Founder and CEO, Hill & Co.
Elle is a renowned entrepreneur and lauded expert in the diamond, gemstone, and jewelry industry. With 30 years of accomplishments, she has guided businesses and organisations of all sizes to success—from founding her own award winning international designer jewelry retailer and taking it public with a $10 million IPO in under four years, to helping single-store retailers achieve over 40% year-over-year sales growth, to supporting some of the world’s largest brands and retailers, including Blue Nile and Rapaport.
Following the successful IPO, Elle founded Hill & Co., a business management consultancy specializing in the diamond, gemstone, and jewelry sectors. She leads a team of industry veterans, leveraging a vast insider network to drive client success. Hill & Co. brings unmatched expertise in overcoming challenges, business strategy, and a roster of A-list clients whom they assist in leveraging technology to streamline operations, boost traffic, and increase revenue.
Elle is a member of the CIBJO Technology Committee, Loupe Retail Advisory Board, and Gem Legacy Advisory Council; has been featured in and been a contributor to Forbes, National Jeweler, InStore magazine, and Rapaport; and is a frequent speaker at JCK, AGTA Tucson, Conclave, and international jewelry shows and events.
The diamond sector has stumbled—pressured by plunging per-carat prices and squeezed by the rise of lab- grown, and caught in a race to the bottom on margins. But in that tumble, a wide door has opened. It's the colored gemstone sector’s time to rise—not by mimicking the diamond industry’s playbook, but by rewriting it. In this session, Elle Hill, Founder & CEO of Hill & Co. and creator of THE LIST, will show how to seize this turning point. Colored gemstones don’t just offer better margins and stronger stories—they offer a path to acquiring entirely new clients who are eager for something fresh, rare, and rich in meaning and margins. These buyers may not have worked with gemstones often before, but they’re actively looking for alternatives to traditional diamond offerings. This talk will focus on how to find and convert these clients. Elle will share real-world case studies and practical tools to help gemstone businesses become trusted partners to a new generation of retailers and designers ready to diversify their assortments and elevate their offers. Colored gemstones are no longer the supporting cast—they are the main act.
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