FROM WWII IMMIGRANT TO INVENTOR

Henry Grossbard persevered through the incredible hardships of a holocaust survivor to become a legend within the New York diamond district. His legacy truly began when he developed the Original Radiant Cut, and introduced a new style of cutting.

At the age of 13, Henry fled Vienna with his family, to escape the Nazis. They crossed many borders, eventually arriving in France. Safety was elusive because soon after that point, the Nazis also arrived in France. Across the Line of Demarcation, Henry was sent to a work camp.

With a talent for languages, he could speak French and helped internees with translations at the American Consulate. A young woman working there noticed that he came every day to assist others. Compelled to help him, she moved his file from the bottom to the top of the list for a visa to the United States. Looking back, Henry realized that gesture probably saved his life, and that of his family.

In 1941, only 16 years old, Henry and his sister, Esther, arrived at Ellis Island without their parents, barely speaking any English. They found shelter with the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society for the first few months in New York City, an organization that Henry donated to his entire life. Eventually, he was able to get visas for his parents, and experienced the miracle of being reunited with them after nearly a year.

As a young immigrant, Mr. Grossbard was taught diamond cutting, together with his father, Jacob, by a cousin who had previously immigrated to the United States. He quickly gained a reputation for fine craftsmanship, and as his reputation grew, started buying rough for his own account. Eventually he founded RCDC Corp., which remains headquartered in the New York diamond district.

After developing his craft for nearly thirty years, Mr. Grossbard took the chance of a lifetime to make his mark on the diamond industry. He began experimenting with cutting on very expensive fine rough diamonds to develop his vision of a "brilliant" square or rectangular shaped diamond. "It takes years to develop the instincts and the confidence necessary to cut such an expensive item," he once said.

But once he developed the new cut, Mr. Grossbard knew he really had something. Now it was just a matter of developing a name. One morning, his uncle called him at 6:00 a.m., waking him from a deep sleep, exclaiming, "I have the perfect name for you: the radiant cut." Today, his invention is known as the Original Radiant Cut, the only radiants that are guaranteed to be cut to his vision of the most perfect radiant cut imaginable.