A brief history.

Founded in 1947 by Barney Laub, the grandfather of Leon Cohen, the Codiam & Rand alliance of companies have been De Beers sight holders since their inception.  The expertise of the alliance, centered on precision specialty manufacturing of white and fancy color diamonds for the high end market.  Through the development of a unique technology department and a process of perpetual analysis, the Codiam & Rand alliance were able to improve diamond quality and reduce manufacturing flaws. 

In 1995, the Codiam & Rand alliance developed Jewel City, the first and only diamond center in South Africa, located in Johannesburg.  Growing up insteeped in such rich diamond heritage and inspired by Israel's Ramat-Gan Diamond Center, Leon Cohen and his partners consolidated 90% of South Africa's diamond industry into the 400,000-foot complex.

In 2000, Mr. Cohen developed the first diamond Provenance Report, a unique document to track a diamond from the mine to the retailer, which is sold under the RAND name. 

In 2004, the Codiam & Rand alliance became a joint venture partner with Tiffany & Co., with sights in London, South Africa, Botswana and Namibia.  Manufacturing was also maintained in New York, South Africa, Botswana and Namibia with additional contract deals in several other countries. 

The legacy of the organization has been the prioritization of providing training and job opportunities for young disadvantaged South Africans.  The diamond cutting factories maintained a reputation for providing skills training, excellent working conditions and good middle class salaries for its workers.

In 2010, Tiffany & Co. bought the De Beers sights and several manufacturing facilities from the Codiam & Rand alliance of companies, and Mr. Cohen started SRW International specializing in fancy color, large white diamonds, and unique custom handcrafted jewelry.