M. Lazare Kaplan — A Variant Spelling of the Lazare Kaplan Name
M. Lazare Kaplan — A Variant Spelling of the Lazare Kaplan Name
An archival typographical variant; the canonical name is Lazare Kaplan
The form "M. Lazare Kaplan" is an occasional variant spelling found in older press references, archival catalogues, and informal trade communications referring to Lazare Kaplan, the Belgian-born diamond cutter and founder of the New York firm Lazare Kaplan International. The "M." prefix does not appear in the company's own corporate records, in its trademark registrations, or in the established biographical sources on Lazare Kaplan as an individual. Where the form appears, it almost certainly represents a typographical, transcription, or initial-attribution variation rather than a separate entity or alternate authorised name.
The canonical name
Lazare Kaplan (1883–1986) was born in Tauroggen in what was then the Russian Empire (now Tauragė, Lithuania) and trained in the Antwerp diamond-cutting trade. He emigrated to the United States in the early 1900s and founded Lazare Kaplan & Sons in New York in 1903. The firm became one of the most influential American diamond-cutting houses of the twentieth century, particularly known for advancing precision-cut round brilliant diamonds based on the proportional analysis of Marcel Tolkowsky's 1919 thesis.
Lazare Kaplan International, the publicly listed successor company, has operated under that name throughout its modern history. The firm pioneered laser inscription of diamonds in the late 1980s, marking individual stones with serial numbers visible only under magnification, and licensed the technology widely through the trade.
Origin of the variant
Variant spellings and initial-attribution forms of widely cited names are common in archival material, particularly where original sources have been transcribed across publications and language conventions over a long period. The "M." prefix in "M. Lazare Kaplan" is most likely a transcription artefact — possibly a misreading of an original handwritten or stylised company logo, or an adoption of European naming conventions that include a courtesy initial (Monsieur, Mister) before the proper name in formal contexts.
The variant has no significance as a distinct trademark or corporate entity and should be treated as equivalent to the canonical Lazare Kaplan name in research and citation.
Citation guidance
For research, trade attribution, and citation purposes, the correct form is Lazare Kaplan (for the individual) or Lazare Kaplan International (for the company). The variant "M. Lazare Kaplan" should be flagged as an archival or transcription form and the canonical name should be substituted in any new published material.