Founded in 2009, the Blaque Diamond Wheels brand has only gone from strength to strength. Strictly speaking, it is not as old as brand as some of the tentpole brands of the global aftermarket rims are. But in these few years, Blaque Diamond has managed to establish a place for itself in what is a very crowded and extremely competitive niche.
2009 also witnessed the birth of Fuel wheels, which remains one of its principal rivals.
This is a brand that thrives on creativity and innovative engineering. While the same could be said of older brands like KMC Wheels (founded in 1982), there are several reasons why we are making what you might label a blanket statement. We will come to these in a moment.
Blaque Diamond is owned by Hipnotic Wheels, one of the early pioneers in aftermarket luxury and custom-made rims. The company remains a major player in the business and also owns a series of other marquee brands. Of these, Blaque Diamond is primarily aimed at budget-conscious customers who would adore a durable and robust set of wheels which wouldn’t miss a beat when it came to performance.
You could argue that this brand is not a direct challenger to, say, Lexani Wheels or Forgiato. However, Blaque Diamond is slowly increasing its footprint and time will tell if it plans on entering what is a very different niche.
2022 was a pretty good year for the company, and market analysts believe that 2023 will also give a chance to Blaque Diamond Wheels to prove their worth.
We spoke with a few experts and could glean the following insights.
Blaque Diamond’s apparent roadmap
We had mentioned above that we would come back to why this brand might just reach the heights of KMC Wheels or Enkei, right?
These are some reasons.
- Major rebranding underway: Blaque Diamond has always been considered as a reliable brand with its majority of models falling in the ‘budget’ category. Market watchers suggest that this is slowly witnessing a seismic shift behind the scenes. Hipnotic, the parent company, is strategically positioning the marquee as an alternative to the biggest manufacturers of forged multipiece wheels.
In the latter category, the biggest names are Asanti, Savini, Vossen, and Lexani Wheels. Their products are obviously expensive.
Blaque Diamond is aiming to launch a few multipiece rims manufactured using superior T-6 grade aluminum. But the price tags would likely be on the lower end. It is unclear how the company will achieve this, but what is known is that these new models will be made at its Chatsworth, CA facility.
These ‘Made in America’ rims will generate plenty of jobs in the area and also appeal to the innate patriotism of its clients. This seems a well-thought-out strategy.
- More types of wheels in the offing: At the moment, the 3 types of wheels the company churns out are the off-road and flow forged series, backed up by a classic series. Of these, the classic range has several cast wheels. To compete going into the future, Blaque Diamond Wheels will launch at least 2 more series of rims.
It is impossible to predict what they will be. But the forged multipiece rims might be tagged under a separate series while specialized and custom wheels designed for high-end vehicles (think Rolls-Royces and Bentleys) might make up a second category.
It will certainly produce a separate range for the burgeoning Electric Vehicle market. There is a possibility that the company might even export EV-specific rims to other countries after gauging their customers’ response in the United States.
In this way, they will go up against Tesla’s products, KMC Wheels and smaller names like Fast Wheels and Braelin. KMC leads the market in this sub-niche currently.
- Inspiration from the racetracks: Blaque Diamond has looked for inspiration from the racing track. Its latest series of off-road wheels are some of the best in business, lightweight and extremely tough. What stands out is the design aesthetics.
When it comes to aftermarket rim designs, the brands that immediately spring to mind are American Racing, Volk, Fuel, Konig and BBS. Blaque Diamond is trying to break into this exclusive circle with launches like the BDO102, the BDO801 and the head-turning and muscular BDO728.
It is still early days, but watch this space as we move towards 2023!
- A revamped marketing campaign: If you are someone who keeps an eye on what’s happening in the world of aftermarket rims, you must have noticed that Blaque Diamond has unveiled a series of looks with different vehicles, each showcasing a set of their rims.
In the last 2 months, Blaque Diamond Wheels has highlighted the following vehicles with their rims on their official website:
- The 2022 Toyota Tundra pickup with their off-road bestseller BD0801.
- The latest Chevy Corvette C8 decked up with the flow-forged BD-F20.
- The 2022 BMW G80 M3 saloon sporting another flow-forged set, the BD-F12, and
- The iconic McLaren 720s with a set of BD-F25 forged wheels.
If you look at the choice of vehicles that the company has zeroed in on, it is pretty clear that they are focusing on the higher end of the market, even in the pickup truck category. Besides, all the rims on display are flow-forged.
This might just mean that we are going to witness a battle of the major forged rim manufacturers come 2023!
Before we wind up, we must warn you that the number of knock-offs of Blaque Diamond Wheels is on the rise across the US. These cheap imitations are very difficult to tell apart.
For best results, trust only reputed retailers or company-owned outlets. The official website also has a clever tool to ‘find a dealer.’
Happy driving!
