This is the third installment of this column, in which I share my thoughts on the "value" that will be required in the coming era, based on my experience launching a business as a D2C jewelry brand.

First installmentSo, I touched on how I started selling high-end products on Instagram without a physical store while working full-time, and on the concept design.Second timeIn the luxury industry, I shared my own reflections on "what value should be," and, based on those reflections, explained the "Web3.0-based value-creation challenge I undertook to maximize value." In this third installment, I will touch on how companies and individuals should create value in the era ahead.

One of the businesses I'm currently involved in is a jewelry brand that uses moissanite, a laboratory-grown gemstone. Since I didn't come from the jewelry world but entered from a different industry, I view the world of jewelry—part of the luxury sector—from an outsider's perspective and find it to be an exclusive, unexpectedly opaque, and relatively change-resistant niche. There are many other industries in similar situations, and trends in the luxury sector may have a lot in common with those in other fields.

Until now, the value for consumers was largely determined by brand name and cost accounting. But today, that value is no longer something companies can dictate; it has come to depend heavily on changes in consumer behavior and the broader social environment. In addition, as individual values diversify, the kinds of value people seek are naturally becoming more varied. Isn’t it increasingly difficult for companies to design customer value?

The Luxury Industry and Diversity of Values

In recent years, the synthetic gemstone market has been drawing attention in the luxury industry. The moissanite I offer is precisely emblematic of how the values sought in gemstones are diversifying. Moissanite is a type of lab-created gemstone that rivals diamonds in brilliance. Under traditional values, diamonds have long been regarded as the ultimate gemstone, but the emergence of moissanite has shifted perceptions of what a gemstone can be. These new values are beginning to influence how people choose jewelry.

Values changing at breakneck speed

Under traditional values, gemstones were valued for their rarity. There was a uniform mindset — "when it comes to gemstones, it's diamonds." Diamonds secured their position by maintaining high rarity through controlling mining and supply.

However, in recent years the way people choose jewelry has begun to change, and the idea that individual choice and diversity should be respected above all has become widespread. With growing awareness of environmental and human rights issues, more people are placing importance on ethical consumption. Because moissanite is a lab-created gemstone, it avoids the environmental destruction and human rights abuses associated with mining, and its affordability is also an attractive point, leading rational consumers—especially younger ones—to embrace it.

Rather than following long-standing conventions often associated with engagement rings — like "three months' salary," "raised-prong settings," or "platinum" — they are highly favored by people who want to choose jewelry based on their own values; they tend to choose gold and prioritize the design and stone size they truly want.

Similar shifts are happening in other industries. For example, in the bridal world, black wedding dresses have recently become popular. This too can be seen as evidence that the traditional idea that "wedding dresses are white" is beginning to change.

In this way, the diversification of value is likely to continue accelerating across all industries. Not only material value, but also emotional and social value will become increasingly important, and especially individual value systems—what each person considers valuable—will differ greatly. For companies, there is no doubt that responding to these shifts in values and creating new value will become crucial. However, I feel the luxury industry is slow to adapt to change. Because established designs, prevailing theories, and rules exist, major innovation is unlikely to occur, and there is a tendency to resist change.

At our company, we aim to realize jewelry made with moissanite that brings new value and a WOW to the world, and we are taking on the challenge of creating an industry called "JewelTech" that combines jewelry and technology.

「JEWELTECH」　Fusion of Jewelry and Technology

Moissanite is, so to speak, a crystallization of technology manufactured using cutting‑edge techniques. It’s far too good to be enjoyed only by a small number of jewelry enthusiasts. By combining it with various industries, there is great potential to broaden its appeal through collaborations that pair the beauty of jewelry with qualities jewelry itself doesn’t possess.

We want to bring the joy of making it easy and natural to wear pieces that shine in everyday life to as many people as possible. To that end, we have been advancing the "Jewelry That Makes Everyday Life More Convenient" project since 2023.

One of the products we created from that idea is the smart ring "RIVETRING (リベリング)," a piece of jewelry that contains an IC chip and combines technology with design. We also offer PHOTON, a simple ring without an IC chip that’s purely jewelry, but we believe the future evolution of the jewelry market lies in combining jewelry with tech.

Announced in October 2023, we ran a simultaneous ad campaign linking YouTube, Instagram (domestic and international), and the landing page. After the rollout we received responses from many people around the world: YouTube surpassed 10,000 views and Instagram exceeded 2 million video views within four days.

Using advanced techniques to carve rings from large blocks of stone and producing them without the use of any precious metals, we pride ourselves on creating the world's first "All Moissanite Ring."

However, a major challenge at launch was deciding exactly how much to price this product. With no precedent to guide pricing, we couldn't come to a decision despite inquiries from around the world. So we decided to calculate the market value of this ring using data analytics based on statistical methods.

Using statistics to price items that don't have prices.

It's difficult to put a price on something that doesn't have one, but in fact it's not impossible. By combining various methods, you can assess the value of such an item. There are three main methods.

• Consider alternatives　：　How to use prices of similar products or services as a reference
• Survey ：　How to research what value customers perceive in your products or services
• Auction　：　How to solicit price offers from multiple potential customers and sell your product or service to the highest bidder

For example, let's say you develop a new drug using the latest technology. You don't know how valuable it will be, how much demand there will be, or what the price should be. However, by applying data analytics techniques to survey figures, you can calculate an approximate market selling price.

An acquaintance who is a university professor studies “putting a price on things that have no price,” and I had long been drawing on his knowledge of blockchain and NFTs. When I told him about the moissanite smart jewelry, he said, “Interesting! Let’s try it,” and from that we were fortunate enough to gain the cooperation of many people. The method was simply to have them answer a seven-question survey. The interesting point was that, before asking people to respond, the single most important thing was to clearly explain “why we decided to create this new product — to fully convey the story and the circumstances.”

In short, value is "increased by a deeper understanding of the brand and chosen as a result." I believe this is precisely the creation of new value, and it fits very well with how value will be built going forward. "Making jewelry more interesting" is our motto, so we decided to go all out　and collected survey responses from customers and about 100 people recruited through Instagram LIVE. So, what is the appropriate price? I'd like to reveal the results.