Board

Executive Committee

Harry Levy, Honorary Life chairman

Harry Levy was named Chairman of the London Diamond Bourse in April 2016. He has over forty five years in the diamond and gemstone industry. He has also served the industry in a variety of capacities throughout his public career.

Prior to being our Chairman, Mr Levy served as President from 2011 to 2016 and several terms as Vice President of the London Diamond Bourse, and also held the Chairmanship of the British Jewellers Association and in addition was the President of GEM-A. He has served on the Coloured Stone Commission, the International Diamond Council and helped promote World Jewellery Confederation CIBJO. Furthermore he has served on the Laboratory Commission, and for ten years, through March 2008, was president of the Diamond Commission.

Harry Levy’s career began after dabbling in the gemstone trade while lecturing in his professional field of mathematics, in which he holds a Masters degree. A few years later he left the academic world and became fully engaged in the gemstone trade and founded his own company in London, Levy Gems. In addition to a Masters degree in mathematics, Harry Levy holds a degree in philosophy, and is a Fellow of the British Gemmological Association.

Alan Cohen, President

Alan Cohen has been in the diamond business since 1971. He trained as a rough and polished diamond sorter in South Africa. He is an independent dealer in polished and rough diamonds. Alan was based in London from 1974 – 1991 buying both rough and polished diamonds all around the world.  He lived and worked in Moscow, Russia from 1991 to 2006. Became a member of the LDB council in 2012 and president in 2018.

David Troostwyk – Vice President

David Troostwyk began his career in Antwerp where he worked for several Sight holders. He then went on to establish one of the first online electronic diamond exchange. In 2011, David returned to his native UK to set up Salotro. a diamond trading company. He joined the London Diamond Bourse in 2011 and later, The Young Diamantaires Group. David has been on the London diamond Bourse Council of Management since 2018 and Young Diamantaire Management Committee since 2019. His extensive expertise cover many levels of the diamond pipeline and he uses this experience to implement initiatives to bring the next generation of diamantaires through both organisations.

David Joffe, Treasurer

David Joffe has been in the diamond trade for more than 45 years. His company was a De Beers sight holder in Johannesburg, South Africa. In 1977 he moved to London. He has traded in both rough and polished diamonds and travelled to all parts of the world both buying and selling stones. David is part of the Executive Committee and holds the role of Treasurer of the London Diamond Bourse – a post he has held for more than 20 years. David has been on the board for some 25 years.

Paul Koppelman – Executive Officer

Paul Koppelman entered the diamond trade in 1970 after graduating in Political Philosophy and Government and Law. He spent two and a half years learning diamond cleaving and diamond polishing before joining the family business which dealt mainly in rough diamonds. Paul broadened the business into industrial diamonds. . Has been a member of the Council of management for over forty years and has been very involved with Government Diamond Office in implementing the Kimberley Process Certification scheme in the UK since its inception in 2003.

Trevor Sigsworth, Executive Officer

Trevor is a precious stone specialist. Having been in the trade for his whole career. He started out as a precious stone sorter and buyer, and started on his own in his early 20’s. He has travelled all over the world in pursuit of obtaining fine gem stones from the mines and cutters to supply manufacturers the best that is available. Trevor is a specialist in his field and is regularly relied on to give opinion on all types of stones.

Council of Management

Kathy Chappell

Kathy has worked in the gemstone business for over 20 years. She emigrated to Canada as a child in 1965, settling in the gold mining town of Red Lake, northwest Ontario and later in the diamond province of Guyana and then in South Africa, returning to the UK in 1974. Through the family gemstone business, she has successfully marketed the Nyala Rubyᵀᴹ from the Chimwadzulu mine in Malawi. She buys stones from source and has a working relationship with Columbia Gem House of the USA, a leading proponent of ethical sourcing and distribution.

