Press

“Josep Miquel Serret, a veteran of the gold and diamond trade” – La Vanguardia

06/07/2020

Josep Miquel Serret (1961) is a self-made man who has built his life – and his fortune – on the gold and diamond market. He grew up in a 25 m2 flat in Barcelona’s Barri Gòtic. His father was a palette and his mother a housewife. He wanted to be an economist and enrolled at the UB, on the night shift, because he had to work during the day to pay for his studies. He found his first job in a clothing store on the Ramblas and later, in 1982, he came across an advertisement that would change his luck forever. A company specializing in importing diamonds needed an accountant. Serret offered and signed up for the position, which he held until 1987, when the owner, Zevulun Paz, pulled down the blind and moved to Israel. Without having finished his studies, Serret found himself with a knowledge of a succulent market that he didn’t want to miss out on. He teamed up with two colleagues from the industry, Jaume Garrós and Francesc Quer (later joined by Israeli Zackyie Rodman) and founded Facet, one of the few Catalan firms that has survived in the high-end jewellery sector.

The company began by importing diamonds. “We travelled to Antwerp, then the reference European link with India, the main diamond extractor in the world. Then we sold to jewellers in Barcelona and in the 90s we opened up to Madrid and Cordoba, among the great families of the sector”. With globalization, the  business lost steam and Facet decided to go looking for stones in Botswana. The idea didn’t take off and in 2005, he decided to stop importing and start manufacturing gold and diamond jewelry. “We went to Bombay and set up a factory. They told us we were crazy, but we were still there, with over 400 direct jobs. Facet produces all kinds of items in India – rings, necklaces, earrings, from 100 to 50,000 euros – and then sells them to a thousand companies, from big brands to neighbourhood jewellers. 30% of its sales are produced in Spain and 70% abroad, in Germany, France, United Kingdom and the United States, where six years ago it opened a subsidiary to sell its own brand (unlike the rest, where it produces for third parties). In 2019, it had a turnover of 24.4 million, a figure that does not reach the record of 30 million in 2007 and that this year, Serret doubts whether it will continue due to the paralysis.

Despite the pandemic, 2020 is a momentous year. On the one hand, he will open a factory in Córdoba. “It’s one of the few jewellery squares left in Spain. We will be allied with a local partner. We will invest half a million and provide jobs for 40 people”. On the other hand, Serret has launched its most innovative product: a traceability system that ensures that the jewelry complies with ethical and sustainable criteria from extraction to final sale. “After an investment of 300,000 euros and the processing of a patent, it has begun to sell it to its first clients, among them the French jeweller André Messika, who has become a shareholder in the independent company that Serret has created for the sale of the technology. Tracemark is run by his eldest daughter, Berta, who wants to continue the business after graduating from Esade.

Of the three founders, only Serret remains at the helm. “I work tirelessly, at 6 in the morning I start with India and at 10 at night I finish with the U.S.” Serret says he has given his life to the business and to his family, his wife and two daughters. He has made few concessions and has always been linked to his environment. In 2000 he founded the Col-legi Oficial de Joiers de Catalunya, of which he is now vice-president, and in 2008, he was trained with an MBA at Esade. He likes sailing, summering on the Costa Brava and visiting the Matarranya, where his wife and mother come from. The key to his career has been to think differently and dedicate himself body and soul to what he is most passionate about.