Zvi Yehuda, one of the founders of the Israeli diamond industry, owner of Yehuda Diamond Company and the inventor of numerous products for the diamond trade, died Saturday at 86. He is best known for his contributions to the Israeli diamond sector by introducing the concept of selling back diamond dust to cutters and polishers for use in grinding, at only 16 years of age. Later this innovation translated into industrial diamond dust sales internationally.
Yehuda had close ties with the Israel Industry Ministry who commissioned a factory for him to pursue his innovations and subsequent inventions that would revolutionize how the Israeli Diamond industry would function from then onwards. At age 23, Yehuda introduced the first set of digital scales for diamonds, and at 28, he debuted the first diamond laser-cutting machine. He ran the factory in concert with the Industry Ministry of Israel for 3 years before starting a new business with his father.
Among his other innovations were a clarity enhancement process, a color meter for rough diamonds and a synthetic-diamond detection device. He is also the inventor of the Sherlock Holmes synthetic-diamond detector.
Yehuda is survived by his wife, Meira, his three sons, Roni, Dror and Moshe, and his daughter, Yael Konigsberg.
Photo Courtesy of Dror Yehuda
