RAPAPORT... With new initiatives targeting everyone from manufacturers to consumers, the Natural Color Diamond Association aims to help grow the value of natural color diamonds.
There was a time when it was a challenge trying to educate the public about the “4 Cs.” Now that most consumers have that down, it is time to take the next step and move on to something that may be slightly more complicated — natural color diamonds. To that end, in 2003, the Natural Color Diamond Association (NCDIA) was founded by Dilip Mehta of Rosy Blue and Richard Werdigerof Michael Werdiger, Inc. with the mission of promoting awareness and sales of natural color diamonds.
In three years, the NCDIA grew from being “a one-event association to the year-round spokesperson for natural color diamonds,” as Executive Director Sam Merksamer puts it. In January 2006, the NCDIA decided that to better accomplish that goal, it needed to expand its reach and the scope of its operations to cover the full spectrum of the natural color diamond market. It made a promise to its members: Wherever they stood in the value chain, from mine to independent retailer, the NCDIA would help to grow the value of the natural color diamond business.
To accommodate the growth and broaden membership, the NCDIA changed its corporate structure to a nonprofit organization and elected officers and a board of directors from its membership. Currently, the president is Jordan Fine of Amgad; the executive vice president is Jean-Marc Lieberherr of Rio Tinto Diamonds and the secretary/treasurer is Joseph Khafi of Diatraco. Additionally, there are nine other board members, including founders Mehta and Werdiger.
At the moment, the NCDIA has roughly 40 members, although Merksamer estimates that by year-end, membership will total 60 companies. Annual membership fees range from $500 to $7,500, and the current roster is international, with members located in Belgium, Australia, India, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Hong Kong and Israel.
A MULTIFACETED APPROACHTrue to its promise, the NCDIA is trying to help and/or educate just about everyone. Although the organization attempts to represent all segments of the natural color diamond industry — mines, manufacturers, designers and retailers — its efforts focus on three distinct groups: the consumer, manufacturer and retailer.
Reaching the consumer is the end game for everyone involved in any sort of diamond business, and the NCDIA is no exception. Its goal with regard to this segment is to facilitate the search for the perfect piece of natural color diamond jewelry and to help locate the nearest place to buy it. The organization also produces brochures and other material to showcase the category and answer frequently asked questions.
To help its manufacturer members, the association manages public relations, celebrity placement and contacts for potential retailer customers. It also tries to promote public awareness and demand for the product through trunk shows, special sponsorships, jewelry trade shows and participation in high-profile events like the Oscars and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards.
Lastly, retailers are provided with marketing support, sales training and access to product. The key phrase here for the NCDIA is category growth, and it tries to encourage that with access to what Merksamer terms “an extensive archives of product knowledge, news and sales support materials, core education.” The desired result? “A halo effect for the retailer’s entire diamond category,” says Merksamer.
SO FAR, SO GOODHow is the NCDIA doing in reaching its goals? Members have, by and large, reported satisfaction with the three-year-old organization and its efforts so far — although it is worth noting that a few members declined to be interviewed for this article because they felt they had nothing positive to say about the organization.
On the whole, though, most seemed content. “They are doing a wonderful job right now and are really working very hard to promote colored diamonds to the general public,” says Ambrish Sethi, the president of Manak Jewels, Inc. “There is a lot more to do, but they’ve had a wonderful start. In fact, I wish they had founded it much earlier. A great awareness is staring to grow about colored diamonds and this association will be instrumental in capitalizing on that and improving the image and promoting colored diamonds to the consumers.”
“We are very pleased with the NCDIA,” says Charlie Fieramosca, president of Bailey Banks & Biddle. “The organization serves a very useful purpose in bringing the excitement of colored diamonds to the forefront and introducing designers that specialize in the category. We will continue our membership and are looking forward to featuring special events in our flagship stores with colored diamonds.”
Shaul Cohen of Novel Collections echoes Fieramosca’s remarks. “It is important for the customers to know about fancy color diamonds and the NCDIA aids in this goal and is therefore very important. A colored diamond is different than a white diamond. You really need knowledge. You can’t buy a fancy color stone by only the cert. There are many more variables — intensity, quality of color, etc. Nearly 80 percent of the price in a fancy color stone is related to the color and the way the diamond shows it off.
“Once a consumer knows about colored diamonds and is educated, then come the requests,” says Cohen. “A great example would be the ‘Titanic’ movie, a few years back, which featured that big, blue diamond, and how that stirred interest in the category.”
While still positive, Eddie LeVian, of the eponymous company, tempered his comments with some constructive criticism. “The best part of being a member is the continuing quest for new initiatives,” he says. “But the worst is the high cost. I liked the NCDIA’s catalog initiative, and I also think that the Oscar suite has a lot of potential, but it has to be handled differently.”
COMING SOON
By October, the NCDIA expects to have fully launched its website, NCDIA.com. The site will be consumer-oriented, providing education and information on where and how to buy natural color diamonds. However, according to Merksamer, the major new initiative in the works is slated for 2007 and will be a training program specifically developed for retailers. “It will be a comprehensive core program with a management guide, store meeting outlines, learning reinforcement tools, and associate self-study manuals,” he says.
“We have contracted with Diane Warga-Arias of DWA Communications to develop this program, which will be available as a core program to independent jewelers or customized for large chains and department stores. We are firmly committed to education and training and the response from our current and potential new retailer members for this program is very positive,” says Merksamer.
The association is also working on additional support material for its members. “We are developing an extensive array of support material, from in-case display, signage and point-of-sale material, to an image database of rough and polished natural color diamonds that will help our retail members create interest and awareness for the category with their customers,” confirms Merksamer.
And, according to LeVian, the NCDIA would also like to negotiate a deal with the JCK Show to have a natural color diamond section in a high-profile section of the show.
As for the overall direction the NCDIA should pursue, Sethi has a definite vision. “What I would like to see is the organization grow to develop a voice like De Beers, representing colored diamonds with national and international ad campaigns in print and on TV. De Beers, of course, is one-of-a-kind with an impressive budget, but with time, the NCDIA could do those kinds of things as well.”
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - October 2006. To subscribe click here.