Kyle Simon and Olivia Landau, Photo Credit: Courtesy of The Clear Cut

Photo Credit: Courtesy of The Clear Cut

What began as an educational blog and social media account designed to make the diamond industry feel more transparent and approachable, evolved into The Clear Cut, a New York-based, digitally native natural diamond jewelry company known for its bespoke bridal and fine jewelry offerings, highly personalized service and educational approach to diamond buying.

Now, The Clear Cut is entering its next chapter.

Signet Jewelers, the world's largest diamond retailer, is acquiring The Clear Cut as part of its Grow Brand Love strategy and long-term focus on natural diamond growth. Upon closing, founders Olivia Landau and Kyle Simon, along with The Clear Cut team, are expected to join Blue Nile to help accelerate the luxury brand's repositioning and strengthen its presence in the premium natural diamond market.

I spoke with Landau, Simon and Joan Hilson, Chief Operating and Financial Officer at Signet, about the acquisition, the evolution of The Clear Cut, and why education, trust and AI-powered insights are becoming increasingly valuable in luxury retail.

From the beginning, Landau and Simon approached the category differently. Rather than leading with products, they led with education.

The company guides clients through every stage of the journey — from initial conversations about diamond preferences to sourcing, custom ring design, appraisals, and shipping.

"When I started The Clear Cut, it was simply an educational blog and Instagram account born out of my passion for natural diamonds and a desire to make the industry feel more transparent and approachable for consumers," says Landau. "I wanted to share knowledge in a way that felt modern, honest and empowering because at the time, buying a diamond could feel intimidating and outdated."

That educational foundation ultimately became the business.

"What started as a passion project organically evolved into a business because consumers were clearly looking for a more personalized, education-driven experience," she says. "We feel incredibly fortunate that we've been able to help guide people through one of the most emotional and meaningful purchases of their lives."

Cofounded by married couple Olivia Landau and Kyle Simon, who were among Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list in the “Retail & E-Commerce” category in 2020, The Clear Cut was launched in January 2018, when Landau and Simon recognized the demand for bespoke engagement rings at a wide range of prices, nationwide and globally.

The focus on guidance and transparency resonated particularly strongly with younger luxury consumers.

"We saw that customers didn't just want a product," says Landau. "They wanted to understand what they were buying and feel really confident in that decision. Diamonds are an emotional purchase, but they're also very technical, and that combination can feel intimidating without the proper guidance."

Over time, however, something else happened.

Every customer conversation, diamond request, browsing pattern, and purchasing decision created a growing body of information about how consumers were shopping for engagement rings.

The Clear Cut began accumulating not only trust, but insight.

Those insights eventually led to the development of GEM, the company's proprietary software platform that powers its bespoke engagement ring process, and later Eunice, an AI-powered tool designed to help better understand customer demand and identify emerging trends.

The original goal was practical.

"We saw a gap in terms of what was available in diamond inventory on the market and what our clients were asking us for," says Landau.

The company wanted to understand exactly what customers were requesting, how quickly specific diamonds were selling, and where demand was heading. Eunice was built to analyze those patterns.

The platform began identifying engagement ring trends before they reached the mainstream.

"When Taylor Swift got engaged with an elongated old mine cut, we had already been tracking that trend for the past two to three years," says Landau. "Eunice showed us that demand was particularly strong in the Northeast, but we were starting to see it spread geographically."

The company saw a similar phenomenon following Selena Gomez's engagement. After Gomez debuted her marquise diamond ring, The Clear Cut tracked a significant increase in customer requests and purchases for the shape, a style that had largely fallen out of favor during the oval diamond boom.

Yet celebrity influence is only part of what Eunice is measuring.

Landau says the platform is also identifying renewed consumer interest in heritage-inspired designs, antique diamond cuts, and styles that feel timeless rather than trend-driven.

"Clients today are increasingly drawn to pieces that feel like they could have existed a hundred years ago," she says. “Antique diamond cuts, handcrafted settings and designs that feel romantic and storied rather than overly modern.”

That trend underscores the enduring influence of style icons such as Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, whose understated aesthetic continues to inspire, decades later.

"When a style icon like Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy re-enters the cultural conversation, cultural awareness happens first and then over time you begin to see shifts in the data," says Landau. "AI helps us connect the dots between cultural inspiration and real purchasing behavior. It allows us to see when something moves from aesthetic conversation into actual demand."

For Signet, those capabilities represent a meaningful opportunity.

The company's data continues to show strong demand for natural diamonds, particularly among consumers seeking emotionally significant purchases. Bringing The Clear Cut's expertise, technology and concierge model into Blue Nile is intended to strengthen the brand's position at the premium end of the market.

"I think what we're seeing is less about legacy versus startup and more about bringing the best of both together," says Hilson. "Scale, trust and heritage remain incredibly important, but they need to be paired with modern ways of connecting with customers that feel authentic and real."

She describes the acquisition as an opportunity to combine Blue Nile’s established reputation with The Clear Cut’s strengths.

"It's about combining the reach and credibility of a very well-established brand like Blue Nile with the agility, storytelling and customer experience of The Clear Cut," she says. "Ultimately, I think the brands that win will be the ones that create the strongest, most trusted relationships with their customers."

Simon agrees.

"It's exciting to see the lines blurring a bit," he says. “More collaboration and integration is a good thing all around. The brands that succeed are the ones that make people feel something and build trust along the way.”

For years, luxury retail has often been viewed through the lens of scale, inventory and distribution. But increasingly, competitive advantage is being built through trust, expertise and a deeper understanding of customer behavior.

When Landau launched an educational Instagram account years ago, she was leaning into her passion and expertise: she is the fourth generation of her family in the diamond business.

She was answering questions, building trust and making diamond buying feel less intimidating through education and transparency. (She also had a penchant for creating compelling and educational content in the form of her blog.)

As Simon points out, "The Clear Cut wasn't created to disrupt for the sake of disruption. It was created to genuinely help consumers feel more informed, confident and connected to what they were buying."

Today, those conversations have evolved into a technology platform, a luxury business and a deal with the world’s largest diamond retailer. It’s a reminder that sometimes the most valuable thing a founder can build isn’t a product: it's trust.