The Face Of Diamond Certification

Anyone who has ever purchased a good quality diamond knows about the International Gemological Institute (IGI). Meet Roland Lorie, Co-CEO, IGI, the world's largest provider of diamond and gemstone identification and grading services, as well as jewellery appraising services for fine jewellery. Having worked here for the last 38 years, Lorie discovered and developed India as an IGI centre, and is the face of this organisation,together with his two partners, Jerry Ehrenwald and Marc Brauner. Lorie is a people’s person, who prefers compromise to disputes. He loves to be surprised, take long walks, and spend time with his family. He also loves to travel and discover the beauty of this planet. His enthusiasm at discovering new places is child-like and contagious. In a free wheeling dialogue with Aasha Gulrajani Swarup, Lorie speaks of his plans for India, his children and his dreams.

There was never any question or doubt in his mind. His heart always knew he would be a part of the diamond industry. Born in a fourth generation diamond family, ever since he was little, diamonds were always in discussion. Roland Lorie had heard his parents and their friends talking about diamonds and their family history of diamonds.

His great grandfather on the maternal side was a gem dealer travelling to East Europe and London for the sights and New York for trading. He moved to Antwerp at the end of the 19th century. Lorie’s grandfather on the paternal side was also in the diamond business. Having been through World War II, Lorie grew up with many stories of how these little high value stones had saved their lives, helping them restart lives and follow dreams.

During the harrowing years of World War II, when diamonds were the only recognized international currency, Lorie’s maternal grandparents, traveled from Belgium to Brazil with a few bare essentials and some stones, which enabled them to settle in a new city and start a new career. Likewise, his father’s side of the family, remained hidden for three years in a home in Belgium, where a non-Jewish family, putting their lives in danger, provided them with food, bought on the black market. Once again diamonds proved to be the best currency.

Since a young age, Lorie realised that the intrinsic strength of the diamond, unlike other products, lay in two factors – luxury and investment. After studies, it only seemed normal for Lorie to join his father’s diamond certification business, started in partnership with Herman Brauner, who set up the gemological aspect of the business.Lorie says that Brauner, although retired today, is still the best specialist in the world for everything relating to the identification of synthetics and treatments of diamonds and other gemstones. Lorie’s father was the man in front, meeting customers, travelling to the U.S. where most of the diamonds were traded and managing the business. They were complementary and worked well together until joined by the next generation – Lorie in 1975 and then Marc Brauner, ten years later.

“At the time, diamond certification was the new thing in demand. But, till the early 80’s very few people knew about the existence of certification. For centuries, people had bought gems only based on what the jeweller was telling them. While many jewellers were honest, most were taking advantage of the situation,” Lorie cites.

The ignorance started to melt with certification services.Lorie realised that certification was the key to retain the intrinsic value of diamonds because, “No one chooses diamonds just for pleasure, simply because the price is too high. No one looks at diamonds just as an investment because the real value is often difficult to define. The reality is more complex; women love the glitter of jewellery and men love the idea of buying a present that will keep its intrinsic value forever,” Lorie said. Therefore, certification was the missing link. It enabled everyone to receive the same information from an independent third party.

When Lorie entered the business, the same year that IGI started, in 1975,he little knew that one day he would become an essential force within the organisation. Lorie and his father looked at new markets for certification. Just to work in Antwerp was not enough. In 1980, IGI opened an office in New York and went on to become the first major laboratory, issuing certificates for diamondjewellery, with a lot of success.

In the mid-90s, Lorie realised that the world was becoming global and everyone wanted to have access to luxury products. IGI then looked beyond Europe and America to Asia.

In 1997, Lorie came to India. But most Indian diamond dealers clearly said a big no. “They told me certification services were not needed here. There was no reason to open a laboratory in India, because it was only a manufacturing centre and all commercial decisions, also certification, were taken in the Antwerp offices.”

