Meet the Leo behind The Leo Diamond®

Leo Schachter, master diamond artisan, on his passion for diamonds.

They say you're a passionate man, is it true?

Yes, but let me clarify that I'm a very, very happily married passionate man! Actually, I'd say that I'm a passionate family man, and that my family – all four generations – shares the same passion for crafting the world's most brilliant and magnificently cut diamonds.

What does passion have to do with cutting diamonds?

Cutting diamonds is an art. Do you know any great artists who weren't passionate about their work? Anyone with a little training can attempt to cut a diamond, just as anyone with a paint brush and a canvas can create a painting, but the result depends entirely on talent, craftsmanship, and a true passion for artistic expression. Only a master diamond artisan can achieve the level of brilliance and beauty you'll find in every Leo Diamond . It's takes years of training, an unerring eye, a perfectionist's mentality, and many, many hours of very precise work. If you don't really love it, the absence of passion will show in the quality of your work.

Is it only about loving the art, or is there something more to it?

Ah, you've hit on something very important here. Perhaps your question should have been, “Why a diamond, rather than another precious gem?” I confess, as does every master artisan in my company, to being hopelessly romantic – a true sentimentalist. Unlike other gems, a diamond is the ultimate offering of enduring love and commitment. It holds such great meaning for the man who presents it to the woman he loves , and for the woman who receives this precious gift. Knowing that inspires us and challenges us to cut every diamond to perfection. If a diamond is forever, then it must be forever the most perfect expression of love. It's a responsibility we take very seriously, and it gives great meaning to our work.

Doesn't technology play a larger role than art in crafting magnificent diamonds?

Technology plays an important role, but hardly a larger role. Technology is purely a tool in the hands of an artist, like a better knife in the hands of a sculptor, or a better camera in the hands of photographer. In our company, we are always researching new technology and how it can improve our art.

But the art of selecting the right piece of rough, determining how to cut it to release the maximum beauty and brilliance of the stone, then handcrafting it, placing the facets in perfect symmetry and polishing the finished diamond – that's pure art.

Where does your passion come from?

I suspect that somewhere in the blood that courses through my veins is the passion for crafting diamonds that I not only inherited from my father, but have passed down to my children, grandchildren, and now, great grandchildren. We are four generations of diamond artisans in this family company of ours. It's our heritage and our legacy. Yes, I'm a bit older than I look, but having a true passion keeps me eternally young!

Who would you say was your mentor, your inspiration?

I have to give equal credit to my father and Michelangelo. Let me start with the lesser of the two, Michelangelo (ha!). Probably his most famous and admired sculpture is the statue of David that is in Florence , Italy . When asked about how he was able to sculpt such a lifelike and magnificent representation of the human form from a piece of marble, he replied that it was his job to simply release the potential of what already existed within the stone. I really believe that the challenge of a master diamond artisan is the same: to begin with piece of rough carbon, and unleash the most brilliant diamond possible. That's what I want to do every day.

My father, on the other hand, inspired me to challenge the art of diamond cutting, to raise the standards, and strive for perfection in everything I do.

With The Leo Diamond, would you say you've achieved perfection?

We've been in business for half a century, and during that time we've sold our handcrafted diamonds to the finest jewelers around the world – from Fifth Avenue to Rodeo Drive to the shops of Paris , London , and Milan . The Leo Diamond, however, was such an achievement, I wanted it to bear my name and be sold exclusively through a authorized Leo Diamond jewelers. But, we're certainly not stopping with The Leo. In our company, we continue to look for ways to exceed what others might accept as perfection, to expand the boundaries of the art. That means testing new technologies, designing new diamond cuts, looking for ways to release the maximum potential for beauty and light from every stone we work with. The Leo Diamond is one example -- a patented cut that has measurably more fire, sparkle and brilliance than other diamonds of equal quality in terms of color, clarity and carat weight. I'm convinced we will make other brilliant discoveries. That's the fun of it, that's what keeps our passion alive!

See The Leo Schachter collection.