Diamond Industry Legend Louis Glick Dies

By Rob Bates | January 15, 2026

Louis “Louie” Glick, a widely respected New York dealer who was an early promoter of yellow diamonds, died on Jan. 10. He was 102.

Born in 1924, Glick founded his eponymous diamond company at age 21. It became a De Beers sightholder in 1976.

Glick was known for creating, along with partner Stanley Doppelt, the StarBurst cut, a variation of the radiant that helped boost the popularity of yellow diamonds, according to GIA’s Gems & Gemology publication. Don Spak, who once worked for Glick, credits his old boss with bringing that color into the industry mainstream.

“Mr. Glick believed in the yellow diamond market and helped develop it,” Spak wrote on LinkedIn. “Today, there is not a designer, manufacturer, or retailer who does not have some representation of yellow diamonds in their collections or inventory. The place of yellow diamonds will forever be an important part of the industry thanks to people like Louis Glick.”

Glick was also part owner of perhaps the world’s most famous yellow, the 407 ct. Incomparable.

Former Stuller vice president Stanley Zale tells JCK he cherishes his time working for Glick.

“The word mensch doesn’t even begin to do justice to who he was,” Zale says. “He was the smartest businessperson I’ve ever known. If you wanted to learn the diamond business, he was the person to learn it from.

“He also led with tremendous humility, treating people with kindness and respect. It was an honor to have known and worked for him.”

Glick’s nephew Daniel Sklarin, a diamond dealer, says, “He was a giant in the diamond business, and at his height there was no one even second to him. His biggest successes were the many people that he helped to make it on their own in the diamond trade.”

Glick is survived by his son, Simon Glick, and his daughter, Esther Pluchenik.

While generally low-profile, Glick appeared briefly in a 2001 episode of the History channel series Modern Marvels, which can be seen below.