“A new book details how the man, the myth, and the legend, William Goldberg got his own stretch of Midtown Manhattan and his legacy.”
This book and story of the legendary and extraordinary New York diamond dealer is especially intriguing and interesting to me because I met William Goldberg when I visited his offices with my mentor Robert Haack early in my career as a Graduate Gemologist. Mr. Goldberg was a larger-than-life character who was an icon in the industry…well regarded as an expert and outstanding cutter and dealer in diamonds.
I remember as a young, naïve and inexperienced gemologist, William certainly was out to impress me by slipping a 50 Carat Fancy Cut Diamond set in a ring onto my finger. It was worth tens of millions of dollars way back when…and I was excited beyond belief! 50 Carats!!!
Robert Haack said he saw so much joy in William’s eyes and generosity in his spirit to give a young person embarking on a career as a gemologist and diamond buyer this rare opportunity to not only view and examine this beautiful gem…but wear it on my hand! No other diamond piece I have tried on ever since, has even compared.
He had also just completed cutting a 25 ct. D Flawless “Shield” cut diamond. It was loose…not set in a ring…so he had me hold out my palm and I was lucky enough to hold that too! What a day! It brings back some of the most extraordinary memories I have in my long tenure in this business of diamonds! Here’s a sneak peek of his life well documented in this new book!
“Natural diamond dealer William Goldberg’s impact on the industry is showcased in a new book, written by Only Natural Diamonds’ editor-at-large, Jill Newman and Jackie Caradonio. The William Goldberg Wayis more than a biography, it is a chronicle of how the natural diamond industry in New York grew from a village into a thriving hub of the jewelry community worldwide.
At the center of this story is a pioneer, whose bravery and foresight allowed him to take calculated risks that set trends we still follow today. Many of the most famous stones in the world passed through his office, cut to his exacting standards.
Names that need no introduction, such as the Premier Rose, Moussaieff Red, and the aptly named Pumpkin Diamond. It is also the story of Ashoka, the 62-faceted diamond cut, created and trademarked by William Goldberg. Jill Newman, along with William Goldberg’s daughter Eve Goldberg, the company’s creative director, shared the backstory about what defines the company and the man.
“My father used to have these very successful jewelers come up to the office,” Eve Goldberg tells Only Natural Diamonds. “I remember one in particular—my father showed him a stone, and he took out a loupe to look at it. My father grabbed it from him and said, ‘You don’t need to look at it with a loupe. Just look at it. Isn’t it beautiful?’ He was all about beauty. That was so important to him. It wasn’t what the certificates said. He couldn’t care less about a piece of paper,” she recalls.
This tendency to start with the wonder of natural diamonds instead of the stats set him apart as an iconoclast and delineated the company’s ethos.”
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