9Diamond.com recently became China's first diamond trading website to receive venture capital. The investors were Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), Qiming Venture Partners, Zero21PO Group, and Rapaport Group. This means 9Diamond has taken a lead in China, along with PPG (a shirt trading website), in terms of online trading.

The investors created a superb combination together, according to the China Business News. KPCB, one of the world's most prestigious venture firms, has been invested in such leading e-commerce companies as Amazon.com, Google, and Blue Nile. Qiming Venture Partners are investors in ICE.com, the second largest online diamond trader in the United States. The well-known Rapaport is a US-based company, the largest online diamond trading company in the world.

Blue Nile is an online diamond trading business, whose trade volume has exceeded that of the three leading American jewel traders, including Tiffany & Co., in the past few years.

9Diamond was originally modeled on Blue Nile. In 2004, He Boquan, founder of the Guangdong Robust Group Co. Ltd., one of the top beverage manufacturers in China, noted the success of Blue Nile while studying at Harvard University. He then established 9Diamond, and appointed Chen Bin as Chief Executive Officer. A graduate from Peking University in 1990, Chen worked for 16 years at Robust with He, and accumulated a wealth of marketing experience.

Following an initial arduous period, the new website began to grow rapidly. Its sales volume, increasing by 300 percent each year, is expected to exceed 100 million yuan ($14 million) this year. The aim of the firm, according to Chen, is to go public at the Nasdaq Stock Market within three years. Whether beverage trading or diamond trading, Chen says, it's easier to transform oneself from a retailer to an online trading website. Diamonds traded on the Internet are usually cheaper by 30-70 percent compared with traditional shops, given that there's no rent or other overheads to be paid off.

In addition, 9Diamond sells the diamond and the diamond's base separately with the aim of ensuring that the price remains transparent and the product standards are always high. In addition, clients can order customized ring bases, as per their own needs.

"KPCB wants to forge 9Diamond into China's Blue Nile," said KPCB partner Wu Yunlong. "Thanks to the progress of both the logistics industry and payment modes, brand commodities and services based on Internet technology are on the rise, and business-to-customer (B2C) trade is expected to have soaring growth in the coming five to 10 years."

KPCB had previously invested in Chinese B2C enterprises such as PPG and redbaby.com.cn, a website for mothers and babies.

9Diamond plans to hold business talks with ICE this month, with Qiming Venture Partner, one of China's biggest venture capital firms, as the broker.

Rapaport Group has commenced business in China for the first time, although it was the last company among the four to invest in 9Diomand. The chairman of Rapaport will visit China for further talks with 9Diamond this May, according to Chen Bin.

9Diamond has ambitious plans to further expand its business scale, and to elevate its brand reputation. The company will -- different from Blue Nile -- open shops at all major locations so its customers can sample the commodities.

"The reason for this is consumers in China think that seeing is believing, and it is especially important for online shops to establish a credit reputation for their products," said Chen.

(Source: China Business News)