education and expertise with different nationalities and demographics due to the close proximity to Mayo Clinic. It was an incredible combination of an independently owned family legacy that also had a multi-store footprint, which showed me a new business structure in the industry I hadn't experienced yet.
In the summer of 2023, after much consideration, I made the decision to leave the comfort of a secure job and to venture into the unknown. With a couple of options at my feet, the call of my dreams was still whispering in my ear. That dream was to own and operate my own store, and by this point in life, taking large leaps of faith was starting to become habitual. With a reassuring husband and family, the decision to relaunch Rebel Diamonds as a physical storefront was made. We proudly opened the doors to the first Rebel Diamonds location on Tuesday, September 19, 2023, in New Hampton, Iowa. In full circle fashion, our location is the very same building that I first gazed the sparkling treasures at Wilshire Jewelers.
With this new beginning, I am often asked about why the name is Rebel Diamonds. The name has many reasons for its conception in 2018 and was not made on a whim. I knew I wanted something that had a little edge, that held deep meaning to who I had become, and also represented why this business would go against the grain on some of the industry's protocols. Thus, the word "rebel" became fitting. I chose to not go with "jewelers" as the second part of the name due to my respect of that title. A master jeweler has talent, vision and precision that takes many years of experience to hone, and I didn't want to give the impression that I was a bench jeweler. So, there it was, the final name of Rebel Diamonds.
Today, Rebel Diamonds stands as a testament to a lifelong passion for jewelry, a journey filled with learning, and a commitment to delivering exceptional quality and personalized service to our valued customers. It's these relationships with customers that are the pulse of Rebel Diamonds and the reasons I love coming to work every single day. I invite you to explore our world of sparkling creations, where every piece can tell a new story, and every moment is crafted into a memory.
Thank you for taking the time to read about my journey.
With gratitude, Stacey
