In an increasingly digital age, nothing can replace the experience of touching, handling gems and jewels, learning first-hand from acknowledged and impassioned experts.
In an increasingly digital age, nothing can replace the experience of touching, handling gems and jewels, learning first-hand from acknowledged and impassioned experts.
Ronny Totah was born in Egypt, and moved with his family to Paris in 1962 and then to Geneva in 1968. He studied civil engineering in Lausanne, Switzerland, before deciding to join the gem and jewellery company established by his father and the two brothers, Oscar and Teddy Horovitz. Ronny describes Teddy Horovitz as a king of gems and godfather of Geneva’s gem-dealing community, and tells how he was captivated by the legendary merchant’s innate affinity with gemstones and the revered position he occupied in the industry. Ronny worked with his father and the Horovitz family from 1980 to 1990, during which time the company handled some of the world’s most famous and historic stones, as well as rare and record-breaking coloured diamonds. In 1990, Ronny Totah joined forces with Eric Horovitz, Teddy’s nephew, to establish their own company Horovitz &Totah. In 2008, Eric Horovitz retired.
Today, working with his daughters, Nadège and Sandrine, and his nephew, Stephane, Ronny Totah continues to source extraordinary diamonds and coloured stones, which he sets into jewels of classical splendour. He is known for his expertise and his passions for and knowledge of Kashmir sapphires and natural pearls. Ronny Totah has been active in various industry organisations, including the International Colored Gemstones Association, (ICA) and the Swiss Gemmological Laboratory, (SSEF); he is the Vice-President of the Swiss Association of Precious Stone Merchants. In these positions of authority, he has worked and continues to work tirelessly to ensure and enhance the ethics and integrity of the industry he loves.