40 | JUNE 9 • 2022
“You can walk into the
showroom and look for a
specific diamond,” Ankawa
explains, “but you’re not
going to have one option,
you’re going to have five, six,
seven or eight options.”
Diamonds Direct also
offers after-the-sale services
including complimentary
jewelry maintenance and
a 110% upgrade policy. In
addition, its business model
cuts out the middleman,
allowing the retailer to be
involved in the entire dia-
mond process. It ensures dia-
monds are ethically sourced
via the Kimberley Process as
well, which eliminates trade
in conflict diamonds.
The price point, Ankawa
says, is also highly com-
petitive. “We have items in
the showroom all the way
from $500 to $1 million,” he
explains. Catering to a wide
range of clientele, Ankawa
says Diamonds Direct works
with all price points. “We are
good for everybody.”
BUILDING COMMUNITY
CONNECTIONS
Managing the Troy show-
room is Jennifer Alter, a
Michigan native who has
worked in the jewelry
industry since the age of
15. Now, 36 years into her
career in the field, she says,
“I am thrilled to bring the
Diamonds Direct concept to
my hometown and be able to
share all I’ve come to learn
and love about the company
with the community I’m so
proud to call home.”
Diamonds Direct also has
plans to get directly involved
in the Troy and greater Metro
Detroit community. Working
alongside the Diamonds
Direct Foundation, which
was established in 2004
to support local nonprofit
organizations with a focus
on women’s and children’s
causes, the Troy showroom
will be involved in various
fundraising programs.
“We’re a big believer of giv-
ing back to the community,”
Ankawa says. Fundraising
efforts include donating jew-
elry pieces for live auctions,
among other philanthropic
programs.
As they continue to get
established in the Troy
community, Ankawa is
looking forward to growing
Diamonds Direct alongside
other businesses in Metro
Detroit.
“We have found the right
location,” he says, “and the
right place.”
Metro Detroiters
have a new
place to shop
for jewelry at
Diamonds Direct
in Troy.
In April in Nashville, Tenn., Amanda Sweet,
Michigan representative and first-time
pageant competitor, was selected as the first
Miss Voluptuous America in the historical
International Grand Final for Miss Voluptuous
Pageants. For her first pageant, she took
pride in a platform that covered the work that she
executes in America regularly, “Party with Purpose.” She
believes that we can all make an immediate impact in
our direct communities by adding service elements to all
parties and gatherings. The next project Amanda is
working on is the ReVamp Detroit, a sustainable fashion
clothing swap.
Metro Detroit journalist Danny Fenster, who was held in a Myanmar prison for six months before being
released in November, has landed a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University for the 2022-23 academic
year. Nieman Fellowships are awarded to working journalists for sabbatical study. Fenster, 38, will study
how journalists in exile use digital tools to continue reporting on repressive regimes, as well “the impact
of Western foreign policy responses to these governments on reporters’ ability to continue working,” the
organization says. The nine-month program, regarded as one of the most prestigious mid-career
journalism fellowships, includes a $75,000 stipend. Fenster also was selected for a Knight-Wallace Fellowship at
the University of Michigan.
Lisa Cohen, clinical nurse specialist in
Acute Stroke and Neurosurgical units at
Henry Ford Hospital, recently earned a top
honor from the American Board of
Neuroscience Nursing. She was recognized
as Certificant of the Year, which honors one
certified nurse’s outstanding achievements in
neuroscience nursing. The recipient of this award
contributes to neuroscience nursing through
professional service, mentoring and education,
patient and staff advocacy, and promotion of the
certification.
here’s to
business SPOTlight
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