Tributes to Diamond Entrepreneur Asher Dalumi
March 25, 25
(IDEX Online) - Tributes have been paid to Asher Dalumi, founder of one of the world's leading diamond companies.
He arrived in Israel in 1951 as a 13-year-old boy after his family fled from Iraq, and he went on to establish A Dalumi Diamonds, a De Beers sightholder with manufacturing facilities in Botswana, Israel, China and India, and offices worldwide.
A Dalumi Diamonds, a polished diamond and jewlery manufacturer, received Israel's Outstanding Exporter award in 1995 and in 2008.
In a 2018 interview with the Jerusalem Post his son Meir said: "When my father was 15-year-old he had to go to work. He found work in a diamond's polishing plant, in Netanya, in those days the center of Israel's diamond industry."
Asher Dalumi (pictured) opened a diamond cutting factory with fellow polishers and in 1960 he set up A. Dalumi Diamonds.
Nissim Zuaretz, president of the Israel Diamond Exchange, said: "The establishment and growth of the company were not only the result of hard work and professional knowledge, but also of values of integrity, commitment and excellence, which were the basis of every development and every decision.
"I am confident that Asher's legacy will continue to inspire the next generation of professionals in the field.
"Our hearts are with the family at this difficult time, and we wish them strength and courage to get through this period."