Chris Del Gatto

Return to Leadership

Chris Del Gatto is a 35-year veteran of the diamond industry.

He became a Graduate Gemologist at 18 and trained as a diamond cutter in New York's diamond district, where he rose to partner at a firm that still operates today. In 2001 he co-founded CIRCA and served as Chairman and CEO, building it into the largest buyer of diamonds and jewelry from the public globally. With offices worldwide, CIRCA broke the stigma of reselling one's jewelry. After bids from De Beers and other large firms, Chris sold CIRCA to private equity in 2010.

In 2018, Chris and Andres Lucas established Del Gatto Capital Group and launched Del Gatto Finance Group, now a leading non-bank collateral-backed lender to the high-end diamond trade. DGFG provides supply chain finance to the manufacturers and dealers who supply houses such as Cartier, Tiffany and Bulgari, a market left underserved after banks withdrew following 2008 and Basel III. Facilities are structured as short-duration repurchase agreements at conservative loan-to-value ratios against independently appraised natural diamonds. Title is held under UK True Sale law, and collateral is held in physical custody at the Ferrari Express vault in New York.

Chris leads origination and underwriting, drawing on decades-long relationships across Antwerp and New York with established diamond houses that cannot be replicated.

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