– Lagos to Antwerp –
After attending the most prestigious international school in Lagos, West travelled to Britain aged 16 to finish her education.
“I wanted to become an engineer because at that time in Nigeria, you had to choose a solid career, such as doctor, lawyer, engineer,” she told AFP.
But, as the saying goes, “Diamonds Are Forever” and the sparkle of the stones, which had captivated West since childhood, was an irresistible allure.
“My mum had loads of jewellery,” said the daughter of a Guinness drinks company employee mother and a property developer and industrialist father.
“We were always playing with her jewellery box and she would always clean her jewels, and I would help.”
West headed for Antwerp, the world’s diamond capital, aged 17 despite “not knowing anybody” in the Belgian city.
There, she enrolled at the internationally renowned Hoge Raad Voor Diamant school to hone her skills.
“Even though you go to school, most of your knowledge comes from working with diamonds day-to-day,” she said.
After trying for six months in vain to secure an internship, she was eventually taken under the wing of an Orthodox Jew diamond dealer, who worked with her every evening after school for a year.
She was then recruited by one of the biggest diamond suppliers in Europe based in Spain.
“It was being sent in at the deep end,” she recalled. “I was 19 and I was responsible for every single diamond the company had”.
Teaming up with school friends from Lagos who had moved into investment banking, West set up her own business in London to trade the precious stone.
