Buyer InterviewA three-way talk with our diamond buyers

While being surrounded by vendors, he makes decisions about large amounts of money by himself in an instant!
His stay in India helped him polish his skill as a buyer

MurakamiI stayed in Mumbai, India (Bombay at the time) from 1985 to 1988 as the fourth person to be appointed to that post. When I moved there, the first thing that surprised me was the chaos of the traffic. Elephants walked through the streets while oxcarts passed by and people would come and go, slipping in and out of traffic. Also, life was leisurely and I couldn't engage in business discussions at a pace I was accustomed to. If I made an appointment for nine in the morning, the company would not even be open at nine o'clock, and even when I would confirm several times that something would be done by a certain day, people would keep their promise only about half the time.

TakanoI was the eighth person to be appointed to that position, which I held for 11 years, from 2001 to 2012. During that time, Bombay was renamed Mumbai, the diamond exchange was renewed and moved to a new place, and the city was rapidly updated. Even so, old places still remained and the thing that surprised me the most was the huge crowd of people I saw the moment I left the airport. I was overwhelmed by that.

AraiWhen I moved there in 2012 to take up my post, the airport had been refurbished and there were a lot of restaurants. In particular, around 2012 or 2013, the city was transformed dramatically.

• TakanoI'll never forget the first time I made a purchase at the diamond exchange in Mumbai. A number of brokers formed a line and surrounded my table, wanting to see my merchandise. When I go for a merchandise check as a buyer, everyone watches my every move. For example, they watch how I use the magnifying glass and tweezers, and how I open and close the parcel^* I've brought my diamonds in. I immediately understood that they are watching everything and judging my abilities. I recall that at that moment, it hit me that I had really become a Kashikey buyer and the fighting spirit to procure excellent stock at low prices was burning inside of me.^*A parcel is a kind of wrapping paper, used two sheets at a time, to wrap unpolished or loose diamonds, the inner lining of which is wax paper.

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• MurakamiAt the diamond purchasing venue, buyers are surrounded by about 10 vendors squabbling over who is first in line, while they calmly inspect the diamonds and must decide in a few minutes whether they will buy 10 million yen worth of stock, for example, and if they do want to but it, for how much. Trying to make an accurate judgment while everyone around you is lively and restless is nerve-wracking, but it's also exciting in some ways.
  And one vendor might have not just one bag, but 10, with a batch of several hundred diamonds. You have to consider various things in just a few seconds. The vendor took the trouble to bring all of these along, so if you don't look at them all, he might not approach you next time, therefore it's really important to work fast. You quickly check the batches from the people who have lined-up for you, immediately return what you can't use, and in the space of about an hour and a half, inspect as many as 100 batches while negotiating and making an offer.

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AraiOnly one person is at the buying table, so even if you are confused about what to do, you can't consult with a third party. As the buyer, you must decide on everything by yourself. And you have only a few moments to do so. That's why, after making errors in judgment, taking wrong steps with pricing, and having the painful experience of failing many times, I learned the importance of assuming the worst and trying my best. Everything I experienced during the five years I spent at the frontlines of the diamond market in Mumbai has enriched me body and soul.

I believe in my own aesthetic sense and what I learned through blood, sweat, and tears about making estimations.
The work of a diamond buyer

MurakamiThe work of a diamond buyer starts with buying the necessary diamonds for one's company. In addition, as long as you have been entrusted with the responsibility of representing your company as a buyer, I think it's your mission to use your judgment to discover diamonds that strike you as ones that are likely to sell. For that, a good eye for discovering beautiful and coveted stones, as well as a sense for price estimations as a buyer are necessities. The courage to buy very expensive items and having a good relationship with suppliers are also necessary.

AraiIn order to purchase essential gems, you must inspect a large quantity of diamonds and make appraisals, but Kashikey has its own original appraisal standards, so buyers must have a perfect grasp of this and keep it in mind as they work. That's why, you won't forget to have a discerning eye, and you'll be able to keep in mind an idea about the appropriate pricing for each grade of gem without any hesitation. If you can share your current sense of price estimations with others, even if another person estimates the price of an item, it probably won't differ very much.

MurakamiAs for developing a sense for price estimations, when Kashikey sends out a buyer, I think that he or she will probably understand the market pricing for a certain location after being there for about a month. When you see things right at the site, you become able to make adjustments by yourself. A sense for price estimations is something that an individual fosters themselves.

• AraiWe also make purchases in a cold sweat (laughs). Buying in this way, you come to intuitively understand pricing. You won't understand this unless you buy for yourself.

  TakanoBy honing your skills over and over on the site, you'll quickly become able to accurately assess prices. Because eventually, you'll only trust your own eye and experience.

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MurakamiAnother thing that's necessary is having a good relationship with the suppliers. Because diamonds have faces, it's our mission to regularly buy ones with the same faces and regularly deliver them to customers. In order to last long in this trade, our suppliers are just as important as our customers. It's not just our side that gains a profit, and to make sure that the suppliers will continue to sell to us, it's crucial that we do business in a way that will satisfy them.
Occasionally, when we are at zero-base and don't have anything, we do the work of making connections between suppliers, our company, and the customers.

Everyone at Kashikey has a mutual understanding of what gives a diamond a "good face."
We only deal in brilliant and truly beautiful diamonds!

AraiDiamonds are profound, don't you think? I don't completely understand them yet myself! But as a buyer, when a customer looks at our jewelry and says, "It's so pretty!" or "Why are your things so beautiful?" I simply feel happy. The truth is, Kashikey's diamonds earn praise for being truly beautiful from many different people.

