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How a small diamond polishing company became the largest diamantaire in the Netherlands
Gassan Diamonds was founded by Mr Samuel Gassan in October 1945 as a small company in the Amsterdam Diamond Exchange at Weesperplein. The compa¬ny's activities included diamond polishing and the import and export of rough and polished diamonds, coloured stones and diamond jewellery, both on wholesale and retail levels. The business expanded rapidly. Gassan Diamonds moved to larger premises, a diamond cutting factory at Zwanenburgerstraat, where today the combined City Hall and Music Theatre can be found. It was at this factory that a new phenomenon occurred: tourists from every imaginable country in the world came to see the polishers at their craft. The company started opening its doors for tours, to show the diamonds and explain all about the different factors that determine the quality and therefore the price of a diamond. At the end of the tour, the tourists were given an opportunity to buy loose polished diamonds and diamond jewellery. This soon proved to be an extremely successful formula and a very important facet of the company to this day – and undoubtedly for many more years to come.

Still a family owned company
In 1983, Mr Gassan sadly passed away. The company has since been owned and run by his two grandsons, Benno and Guy Leeser. Benno, the elder, joined the company in 1973. He took up the responsibilities of Managing Director at the headquar¬ters in Amsterdam; Guy, who joined the company in 1980, is based at the New York office. In 1990, the continued expansion and growth of the company’s activities necessitated another move: to a historical (built in 1879), formerly steam-driven, 50,000 square feet diamond cutting factory in downtown Amsterdam. This factory is now visited by nearly 400,000 people every year.

 

 

 

International growth
Foreign promotion and expansion of the company's wholesale business has for some time been a major part of our strategy. In 1952, the first foreign office opened in Antwerp, Belgium, followed by one in Pforzheim, Germany (and later Düsseldorf) in 1959, an office in Tel Aviv, Israel in 1960; then Zug, Switzerland in 1966 and New York, U.S.A. in 1980. For promotional purposes only, we have had a Japanese representative in Tokyo since 1967. In 1967, inspired by the steadily growing sales to tourists, the company directed its attention to Amsterdam Airport, and established the first Duty Free Diamond Shop concessi¬on. Now days, Gassan Diamonds runs three Diamond Shops, seven Watch and Jewellery Shops, two Swatch Shops and Gassan Plaza at the Landside section of the airport. In 2002, the company opened the Guess Watch Shop at Schiphol Plaza (Landside) with a wide collection of Guess watches and jewellery in 2007, we opened a Rolex Boutique at Airside. In the autumn of 1992, Gassan opened its first Duty Free Diamond Shop on foreign soil, in London Heathrow's Terminal 3. In October 1999, Gassan Diamonds B.V. also opened a Duty Free Watch Shop there. In 1997, Gassan Diamonds opened two after-sales offices in Beijing, China and Jakarta, Indonesia. In addition, the company in 1999 opened after-sales offices in Bangkok, Thailand and Hong Kong. In 2005, Gassan Diamonds opened Diamond Land on the main floor of the factory building. This large gift shop offers an extensive collection of diamond jewellery, watches, custom jewellery and gift items. The coffee shop was relocated to the former boiler house across the main building. And on 9 January 2008, Gassan opened 4 new stores at Changi Airport, Singapore. We also opened a shop that sells only Tourbillon watches by several Swatch Group brands.

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