Diamonds are not just her best friend, they’re her first love. They led her to build her jewellery design business, Meeya’s Link, a brand renowned for accessorizing Nigeria’s elite. As she works at the intersection of the creative and manufacturing industries, it is not all sunshine and roses, it’s its own journey—one that takes quite the conversation to unravel. In this chat with Gertrude Oby for Modaculture’s August Lead Story, Mayomi Ogedengbe discusses the essence of diamonds not just as fashion pieces for divine adornment but as a valuable financial investment, sharing insights she’s garnered over the years working across business, high society, luxury, and culture.
A foray into a billion-dollar industry isn’t a feat for pawns. It takes sheer will. Sometimes, it takes access to the most desirable players and pieces, and almost always, it takes the right moves to stay in the game and claim the winning spot.
In 2022, the global diamond jewellery market was valued at 340.6 billion dollars and was projected to register a CAGR of 4.6% from 2023 to 2030. In the same year, Nigeria exported $69.7k in Diamonds, making it the world’s 110th largest exporter of Diamonds. At the time, the main destinations of Nigeria’s exports of Diamonds were Singapore ($69.2k) and Switzerland ($423). Also, Nigeria imported $6.33k in Diamonds, mainly from the United States ($6.25k) and Sweden ($78) becoming the world’s 151st largest importer of Diamonds, in the same year.
One heavy player in this industry operating from Lagos, Nigeria, is Meeya’s Link, an attainable luxury business producing pieces crafted with 18k gold and diamonds operating alongside its parent brand, the uber luxury Jewellery Affair, both family businesses. For Meeya’s Link, led by its dynamic millennial creative director, Mayomi Ogedengbe, the brand is here to help millennials and Zoomers gain in-depth knowledge of diamonds and understand the values inherent, beyond purchasing them for adornment. For instance, Diamonds serve as heirlooms and are investments that retain value across generations having a high resale value perhaps much more than the Birkin.
I would say this: Young people don’t know much about diamonds but because of our stance and what we’ve been able to do and achieve, I think there’s more understanding, more knowledge. Now people would rather buy diamonds than buy gold while it was the other way before. You know, you are finding young people whom we are trying to convince [that] while you’re spending your money on designer bags—they don’t have a good resale value—buy diamonds, buy gold. They’re good investments.
Mayomi Ogedengbe, Modaculture July 2024
Interestingly, the jewellery market in Nigeria is experiencing a huge shift necessitated by changes in the global economy. The revenue generated by the market in 2024 is a substantial amount of US$2.67bn, projected to experience an annual growth rate of 13.88% (CAGR 2024-2028) resulting in a market volume of US$4.49bn in 2028. Globally, India leads revenue generation, as they are expected to generate a staggering US$81.26bn in 2024. The per-person revenue (in Nigeria) in the jewellery market is estimated to be US$11.67 in 2024, calculated in relation to the total population of the country. It is predicted that 96% of sales in the jewellery market in 2024 will be attributed to Non-Luxury, highlighting the dominance of this market segment in Nigeria.
Ogedengbe isn’t new to the business, she understands the intricacies. The intensity you may expect of one who has gone through the rigorous journey of starting alone from scratch as a beginner in the business of diamonds was non-existent for her. Rather, she was built for this, made for this, fortified for this, from day one. She was born ready. Having an influential luxury jeweller for a mother, she had it all—everything it takes to thrive in the business—and she acknowledges this advantage every chance she gets and takes pride in it; think front-row seats to fashion shows and direct access to prestigious suppliers and the biggest players in the industry. She had access to who and what mattered to get a head start. That in itself, many consider a privilege that comes in quite handy.
“I think the privilege I had was the exposure that came with this brand already, Jewellery affair. She’s been in the industry for probably more than two decades. Because this is her business, her industry, she had quick access to the manufacturers—the manufacturers in Italy which is where we design and make most of our Jewellery—and then the knowledge that she was also passing down to me, those kinds of things are not something you gain by just going into it but by speaking to somebody who is an expert. Those are the things I did not take for granted and I took the opportunity because I’m seeing this woman thrive in this business. So I’m like ‘Okay, you know what? Even if I feel like I’m given, and I don’t want to use the word given, but I’m having this access to this person, I still took advantage of it fully.’ You know when I travel with her, I can meet directly with the manufacturers, I’m already creating a rapport, creating a dynamic for the future when I know that ‘Okay this is what I want to do.’ It’s easy because then the access or the channel of communication is already there.”
