2025 Acquisition Highlights

January 2025

After temporarily closing its doors to new acquisitions for the last quarter of 2024, the OJA is once more accepting new donations!

This month's acquisition documents Selig Gross (pictured left), an important figure in Toronto's diamond business. Born in Chrzanów, Poland, in 1894, Selig immigrated to Canada in 1920 with his wife, Anna. Once in Toronto, he established a branch of his wife's family's diamond-importing business.

Gross’s role in the diamond industry was particularly significant during the Second World War, when Nazi Germany's invasion and occupation of Belgium and the Netherlands disrupted Europe’s diamond trade. Recognizing an opportunity, Gross helped bring skilled Jewish diamond cutters to Canada, establishing the Dominion Diamond Cutting Company in Toronto in 1941. Training a new generation of Canadian cutters, including high school students, this industry flourished for a decade before Europe regained its dominance.