(IDEX Online News) – Alexander Hasenfeld, a leading member of New York’s diamond business for many years, and the founder of Hasenfeld-Stein, passed away on June 6.

 

Born in Hungary and a survivor of the Auschwitz and Dachau concentration camps, Hasenfeld started out as a diamond cutter after moving to the United States in 1948.

 

However, he soon moved into the niche market of re-cutting diamonds to increase their value.

 

And in the 1950s, he was among the first to explore uncharted territory – the Japanese market.

 

In 1991, Hasenfeld-Stein was appointed a Diamond Trading Company sightholder.

 

Alexander Hasenfeld served as a director of the New York Diamond Dealers Club (DDC) for many years.