article submitted by: C. Khid
UPDATED: 01 / 28 / 2004

Kimora Lee Simmons has teamed with M. Fabrikant & Sons, the # 1 jewelry and diamond company in the world, to create Simmons Jewelry Co.

The company will produce two lines of fine jewelry & diamonds designed by Simmons.

"One of my main goals is to inspire African-Americans to own equity in businesses that they influence around the world," Simmons told reporters.

One line of the collection will be named after Naomi Campbell and another line, in negotiation, will be named after famed Vogue editor Andre Leon Talley.

All diamonds will be inspected to ensure they are conflict free & a large percentage will benefit communities effected by the diamond trade.

"This is significant, because there are not any major African-American owned jewelry companies," Kimora Lee's husband, Russell Simmons added. "The fact is, we in the hip-hop community have made many other brand names famous, yet we don't own anything."

Simmons sold her company, Baby Phat, for $30 million to clothing company Kellwood.

M. Fabrikant & Sons is one of the oldest jewelry companies in the world, was founded in 1895 and remains family owned.

The company has revenues of almost a billion dollars a year.