Most people would assume, albeit accurately, that her interest in diamonds also began with her mother. And this extends to her eventual foray into the business. Whether that is true in its entirety is something she unravels. “I think my interest in diamonds is a bit of a conglomerate. My interest in the business of jewellery started with my mother because my mum, she’s had a jewellery company for over two decades. She eats, she breathes, she talks, she lives gold and diamond. Being in that world, that’s her job, so at a very early age, we were very exposed to wearing gold, wearing diamonds, obviously not on the business side. I’ve always been used to wearing gold, used to wearing diamonds from an early age but the appreciation of the element itself wasn’t up till I was maybe 12 or 13 when I wanted a particular piece. And this time, this was me choosing what I wanted and my mum was telling me the price and what it takes to get it. The whole idea of ‘Before you can get this diamond piece’—you know when I was younger, I didn’t ask for it, it was just given to us, but now this was something that I wanted—I had to ‘work for it,’ I had to plead for it and I think that’s where my interest started. And then when she’s telling me the little things that go into it, the cut, the design, the quality; I mean I didn’t realise there’s so much that goes into a piece of jewellery. Honestly, that’s where I think my interest piqued at first.”
Ogedengbe began work in Jewellery Affairs’s stores between 2009 and 2010. In 2016, she birthed Meeya’s Link at 29. So, what was her first experience like? And how did this love story become official? “I was in school in the UK and then in between my undergraduate and doing my Masters, I took a gap year. I came to do my NYSC. Normally when I come home for holidays, I always help in the store, and the capacity I was helping was, not necessarily in the sales, but mostly trying to get the business to move on from the analogue world because everything we were doing was paper-based. So from doing that, you are seeing pictures of how these things are being designed, you’re seeing people in manufacturing setting those stones, and you know I’ve always been a creative person, even if I never studied the arts, I have a very creative mind. So I’m seeing those pictures, looking at videos, helping them move some information from paper-based to computer-based, so there were some things I was privy to that maybe if my mum isn’t in the industry, I wouldn’t be privy to. My interest was piqued by helping out in the store, seeing the behind-the-scenes, and the creative process or the creative aspect of the business. And it’s been like that ever since. So the particular time I came back for my NYSC, that was the first time. I was working in the financial department for an oil and gas company but over the weekend, I made sure I was at the store like I said, but this time I was helping out like I was employed and so I got involved in sales. It was that time we created our first Instagram account which was by me, and I was also involved in the movement of the brand. Also, when I’m in the UK and my mum comes over and she’s going to exhibitions and I have time, I follow her to these exhibitions to see the different aspects of the industry, you know when it’s not just the buying and selling.”
So one may wonder why diamonds are the one and why it’s important to get the younger generation in on them. Like herself, Ogedengbe wants everyone to love diamonds not just in the way their beauty radiates and adorns the body, but for their value. She wants the younger generation, whom she claims possessed little or no knowledge about diamonds other than the sheer desire to adorn them, to develop a keen interest in learning the complexities.
“Diamonds, I always say, they’re forever. I can’t say that enough. Diamonds are something that can be passed on from generation to generation, they don’t lose style. You know, most times when you have diamond presets, you’re not making them in a way that looks too eccentric. The most popular piece that we sell is called the Tennis Diamond Bracelet. So it could be round, it could be square; they’re very classy and this is a classic design that has been there. It hasn’t changed and these are the things—diamonds don’t lose quality, they don’t lose value—and to me, these are things that in the long run [appreciate]. I always say diamonds are something that could be passed on as a heirloom, I keep saying that. Even as a mother, you buy something; say your daughter wants to get married, God forbid at that time maybe like the way the economy is right now, there isn’t a lot of money, these are things that your daughters can use when they get married. Even an engagement ring a mother has; we’ve done that before where the man wanted to propose, he brought his mother’s engagement ring and all I did was I revamped it.”
There is a relationship between diamonds and romance which most are only aware of on a surface level. As one who experiences both sides, she expertly sheds light. “Just as they say ‘Diamond is a girl’s best friend,’ honestly, there’s nothing like it. Maybe it’s because I’m in it, maybe because I’m buying the understanding. Some people come to us and they say ‘Okay, why do I want to spend money on diamonds?’ They are not sure it has good resale value. Obviously, with gold, you can easily sell it back and get your money back. With diamonds…, it’s a forever piece, it’s something you can use as a heirloom. I can give you an example, say with diamonds, for instance, we have someone who comes to us, maybe they want to propose to a girlfriend, they won’t want to make the everyday white diamonds, and this is where I come in. I can ask maybe ‘What’s her age? What month of the year is she?’ Different months have different birthstones, as you know. We can [use] those things to signify not just the love but what you represent as a person that’s distinctively you. There’s just so much that diamonds can do. When I wear it, I feel good but also when I curate it for people, there’s an element of joy that comes with making something. They have an idea, and then you’re sketching something and bringing it to life and they tell you a story for instance, and you’re also bringing that to life as well. Or a customer says ‘I want to make something for my wife.’ I have an example as well: There’s a guy, it was the birthday of his wife, she was turning either 40 or 50, and then we had something the colour of the year she was marking…, so different years have different coloured stones we were able to implement that with a locket chain with an inscription because they’re both poem readers, they love poems. This is something they used to say to each other when they were young. They said it in Latin and I was able to inscribe it behind the locket. It was just beautiful. It’s just the joy that comes with involving people’s personal experiences in jewellery.
