We recently spoke with Amnon Barak, Vivial’s President, and a true visionary, who almost 20 years ago, already anticipated the future demand in the luxury jewelry & fashion segment for color diamonds of impeccable quality, cut and clarity.Interviewer: Shalom Amnon. Last year we published an interview about Vivial, it’s Colored Diamond process and the market for these diamonds.
What can you tell us happened since that interview?
Amnon: Shalom and thank you for inviting me. I must admit that I was a bit off in my prediction for the demand for colored diamonds, as last year and early 2015, has proven to be extremely busy with very high demands for colored diamonds, and not just from one country or continent, but a worldwide demands. The demand is also for variety of colors which is why Vivial has spent all its resources and many long hours, experimenting and finally introducing our 14 colors Palette™, highlighted by our last creation, our Pink Colored Diamonds Collection.
Interviewer: What do you think causes this high demands?
Amnon: Simply enough; beauty, selection and prices. The opportunity to add and mix white diamonds with colored diamond, allowed designers to expand their “pool of ideas” and design options, enabling them to create designs that were never seen or available before due to selection and prices…
Interviewer: Prices?
Amnon: Prices! Working with colored diamonds mixed with natural white diamond, decreases the cost of the final design, and decreases the retail price of the jewelry, but not it’s beauty. Giving that tool, colored diamonds, to designers worldwide, created a true “flood” of beautiful, creative and striking designs, and as demands increases, so did the selection, and it looks like the skies are the limit! Today we are also noticing that the colored diamonds price point is becoming more and more public knowledge and I believe that an “official” price point chart is “just around the corner”
Interviewer: What do you think started all this?
Amnon: I will point the finger to the amazing design of Black and White diamonds that started almost 15 years ago and continues today by the most prestigious brands, fashion retailers and designers.
Interviewer: Is black and white still popular?
Amnon: Black and while is still very popular, but in recent years and especially the last 2 years, we have seen an amazing increase and demand for all colors. Vivial has seen a high demand for bright colors from the Far East markets and a very successful launch of all our Blue hues colors in the very prestigious and “strict” Japanese, Swiss and German markets.
Interviewer: You mentioned Pink Colored Diamonds, can you tell us more???
Amnon: with pleasure. The demand for the pink colors started just over 10 years ago when Ben Affleck proposed with a beautiful 6 carat pink diamond and that event sent the market on a spiral. Since then, Pink became one of the most requested and desired colors, but as natural diamonds became more pricy, colored diamonds, became more and more popular and a big and important part of the diamonds industry. Vivial was one of the leading manufacturer of these diamonds and in 2015, Vivial is exhaling in its diamonds collection to an even higher level of color and quality, using our own improved process.
Interviewer: Exciting news! What can we expect from Vivial in 2015?
Amnon: 2015 started with a bang, with a very successful exhibit at the Hong Kong International Jewelry Show. Vivial is going to expend its presence in North America, as the market is showing increase demand, with an exhibition in Vegas and special partnerships with retailers and distributors in the USA. Vivial is also developing and hosting special training and education platforms to empower our partners and our clients, as we believe that knowledge is power, and the more diamonds lovers will understand Vivial’s coloring process, the more excited they will be to own them!
Interviewer: WOW! Speaking of international shows and expansion, we are welcoming Shai, Amnon’s son and Vivial’s CEO.
Shai: Thank you!
Interviewer: As the one who travel on the international stage and showcases Vivial’s brand, can you please expend on Amnon’s statements? What are the differences we sees in prices and the increase usage of colored diamonds in today’s jewelry world?
Shai: Prices are becoming more and more a big part of the decision making process. We all know that the price difference between white and color diamonds is increasing, as colored diamonds are a very “hot” product and the high demand, decrease the processing and manufacturing costs, especially at Vivial, as we were able to improve and update our system, which allowed us to cut even more costs of the full process.
Interviewer: you mentioned the increase in the use of colored diamond? What do you mean?
Shai: it’s no secret that the availability and prices of the colored diamonds, turned many jewelry designers into fans. I visited the last major shows, in Tokyo, Vicente, Hong Kong and Basel and in all of them, without exception, we witnessed a “revelation in the makings”, as colored diamonds were used not just as a compliment stones to the white diamond stone, but also as the center stone in new and beautiful jewelry and watches designs.
interviewer: Can you explain more about the options designers have with the colored diamonds?
Shai: It’s very simple actually. In colored diamonds, there is a wide range of sizes that is almost impossible to find in natural colors, especially in size range of 0.01 – 0.05 carat, which are the “must” sizes for jewelry designers. Yellow, Cognac, Green, Blue and Pink are the most popular colors and are also hard to find and very high in prices, which is the exact reason, why colored diamonds are in so much high demands, as the quality have improved drastically and the prices are extremely attractive and affordable for buyers and sellers…
Interviewer: As I asked you father, allow me to ask you, what can we expect from Vivial?
Shai: My father said it all. I will only add that our long experience, extensive experiments and deep knowledge of diamonds, production and colors allowed us to be a leader in this field, as we were able to put it all together into our own unique coloring process. This process have proven to be special and gave us noticeable advantage in the colored diamonds market, and we intent on expanding and offering our partners and clients the best of the best.
Interviewer: Any last word?
Shai: Well, let’s finish with a big statement. Vivial is very proud and excited to be able to offer a coloring process that is on par with a natural color diamond. We are currently offering a collection of Blue, Pink, Green and cognac colors hues that are on the same quality color level as natural color diamonds, but with a much more affordable and attractive price point!
