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Marijan Dundek at Graff Diamonds in Sloane Street, London

Marijan Dundek (born December 15, 1950) is an authority in the field of diamonds and the author of a guide to diamonds. He currently lives in London.

Born in Croatia, Dundek began his professional career in the hotel industry, working at the Park Lane Hilton in London from 1971. It was around that time that he first saw stunning diamond jewellery in the shop window of Graff Diamonds, which had opened in 1974, an experience that was to make a lasting impression on him.

After several years at the Hilton he joined the Royal Viking Line, a luxury cruise line that took him all over the world. On his travels he visited many countries and met many individuals who were to have an influence on the different direction his life would soon take. In Brazil he had the opportunity to see many kinds of precious and semiprecious gems, and was so overwhelmed by this experience that it led to the decision to change his career. He went to Antwerp where he studied gemmology at the International Gemological Institute and earned his diploma in diamonds and coloured stones.

His path next took him to the retail jeweller Mappin and Webb, London, where he worked for seven years, and then to Marcus Watches of Bond Street for a short time. In 2001 the opportunity arose to work with Graff Diamonds on Brompton Road.

In 1999 he published Diamonds, a practical guide to the subject for specialists and laypersons alike. A second edition followed in 2002, and in 2009 he produced a completely new edition, illustrated in full colour throughout and updated to include recent developments in the diamond industry. One of the few handbooks on diamonds to include extensive information on natural coloured diamonds (a growing and increasingly popular sector of the diamond trade), the book was very well received by readers and professional organizations alike, including the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), the British Jewellery Association, and the Gemmological Association of Great Britain (Gem-A).

References

• Article on Diamonds (3rd edition) in ‘Jewellery Outlook’
• News item in Diamonds.Net
• Noble Gems