Shabtay E.Vogel

Shabtay E. Vogel is the founder of Dor Diamonds (S.E. Vogel) Ltd, a company jointly owned with his wife Suzy. The firm was named after their daughter Danielle and his son Ory, the latter who joined the company in 2002.

Vogel was born in Haifa, Israel, in 1951, and is a graduate of the acclaimed Hebrew Reali School in Haifa.

Among its graduates are former Israeli presidents, leading politicians, chiefs of staff and supreme court judges. After serving in the Israel Defense Forces, Vogel studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and at Tel Aviv University.
In 1976, he joined the diamond trade and throughout the years accumulated extensive experience in the diamond business, from manufacturing to wholesaling. He owns  a diamond factory located in the heart of Ramat Gan's diamond center.

At the same time that he joined the diamond trade, he became a member of 'Etgar, The New Israel Club for Commerce in Diamonds." Vogel was elected to the board of directors of Etgar in 1988, and became president in 1995, a position he continues to hold to this day.

Vogel is a member of the Trade and Promotion Committee of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) and in Israel was active in the establishment of the Kimberly Process which was established to curb trade in conflict diamonds.

Known as an expert in natural fancy colored pink diamonds and a specialist in servicing boutique jewelers, Shabtay Vogel often serves as an expert in arbitration cases between diamond bourse members. On numerous occasions, he has been called upon to serve as an expert witness in court.

Recently, Vogel's son Ory has propelled his company into the digital era. The company has established one of the first online diamond broker services, named Gemisimo (www.gemisimo.com). The site not only offers consumers all the information they possibly need for researching, planning, finding and purchasing a diamond, but also provides direct access to one of the broadest selections of loose diamonds available online. Serving many different consumer segments, from diamond engagement ring buyers to sophisticated diamond investors, Gemisimo provides diamond consumers the ability to search, compare and find the diamond that fits their demands for shape, size, quality and price.