As she starts to get into the business, she adds her experiences, background and skills to build her brand. Ogedengbe was born in England, but she moved to Nigeria at the age of 2 and lived there till halfway through secondary school. Eventually, she moved back to England for another 15 years to further her studies and build her career in accounting. And then, armed with her academic background in finance, business and finance for undergrad and investment banking for grad, access to her mother, and her adoration for diamonds, she set out on the path. Not resting on her oars, she tasked herself to do the work necessary. Running a small business in a developing country sometimes required wearing several hats and she donned them all to get the job done. One consequential aspect of this is how she navigates the creative and business elements of her brand’s journey.
“The creativity side of me, like I said, was the first thing that came out concerning this industry. The business side was something I had to learn because I grew up in a corporate environment. I worked for Barclays, I worked for Deloitte for years, and I’ve always been in the corporate industry. So to be a business owner was a skill I had to develop over time, not just being a business owner, but a business owner in Nigeria. It’s a different ball game entirely. Selling a luxury brand to people is not just selling everyday consumables. So these are things I had to learn on the job and that involves going to the shop from morning to closing time which is when we set up to when we close. I’m also learning from people who have been working there for a long time; there was so much I had to pick from them, and there was so much I had to learn just watching my mum. The creativity part came, I don’t want to use the word easy, I am quite creative. I learned how to do catchy drawings and reels. It was also self-taught. Before Meeya’s link, I was already learning all those things myself because I knew that eventually, I was going to create a line. I didn’t know what it was going to be called, but I knew it would have a different target audience. So these are things that before I decided to launch, I wanted to teach myself certain things. I always wanted to go to school, although I didn’t end up doing that. I did some courses but in terms of being a businesswoman, it’s something that I had to learn on the job. It’s something I had to [do]. You just have to do it. You just have to learn, you have no choice. You have a product, the product has to sell and it’s a small business so you’re learning marketing, the branding, trying to be as informative as possible, so these are the things I had to engulf myself in which is learning every day.”
At this point in the conversation, she’s doubling down on her business’ target market. Meeya’s Link is projected as an attainable luxury brand that caters to a demographic that would not immediately go for Jewellery Affair, but opt for an everyday brand. In that mix, she throws in Generations Y and Z whom she wants to start to invest in diamonds early enough as they earn their big paychecks, but more importantly, she wants to understand that diamonds are valuable even for the generations unborn, hence the heirloom status. “I’d say, at the moment, my target audience is prominently from the age of 45 downwards to babies because I’m not even going to lie, I have things for babies; I have the cutest things. Luckily, Jewellery Affair already has the market [for the older generation] but is an uber-luxury brand, not for an everyday accessible piece so that’s where Meeya’s Link came in because we wanted to bridge that gap between this market and that market. And because Jewellery Affair was already known for that, it was very hard to reshape people’s minds around it so that birthed Meeya’s Link.”
She’s the creative director and the businesswoman in charge. She has a solid vision for her business which is taking it beyond the shores of the African continent, to set it apart from other competitors in the market. Ogedengbe desires that, in a few years, she will operate alongside other global players. “I would not describe it [Meeya’s Link] as an African business because first, and this is something we are hoping to do in the future, is that we don’t manufacture our products in Nigeria so it takes a European mind to understand the way we think and luckily, the way jewellery is built, we tend to wear what’s already been out there anyway, except for things like the beads, the corals; those are things that significantly can be related to African culture but when it comes to things like 18 Karat gold and diamonds, these are things that we adopted to wear.” But even though at this time, she knows that she’s still perceived as “a diamond business in Lagos” catering to the needs of millennials and zoomers, she’s audaciously going after the global market. With the attitude she presents, she’s headed for it.
I’ve always said from time, Meeya’s Link and Jewellery Affair, when I think of these brands, I don’t think of them as just another jewellery store. I think of them as THE jewellery store, not a jewellery store.
Mayomi Ogundegbe, Modaculture July 2024
“So, that involves heavy branding because you always want to be at the forefront of the customer’s mind. So when I say THE jewellery store, I’m talking about not just pertaining in Nigeria but people outside of Nigeria, and not just even people but just being globally known. We are taking steps to make sure that happens because we don’t want to limit, not just the sales, but we don’t want to limit the branding to just a jewellery store in Nigeria or in Lagos. We want it accessible all over the world, which we are getting now because we have [foreign] customers who order from us whom we sell to but it’s not the same, they’re still seeing it as a company in Nigeria so yes, we are working towards moving that brand and being known globally not just in Nigeria.” And so, with Ogedengbe, there are no airs; no delusions of grandeur or the absence of it, what you see is what you get. Though she acknowledges the status of her brand, she doesn’t consider it its pinnacle, yet. She continues putting in as much work as she did on the first day.
