Dignified understatement describes the cousins Oppenheimer.

In the land of their discovery over two thousand years ago, they were treasured by the Indians for their magical properties and used as protection from the forces of evil. In ancient Greece they were believed to be fragments of stardust and their unique resistance to both fire and steel saw them become a symbol of unconquerable strength which in turn gave them their name. They became an essential component of countless Crown Jewel collections and a favourite collectable of countless monarchs: by the end of the eighteenth century they had become the only choice for ladies in society. The nineteenth century saw them become the chosen status symbol of newly - moneyed industrialists. During Hollywood's Golden Years, F. Scott Fitzgerald celebrated them in literature, Marilyn Monroe celebrated them with Elizabeth Taylor. Today they are coveted by investors for their monetary value, by industry for their durability and by women the world over for their sublime beauty and evocations of romance and eternal love.

Diamonds have also been a magnet for a rare breed of entrepreneur. Possessed of a singular vision and passion, as rare and brilliant as the stones they so covet, these characters shine brightly the world over. In London, people such as Laurence Graff and the Moussaieffs, in Switzerland, Theodore Horovitz and Tabbah, in New York, Harry Winston and William Goldberg, Van Cleef & Arpels and Tiffany, Cartier and Boucheron in Paris, the list is elite and endless; all personalities as unique as the stones themselves but perhaps, the most unusual name is that of the Oppenheimers. In a world of exotic and eccentric personalities, Nicholas and Anthony Oppenheimer are remarkable by their very sobriety.