Our Story
The beginning.
In 1974, a young couple set off from San Francisco on a grand adventure - to travel around the world aboard Fantasia, a sailboat they had built with their own hands. Navigating by traditional sextant, Win and Linda Charlebois spent two years cruising through Hawaii, French Polynesia, the Cook Islands, Nuie, and Tonga, before arriving in New Zealand in 1976. Smitten with the Kiwi lifestyle, they decided to stay for good, and as they settled into their new home they discovered a new passion, jewellery.
Craft & Passion
Win and Linda trained as jewellery designers and manufacturers, and opened their first shop, Artaffection, in 1978, selling antique Asian art and jewellery. As they raised a family, Win helped build one of New Zealand’s leading jewellery brands, and in 1994 the pair used their combined experience to strike out on their own again, founding The Diamond Shop.
The Diamond Shop specialises in handcrafted diamond engagement rings, with attention to detail as a core value. It grew from the shared passion of a couple who believed that they could do anything, from building a sailboat to designing custom wedding jewellery. It’s a privilege to have helped so many couples create lasting symbols of their own relationships.
The Diamond Shop today
After 24 years at our original location on Auckland’s Queen Street, we moved to a new boutique-style store at 28 Jervois Road, Ponsonby. We love our new location, and we’re not the only ones - in its first year of business, our showroom was a finalist in the Designers Institute of New Zealand Best Design Awards. We invite you to visit us and experience the beautiful, relaxed atmosphere for yourself.
COME SAY HELLO
See our diamonds up close for yourself.