But Lorie’s heart said otherwise. Walking in the streets of Mumbai, Lorie saw that, almost everyone, more than in any other country in the world, poor and rich alike, wore gold and diamond jewellery. But, he also saw that in India and also all over the world, consumers did not easily spend a lot of money for a small stone, because they were not sure what exactly they were buying. Bingo! That was when he realized that certification was not only for the dealers but also for the consumers.With better access to the internet, and more awareness, diamonds and certification were soon accessible to all diamond dealers and consumers. The same success achieved in Europe and America came to India, Hong Kong, China and UAE.

The secret ingredient for this success was ‘glocalisation– thinkglobal, act local’. “We do not do things the same way in US, India or China. But the quality we provide is at the same level,” Lorie explained.

IGI started its expansion into other cities and decided to open a laboratory in every major manufacturing, wholesale and consumer centre. From two laboratories in 1996, IGI is today established in over 20 world cities.Also, thanks to certification, the buying habits of consumers changed and the purchase of gems and diamonds becameaccessible to all levels of society.

Another big achievement is the IGI School of Gemology. In the early 1990s, Lorie met jewellers who had little knowledge about the trade and their learning was mainly based on experience, not conducive in a competitive world. On a visit to Dubai, Lorie saw that there was never diamond jewellery on display in shop windows. He asked and was startled when all the jewellers had the same answer. “We don’t know what we buy and even more, we don’t know how to sell it. Selling gold is easier.”

Thus IGI initiated its School of Gemology which has trained tens of thousands of students, many of who have a profession today. This school is an immense source of satisfaction.Lorie considers education as the key to success. This is also the message Lorie and Anne, his wife have imparted to their four children, three girls and one boy, that he first wants them to study and then to work for a few years outside the business in order to acquire a lot of experience and independence.

While Lorie's eldest daughter studied law and joined the professional stream of journalism, his son and daughter are enchanted with cinema and making documentaries. The youngest one, at 11, is the genius and still has the world at her feet. Lorie picks her up from school,they have lunch together and serious discussions.He feels it is important to listen to the new generation. But, so far, no one has joined the business. Yet, Lorie's message to his kids is clear. "If one day you want to join the business, you have to be able to teach me as much as I can teach you."

Speaking of IGI’s expansion plans for India, Lorie informs, “Even though most of the commercial decisions are taken at the wholesale level, more and more retailers have seen the advantage of certifying not only loose stones but finished jewellery as well. Therefore, there is a need to have a presence in all major cities. There are many more to go. We also want to establish our schools in India and impart skills not only to manufacturers but also jewellers.”

There is a long way to go. But Lorie is an enthusiastic traveller looking at the world with his heart. He loves to travel and always tries to take an extra day to visit. On work or holiday, visiting any new place, he prefers to walk. “I can walk for hours and my wife likes it too,” he shares. He loves to be surprised. “Luckily, the world is still full of surprises and beautiful places. You just need to take the time and look at it,” he says.

For instance, while visiting Kolkata, with an Indian manager of IGI, Lorie was so enthusiastic, that the Indian manager could not understand until he started to look around and realised the playfulness, with which Lorie viewed the world. The Indian realised that he had forgotten to look at his own city.

Lorie loves to work with people. He has met people at all levels of the diamond business – rough dealers, manufacturers, traders, jewellery manufacturers, jewellers and consumers. “Once you understand everyone’s business, you acquire knowledge that allows you to offer the best service,” Lorie explains.

Lorie is a people’s person. He hates disputes. He reasons it by asking, “In many faiths, after death one is buried naked with just a sheet. No money, no gold, no land, so why are we fighting?”Lorie prefers compromises. He cannot stay angry for a long time. He believes that people deserve a second chance.

That is the key to Lorie’s and IGI’s success, besides his theme of ‘glocalisation.’ “With offices all over the world, IGI’s leadership works globally but the managers work locally. This combination is the key to our success. Our managers are able to take decisions and run their office independently,” Lorie says. The outcome is no one leaves.

“We have an incredible number of people who have been with us for 10, 20, and even 30 years, ever since we opened. We probably have one of the lowest attrition rates ever. I can proudly say that in this, we probably have some kind of record,” he concludes.