Notable Moments

Have you noticed the emerald ring that shines on Inamori's left hand? As part of its diversification efforts in the 1970s, Kyocera entered the recrystallized gemstone business, leveraging its ceramic and crystal technology. This ring is made with the very first recrystallized emerald to commemorate that time.

"I've never been a man of taste and elegance, but I'm always drawn to look into jewelry stores when I'm abroad. I'm particularly attracted to the deep emerald greens. Both gemstones and ceramics fall in the same domain of mineral crystals, which is my area of expertise. I heard that the supply of high-quality raw emeralds is dwindling, and poor-quality ones are starting to flood the market. Still, they are high-priced simply because they are natural and scarce. If that's the case, let's create high-quality emeralds using our technology. And they will be recrystallized gemstones with exactly the same composition." (From Kazuo Inamori: The Autobiography of a Brat published by Nikkei Shimbun Publishing).

And so he began his recrystallization efforts, but it wasn't easy. The conditions to grow emerald crystals with the same components and crystal structure as natural ones were elusive, and he went through a continuous process of trial-and-error to create a crystal without impurities. But, relentless in his pursuit of a beautiful, transparent emerald that he had envisioned, he repeatedly failed over and over before finally perfecting the ideal emerald.

Inamori encouraged his young engineers by saying, "The abilities of a human being are limitless. Let's view our abilities as something that evolves over time and believe that we are making progress," and after four years of effort, the emerald was finally completed. To not forget the hardships and thrills of that experience, he made the first emerald into a ring and has continued to wear it without fail ever since.

Photos: Inamori wearing his recrystallized emerald ring
　　　　A Crescent Vert ring similar to the one worn by Inamor
　　　　Recrystallized gemstone display on the second floor of The Inamori Library