MurakamiIt's difficult to explain the quality of our cut in words, but in any case, Kashikey does not handle diamonds that are not beautiful. When an employee enters the company, as long as they are in Japan, they will see nothing but beautiful diamonds. That's the degree to which our merchandise has been carefully selected, and because employees are exposed to our standards for diamonds, they will naturally come to understand what makes for an excellent diamond.
Then when they go overseas for purchasing, they are surprised to discover for the first time that there are diamonds with cuts that are not beautiful. You learn by looking at quite a lot of beautiful cuts in Japan, and because when you go overseas for purchasing, the number of diamonds you look at increases dramatically, in addition to the experience you've cultivated so far, I think you get to brush up your skills by seeing many extremely beautiful diamonds.
That's something I learned naturally and I was never explicitly taught by my seniors which diamonds are beautiful.

AraiI was never taught that either.

TakanoA diamond is not acceptable if the cut is no good, and when you decide in an instant that it's a beautiful diamond upon looking at it, that decision is based, not on quality or color, but on cut. Even if a diamond is of a low grade, it can be made uniform with beautiful production. Ultimately, it goes without saying that Kashikey's diamonds are beautifully produced.

MurakamiAt the purchasing site, when I return a diamond immediately after taking a look at it, it's because the cut is bad. I can make that judgment in two or three seconds.

• AraiBrown Diamond also pursues this. Cut comes first. A subtle difference is that, it's like it's "written in the diamond" or "appears in the face of the diamond," as you look at many good faces, you start to develop an internal sense for which face is the best. If you're disconnected from that sense, you'll feel that a diamond is lacking in this element or weak in that element. We all have a mutual understanding of what the standard for a "good face" is, but it's something we haven't put into words. If you don't verbalize it, how do you pass this information along?

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TakanoIt's probably through intuition.

AraiReally? Intuition? Brown Diamond's gems also have that "Kashikey brilliance" which I choose to call "Kashikey styling," but it's through my intuition that I judge that brilliance to be Kashikey brilliance. It's amazing that you pass that on through intuition.

MurakamiI think we share a common aesthetic sense. Also, I think that Kashikey's strong point is our original diamond appraisal standards.

AraiThere's no doubt about that. I think that one of the main reasons that we've been able to continuously have buyers in India is probably because of Kashikey's detailed standards. For example, whether it's the control numbers for Indian melee diamonds or assortments, I feel that the buyers in India speak a common language.

MurakamiKashikey might be the only company in the world to sort so meticulously. For example, perhaps only European watch brands qualitatively come close to this level, but I think only Kashikey grades so precisely from top to bottom.

The diamond business is in a transitional phase.
Kashikey's history, trust, and relations have become strong assets

• MurakamiThroughout the world in the 1980s and 90s, there was a lot of stock in the markets like Antwerp, Mumbai, Tel Aviv, and New York in regards to demand, and I think there was probably a year's worth of stock, including raw gemstones. However, no new large mining companies dealing in raw stones appeared and the circulation of goods rapidly improved, which is to say, the balance of supply and demand evened out. I would guess that the current stock is about half what it was then. You could say that the market has become healthier, but from the perspective of a buyer, when I go to each marketplace, I can no longer do work by choosing whatever I want in a buyer's market. Based on the point of view of vendors who also want to sell as efficiently as possible, I've heard that they have started doing business in a way that is close to accepting orders from customers. Which means that business will probably be done with more precision.

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TakanoI have almost the same way of looking at it. In the past I was able to buy what I wanted according to the timing of when I wanted it, but now if I don't make a firm commitment, I'm not able to buy or do business. Actually, it's like this with sales of brown diamonds in Hong Kong too, but in order for the other party to provide the quantities we are seeking according to their preferred timing, we make a commitment by bringing information and preparing ourselves. I think that it's necessary for both sides to work together by cooperating.

AraiI feel like we are in a transitional phase now. I felt this really strongly when I went to India the other day. Earlier, when I talked about my time in India at the beginning, I said that when an order comes in, the merchandise will be gathered right away, but now it's the opposite of that and even if the orders are flowing, the merchandise won't be gathered at all. There's so little that I'll wonder if that's really all they have. That's how much the stock in circulation has decreased, so I think that the purchasing style of going to buy what you want when you want it will disappear.
So I strongly feel that there will be big changes, moving in the direction of building strong relationships with customers and suppliers. In that sense, because throughout the whole world no other company has cultivated a history or trust like Kashikey, I've recognized anew that we possess strong assets.

If it's your goal to become a diamond buyer, Kashikey is the place to go!

MurakamiAs I talked about before, I think that there are four necessary elements for being a buyer. First, it's having a good aesthetic sense. The ability to ascertain which stones are beautiful and covetable, as well as a sense for price estimations. In addition, you need the courage to make purchases. Then, you need to forge relationships with people in the trade. If you possess these four traits, then I think you can buy.

Arai"If the vendor has strong sales, then the buyer is also strong. If the buyer is strong at making purchases, then the vendor is also strong." This is what Mr. Murakami said to me when I entered the company, and even now I take these words to heart. Both buying and selling are connected and ultimately, communicating and negotiating with suppliers requires confidence. Therefore, if you don't cultivate various aspects of yourself, I think that you can't become a good buyer. We have to polish not only stones, but ourselves too (laughs).
Now I feel really glad that diamonds entered my life. That's because I've found a commodity so profound that I've bet my life on it.

TakanoBecause we're in a transitional phase now, it's natural that things are difficult everywhere. But compared to other companies, Kashikey has excellent relationships, as well as a history in India and deep trust. While Kashikey tries to do everything from buying to product development and sales, there are things that buyers and dealers are seeking, and the company has the responsibility of training buyers. If you want to become a buyer, Kashikey is probably the best place to do it.
If it's your goal to become a diamond buyer, Kashikey is the place to go!