The Genesis of Diamond Nails -1-

"Do you have any good ideas for how to use these small diamonds?
They're too small to be used in jewelry, you see."

When I received a design request from a jewelry company in Daikanyama, I was asked for advice on a "new way to use" tiny diamonds of 1/300 (0.003ct) carats, and that was the beginning.

"These are the diamonds."

They were like "diamonds as small as sand."

They spilled from a small scoop, sparkling as they flowed.

I have no interest in diamonds.

However, I found myself captivated by their beauty.

...

I returned home immediately and consulted my wife about this.

"Wouldn't it be good to use them for nails? I think nails are going to become popular."

At the time, I wasn't familiar with women's trends, but I felt that this idea had potential.

Two weeks later, I brought a "full-effort proposal" to that jewelry company.

In it, I carefully illustrated a properly branded "street-level store" that sells diamonds as loose stones, a service for attaching them, and a concept for a cafe where one could luxuriously "admire" the diamonds.street-level store...

I even attached a five-year business plan and advertising copy to those visuals.

"Wow. This is amazing. We could never do something this grand... Why don't you do it yourself?"

Actually, while I was refining this proposal, I felt a "dream" in the concept itself.

But this was, after all, something I had been "asked" to do.

It was an "offer" that came just as I was thinking that I couldn't keep it for myself.

.....

While nail salons are now so numerous that they are in a state of cutthroat competition, there were almost no places called nail salons back then.

Nail art was something women did for themselves.

There were some shops that offered services to "apply nail polish" or "use acrylics (sculptures) to extend nail length," but these were not generally known.

Even if the market size were to grow, I could aim for "differentiation" by handling "real diamonds."

This is because there is no "stone of more value" than a diamond.

This point is also significant from a business perspective.

If we are recognized for handling "real diamonds" during the introductory phase in a market with expected future growth, we can calculate that we will survive as a brand even if it reaches a decline phase.

I also felt this way.

First of all, making it into a nail means

that "using diamonds repeatedly" becomes a condition.

Treating them as "consumables" like rhinestones would be "outrageous" from the user's perspective.

That means... it is necessary to clean the "diamonds."

I don't want the phrase "A diamond is forever" to be a lie.

And then, there is the "case" to put these tiny diamonds in.

Whether selling them or carrying them around, a case is necessary to ensure they are "not lost."

For the next six months, I repeated trial and error for the debut of "diamond nails."

<Continues to Genesis of Diamond Nails -2->

See you later.

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