Orli Diamonds – Staying ahead of the curve in the dynamic diamond industry
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In
business now for over 27 years, Isaac Dekalo, with no previous experience
in the diamond industry, was sent to the 
Over the past three decades, Orli Diamonds have been servicing a very wide and diverse clientele base, consisting of diamond dealers and wholesalers to jewelry manufacturers and chain stores to independent jewelry retailer. “As in any other business, we had to adapt to changes in the diamond and jewelry industry,” says Isaac.
For example, during the “buyer’s market” of the 1990’s memo buying became the standard. Diamond dealers were forced to make concessions to any customers large or small, otherwise they risked being replaced by their competitors. “I personally was never a big fan of the memo practice when it comes to bread and butter, fast-moving merchandise. But as the saying goes “If you can’t beat them, join them” and we found ourselves conducting more and more memo sales and less and less inventory sales,” stated Isaac.
Currently, the industry is going through unprecedented changes affecting each and every sector of it. “The buzzwords nowadays are ‘supplier of choice’, ‘vertical integration’ and ‘Internet sales’. This is the time when the wheel has turned 180 degrees from a 'buyer’s market' to an extremely tight ‘sellers market’,” adds Isaac.
The current diamond market vindicated Orli’s way of doing business from the very start. “Building a foundation for a solid and successful business lies in practices such as integrity, loyalty, and relationships” asserts Isaac. He believes the old, faulty way of doing business is gone. Slow-paying customers and memo abusers will find that their supply channels will be cut-off. In a market where there are a few buyers for each large diamond, this is the time you can be selective and deal only with your loyal customers with whom you developed long and prompt relationships.
Isaac emphasizes that during all the years the diamond industry was experiencing radical changes, Orli Diamond managed to stay competitive with the backing of their international parent company. “We are fortunate to have behind us the world’s top sightholder as a supplier of sought-after goods. In today’s diamond market, your future success lies in obtaining the correct inventory at the right price so that you can offer your customers the most competitive prices”.
Isaac asserts that: “Not is all is rosy in the diamond and jewelry market, it seems to be plagued by the unfortunate and the dangerous practice of grade misrepresentation. We find misrepresentation of diamond grades in the wholesale level and on the retail level. It is a pity that some unscrupulous companies are putting their profit before their integrity and reputation which are the foundation of our industry. We at Orli Diamonds follow a strict grading standard and in many occasions when we felt that the certificate of the diamond is higher then it should be; we made a point to include such a remark.”
A subject that is close to Isaacs heart is misrepresentation of AGS 000 (ideal). According to Isaac, some dealers present their inventory as ideal based only on a sarin machine sticker. “This is a fraudulent practice”, insists Isaac, “as the sarin machine sticker does not give you polish and symmetry results.” It is Isaac’s personal feeling that the AGS organization (which Orli is a proud Supplier Member), is not doing enough to expose and condemn this practice.
Orli Diamonds employs multiple channels of marketing, providing their customers with several options to evaluate and purchase their merchandise.
Their website www.orlidiamonds.com is the best and daily updated channel, with a sophisticated search engine where customers can search for a stone on any parameter desired. Customers are encouraged to get a personal password, however, a temporary logon username is “orli” and the password is “diamonds” (all in lowercase letters). An inventory catalog is sent a few times a year to their customers detailing of their present inventory in loose diamonds and jewelry, “another good reason to be included in our clientele base” says Isaac.
Orli Diamonds is a member of Polygon, RapNet, GemFind, and Idex. “Each and everyone of these show the “buying prices” and the “memo price”. The decision is up to the customer which way to go,” according to Isaac.
Presenting a customer with two different prices is a very delicate issue. “It has a lot to do with the intricate relationship between us and our customers. It is my strong personal feeling that those buying for stock are placing their trust with us and are taking a financial risk that must be rewarded. The memo customer, however, has no investment in the diamond, using our inventory free of charge.
We are getting requests for stones from Australia, South America, Europe, Canada, and diamond dealers in Israel, New York, and Los Angeles; this means that the NoMemo Program is on the right track for the right people,” adds Isaac.
Orli’s e-Trade service is another important marketing channel. It is for those industry professionals whom are willing to buy for stock and don’t want to pay the higher memo prices. “These deals are offered exclusively via our e-Trade channel, where an e-mail announcement is sent with a special buying price. Let it be understood that the final sale is upon visual inspection and approval of the merchandise,” said Isaac. “For example, an extremely good deal was this Christmas when we offered a 3.0 ct. Brilliant GIA F-VS2, most beautiful make at 24% below. Another example, is two 2.0 cts Brilliant stones GIA H-VS2 and H-VS1 at 42% below. In today’s market, I can not even buy these goods at this price, but we wanted to create excitement within our e-trade program participants.”
For the future, Orli Diamonds believes their strength lies in larger stones. They will be increasing their inventory and exposure of scarce and sought-after large stones, supplying them at attractive prices. “We also plan to emphasize more and more on the NoMemo concept and will work closely with our ‘stock-buying’ clientele,” says Isaac. “Our business model is going to be 10% (profit) x 1 (turnover) = 5% (profit) x 2 (turnover) . The wholesale industry understands by now that a successful operation will be a result of increasing turnover and reducing profit margins. As difficult as it is, to accept for the average retail jeweler, I strongly believe that this is the key for their own survival.”
Orli diamonds has become a success story due to their ability to stay ahead of the ever-changing market, their excellent inventory and honesty and integrity among their suppliers and customers. They also attribute their success to excellent teamwork and loyal customers, for which they are thankful.
For their outstanding service in the diamond industry, Isaac and wife Hadasa Dekalo, were recently presented with the Hall of Fame Award from the Midwest Chapter of the Women’s Jewelers Association.
They are also members of AGS (American Gem Society), WJA (Women’s Jewelry
Association), MJSA
Orli Diamonds participates in the JCK Las Vegas Show and the Columbus Jewelry Show. Please visit their website for booth location.
If you’d like to contact Orli Diamonds, you can reach them at (800)-621-2185, (312) 332-0990, fax (312)-332-2914 or visit them online at www.Orlidiamonds.com
Obtained from Mid-America Jewelers News, Vol. 4, No. 4. Published in April 2005.