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In Memoriam: Rapaport Honors Those in the Trade We Lost This Year

December 26, 2023  |  Leah Meirovich

The diamond and jewelry industry is a tight-knit group, with many interwoven connections. Throughout the year, we mourned the loss of 12 long-standing members, including renowned cutters, organization heads, designers, inventors, retailers and journalists.

Here, we remember those who have died but are not forgotten, and their contributions to the trade.

Israel Itzkowitz — Esteemed diamond polisher and coinventor of the princess cut: February 18
Jerry Ehrenwald — Former president of the North American division of the International Gemological Institute (IGI): March 6
Roland Naftule — Gem dealer, founding organizer and first president of the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA): April 1
Kate Peterson — Jewelry consultant: April 12
Zvi Yehuda — One of the founders of the Israeli diamond industry and the inventor of numerous products for the trade, including the Sherlock Holmes machine: May 6
Harry Levy — Former president of the London Diamond Bourse (LDB): May 15
Gabriel “Gabi” Tolkowsky — One of the world’s most revered diamond cutters: May 28
Julian Ogilvie Thompson — Former chairman and CEO of De Beers and parent company Anglo American: August 11
Hedda Schupak — Former editor in chief of JCK: October 3
Loyd Charles Stanley — Second-generation Arkansas jeweler: October 4
Isaac Siton — Manager of Grandview Klein Diamonds’ Namibia factory; killed in the Hamas attacks on Israel: October 7
Henry Paul Dunay — Jeweler and designer: November 10

Main image: Sir Gabriel Tolkowsky holding the Centenary Diamond. (Facebook)

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In Memoriam: Rapaport Honors Those in the Trade We Lost This Year

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