In the past, during the early days of the modern diamond industry, financing was mainly about developing the core of the industry – diamond exploration, mine development, and consolidation. Another major difference is that key financing came from financiers. One such financier who played a pivotal role in setting the diamond industry on the tracks it still running on was Jules Porgès.
Born in 1862, Huddleston was a farmer, born to a farming family in Pike County, Arkansas. By surprise in August 1906, Huddleston discovered two unusual crystals on the property, along a dirt road, turning him to a wealthy man.
What started as a single store location first opened by his maternal grandfather, became one of the world's largest jewelry chains under the guidance of Herb Bridge and his brother Bob, and later part of the Berkshire Hathaway empire.
Lazare Kaplan was born to a financially-struggling Jewish family. One of 13 children, Kaplan was born on July 17, 1883 in Zabludova, Russia to Simon and Rachel Kaplan. His father was very religious and spent his nights studying Jewish texts. However as a third generation descendant of a jewelry-making family, during the day he was a watchmaker and jeweler, giving his son his first taste of jewelry.