Why is Meeya’s Link the jewellery store to watch then? Why does it stand out from other jewellers in the booming market? It’s all in the personal touch. There is an element that goes into it that gives it the oomph. It’s not just about buying and selling, there’s more. Reading her personality during the Teams call didn’t come easy, but a part of her readily comes to the surface at the mention of diamonds—the diamond lover girl. She gets excited and there’s a new high in the air as she talks about bringing her clients’ dreams to life. Whether, it’s an anniversary, a proposal, a wedding, or a gift from one loved one to another, she is always excited to help them curate loving moments carved in diamonds and lasting a lifetime and beyond. It’s all in the special selection of the cut, the colour, the clarity, and the carat. She gets a little more excited than the wearer, sometimes. She knows she is in the business to help them bring their vision to life but she also sells them her passion because she knows, confidently and truly, how beautiful it could all be when it comes to life. The magic is in the unique and exquisite way she captures the memories, the moments, the love, and the story in a piece.
“What I’ve noticed is that not a lot of people know so much about diamonds and what it entails except maybe I’d say people who grew up with jewellery. A lot of my age group, younger than my age group, are just getting into it. They know diamonds are beautiful, but they don’t know what it entails so they can come to you and say ‘I want this’ or ‘A guy wants to propose and he wants this,’ so this is where my expertise comes in. I’m very passionate about it so sometimes I’m selling them my passion more than I’m selling them what they want so they come to me, they want to make this, so it’s ‘What exactly are you looking for? Is it her birthday? Is it your grandma’s birthday? Is it your wedding anniversary? Is it your girlfriend?’ And I’ve been all of these things except being a grandma, so I can imagine what I would want if I were in that situation. I know maybe that’s where a bit of me would come out and I can use my experience and knowledge to relate that with a customer.”
She identifies her brand’s commitment to quality as being second to none and mentions that she’s constantly thinking of innovation and sustainability. “Customer loyalty is also important in terms of our company being sustainable because, at the end of the day, we have customers that will grow out of Meeya’s Link. We also want to find ways to bring the new generation in. So we do as much as possible to ensure there’s quality control. Innovation also takes part in sustainability; we are being future-focused, thinking about certain trends, not just certain trends, we look at the trends and what’s going on in the industry so we are not lagging behind and also not just follow the trends but also to be a trendsetter. I’d say our commitment to quality [makes us stand out]. Because there are a lot of people now in this industry—in a way, it’s good competition because it keeps you on your toes and it makes you want to do better—but I’ll say where we differentiate from every other brand is the commitment to quality; we personalise our services, offering unique pieces based on the fact that we design ourselves. For a lot of other companies, it’s the buying and selling element. We have that power to create something; that means we are selling our brand the way we want to sell and then there’s a lot of input into how it’s being made. We’ve also built that good business customer relationship because now, it’s like you’re making something they’ve thought in their mind, it’s like you’re bringing it together and providing it to them. In many ways, what we create resonates with customers and potential customers.”
Ethical mining is also a priority for her as a jeweller; and this is why she has opted to source diamonds from European sources in Italy, away from her home continent and shying away from top diamond-producing countries like Botswana, DR Congo, Angola, South Africa, Namibia, etc., in a bid to ensure the highest ethical standards, among other reasons. “It’s more of an ethical reason. I’d say there is a lot of red tape to getting a mining license but also to make sure it’s ethically sourced, that’s also a big thing for us. The brands I’ve worked with, we know where they are getting it because, in Europe, there are so many things you can’t get away with working over there, they do their due diligence completely and even before then, we also do our due diligence. Before we meet these manufacturers, there are certificates they have to have gone through which is quality control making sure everything they are using is being taken in a proper way. Since we don’t have that capability or the resources to do that right now, we would be a third party where we are getting it from the companies we know are sourcing it the right way and most of those countries source them from Africa. They have mining companies in Botswana, they have in Congo, they have in South Africa, they have in Kenya, so we know what the background is, we know how they’re getting it.” She touches on the subject of the appalling horror show that is the working conditions of the Congolese mine workers, especially with the scramble for Cobalt, and visibly worried, she responds, “It’s unfortunate what’s happening in Congo”. She wants the workers to reap the full benefits of their labour, be paid adequately and more importantly, that “whatever is being done should never be at the expense of the blood of our people.”
