Diamonds are in Rendy Ng’s blood as she is the third generation to work in the industry, at Hong Kong’s Bee’s Diamonds. A history major who went on to law school, this was a complete change of career for her. Though she took her Graduate Gemologist and Accredited Jewelers Professional diplomas from the Gemological Institute of America, law was something that had interested her since she was a teenager. As a lawyer, she often stayed at an office beyond the regular eight hour work day with a great deal of paperwork and staring at a computer screen. On the other hand, working in the diamond industry was different. Besides the different hours, Rendy is able to meet a great deal of different people (clients, wholesale companies, etc…) all over the world and fully experience a variety of cultures. For example, she will be attending a seven day Indian wedding later this year in Mumbai and will be going to places like Tel Aviv and Antwerp as well. Unlike the law profession, this industry allows for a great deal of travel, exposure and culture. Rendy has also been involved with imposing new corporate responsibility to the company. Recently, Bee’s Diamonds was a sponsor of a fundraising dinner for the Watoto Children’s Choir, a touring choir based out of Uganada that is part of the Watoto holistic care program.
While this sounds like a girl’s ultimate dream job, with the travelling and travelling, there still is a lot of work. There are a lot of risks – wholesale transactions are conducted based on trust, according to Rendy – there aren’t always written contracts or invoices – and with that handshake and they “may be giving the consignee a few packages of diamonds worth the price of a Ferrari, and yet, we take the risk of not being paid at the end if the consignee does not come back with the cash or the goods.” She was very surprised at that when she first started working – and had even suggested adding contracts and clauses. However, it’s just how the industry has operated for centuries. In addition, there are fewer diamonds available, to the point that DeBeers has indicated that it will limit the number of diamond roughs over the next few years due to the decrease in diamond mine discovery. At the same time, there is increase in demand – China’s purchasing power is rising and many people in other parts of the world are purchasing diamonds as an investment as the risk is lower.
Rendy finds the diamond business very emotionally rewarding. Diamonds, after all, are often an important part of people’s lives. ” It is particularly exciting to see boyfriends of my close friends coming in to choose diamonds that will be made into engagement rings. You can see how exciting they are and how much care they put into choosing the diamond; then you know your good friends will be in good hands of such caring and loving husbands in the future,” she says.
