History of Backes & Strauss
Backes & Strauss is the world’s oldest diamond company, founded by goldsmith Georg Carl Backes in 1789 in Hanau, Germany. After many years of success, the company opened an office in London in 1814, distributing jewelry throughout Europe. Towards the end of the 19th Century, with the discovery of massive diamond mines in Southern Africa, there was a need for controlled diamond distributors. Backes & Strauss stepped up to the role and changed their business model, becoming diamond cutters and distributors.
The company’s daybooks outline its sales team’s journeys worldwide, selling loose diamonds to big names such as Mikimoto, Boucheron, Bulgari, and even Jacques Cartier himself.