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EightStar in America
Since sending its top cutters to Japan for training, nearly all the diamonds the company sold had been cut in its own California factory. In 1997, the company decided to sell only stones cut by its own craftsmen.
Most American diamond companies cut their diamonds abroad, and the few that cut at home keep only token work forces - relying mainly on imports. EightStar is a notable exception.
EightStar had no choice. Improvements in its own proprietary cutting technology enabled the company to set stricter standards than Japan's. Importing diamonds became impossible because only EightStar's own cutters could meet the company's new, more exacting criteria.
Suddenly the number of cutters worldwide with the know-how to satisfactorily cut an EightStar shrank from around 25 to less than 10. The EightStar Diamond became even more of a limited-edition diamond. And it is likely to remain so.
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