De Beers Jewellers CEO Céline Assimon Is Leaving the Company

By Karen Dybis | February 21, 2025

After more than four years in the role, Céline Assimon (pictured) is stepping down as chief executive officer of De Beers Jewellers to pursue other opportunities, according to a statement from the company shared with JCK.

“During her time with the business, Celine has successfully repositioned De Beers Jewellers as a design-led luxury brand through the expansion of our creative product portfolio in core collections and high jewelry,” said the De Beers Jewellers statement.

Assimon will depart the company by Feb. 28, and De Beers has begun a search for her replacement, it said.

Assimon is credited with improving the image of De Beers’ retail chain and boosting its sales in a challenging marketplace. She also has built De Beers Jewellers’ global presence through relationships with market-leading partners, led preparations for the opening of its Rue de la Paix flagship store in Paris later this year, and helped develop the De Beers Jewellers brand platform, culminating in its most recent campaign, the company said in its statement.

In 2021, De Beers appointed Assimon to also supervise the company’s Forevermark brand, replacing Forevermark CEO Nancy Liu.

Prior to joining De Beers, Assimon was CEO of de Grisogono, the Swiss luxury jewelry brand, during the last year of its existence. She’d previously been head of high jewelry and watchmaking sales at Louis Vuitton and Piaget’s director of high jewelry and exceptional pieces.

De Beers Jewellers, which of late has been focused mostly on China, was launched in 2001 as a joint venture with luxury conglomerate LVMH. In 2017, De Beers bought out LVMH’s share.

A story in WWD noted that Assimon’s departure comes at a “pivotal” time for De Beers. Parent company Anglo American announced last year that it would divest or sell De Beers, and this week Anglo wrote down De Beers’ book value by $2.9 billion.

(Photo courtesy of De Beers)