Faces of the Industry: Yael Gutkind of Antwerp Cut
In this section, 'The Faces of the Industry', we bring the story of someone active within the Antwerp diamond sector in any possible way every month. This person, in turn, may pass the so-called torch to someone who inspires him or her or whose story he or she is curious about.
This month we had Yael Gutkind, Managing Director of Antwerp Cut, in front of our microphone. With a degree in photography and a short career as a school teacher, she ended up in the diamond business rather by accident. After almost 14 fascinating years, she hasn't regretted it for a minute and her job has even led her to the love of her life.
Hi Yael; tell us a little bit more about yourself and the company you are at the helm of in the meantime.
Our company is called Antwerp Cut and we specialize in natural fancy color diamonds. We have been around since 2007 and we are crafting the most beautiful diamonds, combining colors and shapes to create the most desirable, artistic fancy colored diamond jewelry. We purchase rough fancy color stones and we direct the polishing process - which we outsource to an Antwerp subcontractor - from A to Z, making sure we get the very best results. Mike (Akiki, Yael's husband and founder of Antwerp Cut) has taught a whole section of polishers in Antwerp how to specifically polish fancy color diamonds, because that does require a very different technique than polishing regular white diamonds. Antwerp Cut, the name of our company, is also more than just a name to us. We and our customers consider it a kind of trademark and quality label, precisely because we are so dedicated to polishing those fancy colors and, thanks to Mike's perfectionism and expertise, manage to achieve the best and most valuable results. This even goes so far that sometimes we also buy polished stones that Mike thinks we can get more out of. We then resharpen these stones and succeed in taking their value to an even higher level.
How did you get into the diamond industry?
I have been in the diamond industry for about 14 years and rs and actually got into it quite by accident. At the time, I graduated as a photographer but started working as an administrative assistant in adult education. It was a choice I made in function of the children, who were small at the time: a steady job with regular hours so I could easily combine my career with my family. I ended up doing that for 7 years, but I actually found the job very boring and got little or no satisfaction out of it. At a certain point, I quit and resigned. The people around me didn't really understand my decision, because I didn't have a real “plan B” yet, and everyone thought it was very unwise to leave teaching, given the many advantages it offers. For me, at least, it had been enough. I then started applying for jobs, including as an assistant photographer, but it wasn't easy. Until one day I received a phone call from an aunt of mine, Anna Harberkorn. She was and still is - despite her blessed age by now - very active within the Antwerp diamond industry as a broker. She called me to tell me to drop everything and come straight to the diamond district. She had arranged an interview for me at Gemdiamonds, where they were looking for an additional worker at that time. That was the start of a completely new period in my life and that's where my career in the diamond industry began. First as an employee at Gemdiamonds, where I mainly followed up with tenders and later at Antwerp Cut, who was a regular customer of ours and who recruited me at some point. Meanwhile, I run the business with my husband Mike - who hired me at the time - and am co-owner.
Antwerp is your home base. What do you think are Antwerp's strengths as a diamond trading center?
Honestly? For us, there is no better place than Antwerp to run our business. The location is an absolute plus: we are in the heart of Europe, and thus super accessible to our main customers, namely the most famous jewelry brands and biggest maisons. They are often looking for those more expensive, and they easily find their way to our range of more special exclusive stones and find them with us. Of course, we are also there for the smaller players and are very happy to work with them as well. These types of companies are also well represented in Belgium and Europe and they easily find their way to our range of more special, but affordable stones.
What do you experience as your biggest challenges right now?
Like all companies today, we are struggling with a number of challenges. One of them is finding suitable staff. Right now we are a relatively small company with 5 employees, but we are booming and want to prepare Antwerp Cut for the future. The enormous mountain of administration involved in running a business these days threatens to get a bit over our heads. That's why we called in an external expert to take a close look at our work processes and see what could be more efficient and what profiles are currently missing in the company. Once this exercise is completed, we can look for the right employees to strengthen our team. Another challenge is the fact that our major customers, the international brands, but also the authorities, are becoming increasingly demanding in terms of compliance. Being in order with all the rules and thus being 'compliant' is something that I think is severely underestimated. In order to remain compliant, reinforcement is therefore needed.
What golden tip would you like to give to fellow diamond entrepreneurs?
I think it's important to keep daring and sometimes take risks as an entrepreneur, even when things are not going so well in the sector in which you operate. The fair here in Hong Kong, where we are today, is a good example of that. We once calculated how much it costs us per minute to have a booth here and be present: it would blow your mind! But we see our presence here as seeds we are planting. Every contact we make this week could one day bring us a sale and, thus, potential new clients. So we see our presence here as an investment, even if we don't have to return to Antwerp with a single stone sold. If you stop investing, you will remain stagnant.
As an Antwerp diamond company, how do you view AWDC's role as an industry organization?
Especially since the appointment of Karen Rentmeesters as CEO, I have a much better understanding of what AWDC can do for Antwerp diamond companies. She ensures that AWDC has become much more accessible and transparent because she is so accessible and radiates this. It is now much clearer to me what services you provide and what you can do for us. AWDC also plays an important and good role in translating complex regulations into practice, for example, for the whole grandfathering principle. Mind you, I continue to find it a complex issue, but at least I do feel that I can turn to you guys in case there are questions on which we get stuck - and that is a comforting thought.
Who is the person you think deserves a place in the second edition of this newsletter as “Face of the Industry”? And why exactly?
I would love to pass the torch to Kelly Mertens. Long ago, we worked together at Gem Diamonds, and I have tremendous respect and admiration for her!
