2000 – the origins Historic Originals, Ltd was founded in 1985 in London for the purpose of selling imported fine jewelry in the UK. In February, 2000 Hot Diamonds sterling silver and diamond jewelry launched at the Birmingham Spring Fair for independent jewelers. The brand was an instant success as it broke with tradition by creating a new diamond jewelry collection in sterling silver, packaged in luxury wooden boxes, and marketed to all. Within a year it won the prestigious UK Jewellery of the Year Award (a feat it nearly repeated in 2003, when it was runner-up to Gucci) and was quickly recognized by the nation's leading jewelry trade publication, Retail Jeweler as "The number one best-selling brand of jewellery in the UK" and the "Brand that most exceeds expectations". 2002 – the American connection By late 2002, Hot Diamonds was well on its way to becoming the UK's favorite jewelry brand and had launched a collection for men: Hot Diamonds Man. In October of 2002, Prismax became the US distributor for the Hot Diamonds brand.
Starting with only 3 employees during the holiday shopping season of 2002, the brand took the US by storm. Through aggressive marketing efforts by Prismax, the Hot Diamonds brand carved out a sizable niche in the jewelry industry, reaching sales of nearly $5 million in 2003. That year, England's leading jewelry publication RJ Magazine named Hot Diamonds "The number one best-selling brand of jewellery in the UK" and "Brand that most exceeds expectations". The brand was also honored with a second UK Jewellery of the Year Award. Additional international distributors were appointed and Hot Diamonds was now receiving acclaim in America where the company's retail accounts had increased to over 1,500 strong.
2004 – the time has arrived In 2004 US sales grew nearly 90%. By the end of the year, the Hot Diamonds brand had attracted more than 2,200 independent retail partners to carry the brand and has won product placement in ten major airlines’ duty free offerings.
After being on the market for only 18 months the brand was named "one of the industry's top turning brands" by JCK Magazine, equal to David Yurman and runner-up only to Rolex. Also in 2004 Historic Originals launched its TIMEPIECE collection. Based on the same principal of making luxury goods affordable to a greater audience, the collection of 25 watches took the UK by storm, rocketing to top-seller status in its price category by mid-year.
Now Hot Diamonds is poised for even greater success. The brand's aggressive consumer marketing campaigns coupled with rapidly growing International distribution, increased presence in the travel retail (10+ airlines, 50+ cruise ships) and duty free industries, assure Hot Diamonds its place in the worldwide marketplace. New, exciting collections are in development and the highly anticipated TIMEPIECES have started their debut on the world's stage. The best is yet to come.
