Zameer Kassam - jewelry designer

With a background as unique as the jewelry he designs, including time at McKinsey & Company, Harvard Business School, and De Beers Louis Vuitton, Zameer Kassam is a jewelry designer who has emerged as one of the global industry’s most innovative thinkers and artists. He is the Founder and CEO of Zameer Kassam Fine Jewelry, which he launched in 2011. Through every iteration of his career, one thing has remained constant: his passion for storytelling. 

The true antithesis of the traditional jewelry industry, Zameer Kassam Fine Jewelry tells the stories of people, their families, and their relationships within the design of every piece of fine jewelry. Each project entails many weeks of interviews, research and production iterations—not unlike traditional journalism—before the piece of jewelry is complete and ready for the proposal, anniversary, or other important milestone. While the business began as a passion project, it tapped into a growing demand for personal design and thoughtful experiences, gaining substantial press and industry accolades. As a result, Zameer Kassam Fine Jewelry is a recognized leader in the diamond jewelry space, and continues to be a member of the Rock 100, the 100 fastest growing startups founded by alumni of Harvard Business School.

Zameer’s path to fine jewelry began in his youth, while working at his family’s jewelry boutique in Canada. At an early age, he gained an appreciation for the important milestones people would celebrate with jewelry, but disliked the transactional nature of the retail industry. After completing his undergraduate degree, Zameer began a corporate career at McKinsey & Company, where he first learned the importance of storytelling and communication. His next career move was to MTV Networks International, where he experienced first-hand the power of traditional media in amplifying and disseminating a message. He knew, however, that music and pop culture were not his passion. After obtaining his MBA at Harvard Business School, he reentered the fine jewelry industry as the Head of Bridal & Classics at De Beers Diamond Jewelers, a joint venture between De Beers Group and Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH). While working with a group of exceptional designers, he became entrenched in jewelry design, but imagined how powerful a design could be if it actually told a meaningful and personal story. And in this moment, the ethos of Zameer Kassam Fine Jewelry was born. To date, Zameer has told more than 2000 love stories through pieces of fine jewelry. 

Zameer Kassam Fine Jewelry is a member of the Rock 100, comprised of the 100 fastest growing startups founded by alumni of Harvard Business School. In 2015 De Beers Group entered a strategic partnership with Zameer Kassam, offering exclusive access to their most rare and precious diamonds. In 2018, Zameer designed the #TimesUp ring, worn by Ashley Judd at the Oscars, which she famously used as a tool to share her message of equality on the red carpet. Later that year, Zameer’s designs were worn by the cast of Crazy Rich Asians at the global premiere in Singapore and throughout the subsequent awards season. In 2019, Zameer was commissioned to celebrate the groundbreaking movie Black Panther by designing the Wakanda Forever ring worn by its lead actress Lupita Nyong’o throughout awards season.

Zameer has guest lectured at Harvard Business School—where he endowed a Fellowship for Entrepreneurship—Stanford Graduate School of Management, Parsons the New School and others. During his tenure at Harvard, Zameer researched sustainability and economic beneficiation in the diamond mining industry, specifically focusing on Botswana, the worlds leading producer of gem-quality diamonds. He has presented globally, from the World Economic Forum to Engage, the world‘s leading wedding conference. In 2020, Zameer became a Board Advisor to the Association of Foreign Correspondents. Zameer has been featured in the New York Times, VOGUE (USA, India, Japan, Germany, and United Kingdom), CNBC, Forbes, INC, Entrepreneur, CNN, New York Post, among others. In 2020, he built a school in rural India in partnership with education NGO Yuva Unstoppable, where he is also a Board Ambassador. In the fall of 2020, Harvard Business School published “Zameer Kassam Fine Jewelry: Engaging Clients,” a case study profiling his unique business model and how it was modified during the worldwide pandemic. The case is currently being taught to MBA students, Executive Education participants, and members of the Young Presidents Organization, among others. Zameer is a Friend of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, was profiled on The Secret Lives of the Super Rich, and is currently working on a BBC documentary.

Check out Zameer's website to see more of his work.

You can also find him on Instagram at @ZameerKassam