Jocodiam Manufacturing was founded in 2003 by Mr Johan Olieslagers and Ms Conny De Bruyne, whom both had already been working actively in the diamond sector for many years at that time. Johan Olieslagers began his career in 1977 with training as a diamond cutter at the diamond school in Vorselaar in the Antwerp Kempen area. At the time there were thousands of diamond cutters in this region, and often whole families even worked \"in het steentje\" (\"in stone?). Various diamond cutters worked in the Olieslagers family too: a grandfather, uncles, aunts, and even both of Johan Olieslagers? parents. After several years of schooling and specialisation, Johan Olieslagers began his professional career as a diamond cutter, cutting diamonds for various employers including several of the world?s largest and most influential diamond companies. In 1991 Johan chose to become self-employed, founding the company Jocodiam Manufacturing BVBA in 2003 with his spouse and business partner Conny De Bruyne. Since then, Johan Olieslagers has been at the head of his company as CEO, and he supervises every phase of the diamond production process from his diamond cutting workshop in the heart of the Antwerp diamond district. Conny De Bruyne has also built up years of experience in the diamond sector, first as press agent and production coordinator for a major Indian diamond multinational. After five years, Conny decided to take her career in a commercial direction and became Sales Manager for Polished Diamonds at an American and a Lebanese diamond company successively. Ultimately, Conny De Bruyne also chose to become a self-employed diamond dealer, and together with Johan she heads their company Jocodiam Manufacturing. Now, too, Conny focuses primarily on her commercial skills, and is responsible for Sales & Marketing in addition to Human Resources.