Lazare Kaplan

Founded in 1903 by Mr. Lazare Kaplan, LKI has been publicly listed since 1972 and remains the only company specializing in diamond manufacturing whose shares are publicly listed on a US stock exchange (American Stock Exchange; stock symbol: LKI). It has been a Diamond Trading Company (DTC) Sightholder since 1946. In 1985, it became the first company to launch a branded diamond (The Lazare Diamond). In 1919, Lazare Kaplan's cousin, mathematician Marcel Tolkowsky, first published the mathematical formula for diamonds cut to "Ideal" proportions, a formula designed to optimize the brilliance, fire and sparkle in a polished diamond which remains the standard for cutting today.