Maxim Selikhov worked in the construction industry and was a senior engineer until 2008, without any thoughts of collecting anything. However, in 2006, he had the opportunity to attend the Fabergé exhibition in St. Petersburg, where he was first struck and captivated by the beauty of rare gemstones. At that time, diamonds were predominantly in vogue and heavily advertised, prompting him to embark on a quest for diamonds of his beloved green hue.

In 2008, he acquired his first green diamond, a 0.60-carat gem, in Moscow. Just a year later, he came across a richly colored green diamond weighing 18 carats, extracted from Yakutia. Prior to cutting, it weighed 61.18 carats. Such sizable diamonds had not been found in the past century. In 2017, he sent it to the GIA laboratory, where its natural color and absence of treatment were confirmed. By that time, it had become possible to simply purchase certified diamonds from stores or wholesalers.