Charles Silverton

Charles has worked in his long-established family wholesale jewellery business D. I. Silverton Ltd for more than 10 years and has specialised in the sorting and grading of polished diamonds in all shapes and sizes. He was taught the fundamentals of diamond grading by his father David who has worked in the industry for over 50 years and has subsequently built on that knowledge through practical application and a keen eye for detail. He now sells loose polished diamonds and precious gemstones, as well as fine jewellery to retail and working jewellers throughout the UK, with a special focus on finely matched pairs, sets and layout for manufacturing.

Howard Levine

Howard previously worked as the sales manager at Euro Pearls and then became the sales director at H. Chalfen Ltd. Having spent 2 years as UK director for GemsOne before returning to Chalfen as managing director, Howard started Diamnet 5 years ago and now lists over 250,000 diamonds on the B2B service. He was the first trader to embrace Laboratory Grown diamonds over 3 years ago and is now one of the largest stockists in the country. Howard is GIA trained and a Cultured Pearl expert. Nominated for 3 trade awards in 3 years and recently the first to launch a fully branded range of Laboratory Grown Diamond Jewellery in the country.

Jacqui Larsson

Jacqui is an award-winning independent jeweller who has specialised in producing distinctive and personalised fine jewellery since 2006. A qualified gemmologist and diamond specialist, Jacqui trained with the Gemmological Association of Great Britain and was awarded the prestigious Deeks Diamond Prize in 2008. Her experience also includes an internship with the De Beers and work in Amsterdam and Antwerp which was instrumental in developing an extensive network of exceptional industry contacts. In September 2020, Jacqui was shortlisted as a finalist in the Best Business Women Awards, and in January 2021 was named as one of the UK’s most 100 inspirational female entrepreneurs by Small Business Britain’s f:Entrepreneur “#ialso100″ campaign.

James Heath

Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, James brings with him more than 28 years’ experience working in the industry, having had his first taste of the trade running for his family’s business in his school holidays. Since then, James’s passion for diamonds and all kinds of gemstones has seen him spend time working in Africa as well as numerous visits to Europe, America and Asia. Now based in London, James brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience and is committed to creating unique pieces of jewellery for his clients spanning both classic and contemporary designs. 

Lewis Malka

Lewis started in the jewellery industry as a 16-year-old apprentice diamond mounter. In 2000 he started up his own business. He specialises in bespoke engagement rings and deals direct to the public by appointment only. In 2016 Lewis wrote a book, called The Engagement Ring, which is available on Amazon. He has a loyal following on social media, where he’s constantly updating and creating new and original content, both in written blog and video format. In 2022 Lewis was asked to collaborate with the BAJ (British Academy of Jewellery). Together they created the Lewis Malka Award for Engagement Ring Excellence. The purpose was to educate the students, add a little glamour, and help spread awareness of the London Diamond Bourse, to potentially the next generation of diamond traders. 

Rosalyn Malrooney

Rosalyn has over 20 years’ experience in the jewellery business, starting in a county style jeweller then progressing onto the prestigious West End. She now has her own business which she founded in 2019. Within her career she has had the privilege to work with the finest jewellery available as well as becoming a qualified gemmologist. She specialises in pearl stringing, valuations, remodelling and restoration of jewellery.

Tom Durrant

Started at my family business 15 years ago based in Hatton Garden. We have a retail outlet specialising in bespoke fine jewellery as well as a trade workshop which my father started in the 70s. Very passionate about both high-quality craftsmanship and high-quality diamonds & gemstones.

LDB Staff

Stacey Aylott – Chief Operating Officer

Having amassed 20 years plus of Office Management experience, along with positions in Accounts and Human Resources, Stacey began her career at the LDB in 2014 as an Executive Assistant/Office Manager, later progressing to Operations Manager in 2018.  In March of 2022, tasked with managing all the company’s operational aspects and implementing policies to promote and oversee daily operations, the Executive Committee promoted Stacey to the position of Chief Operating Officer.