THE WOMAN BEHIND MANDANA

Christine Marhofer has always had an eye for the beautiful things in life. Whether it's fashion, interior design, travel, art or jewellery, art and aesthetics are her passion – a sense of style seems to be in her blood. Turning her passion into a profession, Christine studied textile business management at the renowned LDT Nagold Academy of Fashion Management. It was here that she learned to use her gut instinct for a specific purpose and laid the foundation for a successful career. As a buyer for renowned international fashion brands, she spent many years bringing trends into the trade – which brought a great deal of joy and success.

After several years in the fashion industry, Christine felt the desire to create something of her own begin to spark.

But her first steps as an entrepreneur proved sobering. It soon became apparent how unsustainable the fast-moving fashion world was. Christine encountered conflicts of values – commercial, environmental and social – that she did not wish to reconcile. Now a mother of three, she wanted to create something of lasting value...

…all while redefining our understanding of ‘value’ – as part of a contemporary approach where nothing is more precious than preserving our planet and the people who live on it.

Christine Marhofer threw herself into research. It soon became clear: if she wanted to create something that would last, she had to work with the most stable and durable materials in the world. The diamond has inspired people for millennia with its appearance and symbolic power. Christine is no exception. Naturally grown diamonds, however, bring with them a key issue: they are everything but sustainable. Diamond mining endangers the climate, rainforests, water resources and agricultural land. Transporting them to Europe produces vast amounts of CO2. Moreover, diamond mining takes place at the expense of the welfare of human beings who are subjected to undignified working conditions.

This was not an option for Christine's project – but neither was giving up.

As she planned her business, Christine happened upon the possibility of growing real diamonds in the lab – and was immediately captivated by the idea. Lab-grown diamonds meet the same 4C criteria as mined diamonds, but do not pose a risk to the environment or human lives. Lab-grown diamonds (LGD) can also be produced considerably cheaper than mined diamonds, making them accessible to a wider audience.

LGD marked the birth of Christine’s idea to democratise luxury by making ethical jewellery – with lab-grown diamonds and recycled gold.

Together with her partner, Christine Marhofer founded two companies in 2021: the jewellery brand mandana for ‘next generation jewellery’, and her own diamond production company Nevermined for ‘next generation diamonds’. A complex undertaking, as growing laboratory diamonds requires both procuring the rare machinery and conducting extensive research to develop the physical and chemical recipe for a diamond.

Today, the mandana and Nevermined team is proud to grow its own diamonds with Nevermined at its Essen premises in Germany – taking a wholly fair and climate-neutral approach in line with the highest quality standards. All diamonds are currently produced by certified partners known to us, as we still procure diamonds due to the size of the collections and the number of pieces of jewellery. In the near future, the mandana jewellery collections will only feature their own Nevermined LGD.

Producing sustainable diamond jewellery in an ethical way using climate-neutral and transparent production processes – and making it more accessible. That’s the passion that drives Christine and the entire mandana team.