The importance of carving out a niche to get through hard times was a key theme of the latest Rapaport Diamond Podcast with Shenil Shah, owner of polished supplier Aspeco.
Shah explained how the international company had shifted its focus to layouts — bundles of matching stones that it can sell to jewelry manufacturers at a premium.
In the past, the Antwerp-headquartered company was able to make money by offering individual diamonds, but synthetics have made this harder. Aspeco spun off from Indian sightholder K. Girdharlal in 2016 and now operates as its polished distributor.
“There was enough movement for those individual stones, [and] there was a price that was being maintained even for those stones individually,” said Shah in conversation with Rapaport’s Joshua Freedman. “Today, we’re finding that one only values the goods if it’s in a group,” especially in sizes under 1 carat.
A reduction in the number of diamond dealers has also forced jewelry manufacturers to rely on companies higher up the supply chain, giving Aspeco an opportunity to sell many stones at once to the same customer, Shah added. By working closely with the factory, the company can supply “calibrated” goods with consistent millimeter measurements and qualities, enabling the buyer to place them together in a piece of jewelry.
The shift to this model, which has started to show results in the past six to seven months, was a response to the cannibalization of 0.70- to 1.50-carat natural diamonds by lab-grown, the executive noted.
“Instead of selling them as center stones, they’re going to be incorporated in finished jewelry,” Shah commented. “So if we can make that finished jewelry either more aesthetically pleasing — because it’s calibrated — or we make it easier for the jeweler to complete…that’s how we’re going to try to position ourselves.”
Shah also discussed the history of his family’s business, how the US has grown in importance amid China’s slowdown, and his expectations for 2025.
Listen to the podcast here:
This podcast is brought to you by GIA — the Gemological Institute of America — protecting consumers and supporting the global gem and jewelry trade since 1931 through research, education, and laboratory services.
