We’ve heard the term 5C’s (carat, cut, colour, clarity and certification) being thrown around way too liberally whenever the subject of diamonds come up but how well do most of us know about this precious gemstone?
To answer all our diamond dilemmas, we speak to Mr. Navneet Goenka, the Vice Chairman of Ceres – the House of Goenka, an international brand with over 40 years in the diamond and jewelry business.
What should a girl essentially know when she’s buying her first diamond?
The most important thing she should know is, she should buy from a place that she trusts. Diamonds should always come with trust. And then, if she knows about all the technical things, she should know all the C’s. She should know how big is the piece, what colour, clarity, what is the weight. But the most important thing, when whoever goes to buy a diamond, it has to be from a person you trust. Otherwise, don’t buy it.
People talk a lot about the 5C’s and the term is used so liberally. What is the most important thing that people should know?
The 5C’s is a technical term but then again, to know these 5C’s well you need at least 5 to 6 months experience. Just knowing 3C’s or 5C’s, you won’t be able to buy a good diamond. Again, it goes back to trust – it’s either you buy from a person you trust or you have a complete knowledge of the 5C’s, then you can buy from anyone or anywhere.
Where are your gems from mostly?
The diamonds are mined either in Africa or Russia but most of our diamonds are mostly from Russia. We have a cutting factory in Russia and right now Russia is the largest supplier of rough diamonds in the world. We buy from them and in Africa we have our own diamond mine. And we also have long-term contracts with miners there so whatever they produce, it’s shipped to our company. We have supplies from three of four countries in Africa and Russia – these are the main source of our supplies.
Do the gems go through a certification process?
Yes, once the diamonds are cut and polish there various agencies from which the certification is done. Like GIA, IGS, EGI – different countries prefer different certificates. So according to what is required, we carry out different certification processes.
And all this ensures that the diamonds are conflict free?
Yes, they ensure that our diamonds are conflict free, natural and non-treated. All the C’s I mentioned are on the certificates.
What piece is the most iconic for Ceres?
All the pieces are one off, one-of-a-kind, we don’t repeat the designs. Technically, all the pieces are rare for us because we are not going to produce them again. There are also occasions when make bespoke creations for our customers upon request with rare coloured diamonds such as pink or blue diamonds – those make Ceres really special. It shows how much the customers trust us and the customer can sometimes wait between 6 months to a year to get their pieces as we need to procure the gems and it takes time. Most importantly is when we deliver those pieces to our customers and the smile on their face is what we want.
What trends do you see in the diamond business?
What I’ve seen this year is, people are geared towards fancy coloured diamonds – they prefer more yellow, pink and blue diamonds rather than white diamonds. The focus has been shifted from white diamonds to coloured diamonds and the coloured ones are five to ten times more expensive than the white ones. But they prefer smaller sizes as size makes a lot of difference in the price of a diamond. That’s the trend right now, more coloured diamonds are in demand at the moment.
Can you share a few celebrities who are fans of Ceres?
We do a lot of loans for events. I cannot give names but there are a lot of them. You can find it on Instagram, all the pictures are there.
If a guy is looking for an engagement ring to pop the question, what advice would you give him?
Go for a bigger piece. The bigger, the better. I’ll say to him, ‘Take this 10 carat ring and your girlfriend will probably be with you your whole life’ [laughs]. Wherever he goes, he should ask what the buy-back policy is, if he is new and doesn’t know anything. Ask them what is the buy-back. At Ceres, we give 100% buy-back. That infuses a lot of confidence in the customer. A lot of times they’ve gone to a place where there’s no buy-back and that’s not a good sign because diamonds are an investment. If the seller is willing to give 100% buy-back, then go for it. If not, then go to a person you trust.
Why do you think people always use the saying, ‘diamonds are a girl’s best friend’?
Because they are [laughs]! I’ve seen it with my own eyes – you show a girl a diamond and there’s a smile on her face. Out of a hundred times, it happens a hundred and ten times – everytime! All my clients are females. I haven’t met a girl who has said she hates diamonds. So obviously they are a girl’s best friend!
Ceres – The House of Goenka is located in Starhill Gallery, Jalan Bukit Bintang.
