Starting out in February 1987 with a small gemstone factory in Hong Kong and just five workers, the company added a gold factory with 50 workers in September the following year. It then built a 45,000 square-foot factory in Shantou in February 1990 with an investment of over $600,000. Eight years later, LJI invested more than $2 million to build a 50,000 square-foot facility, this time in Shenzhen. By January 2003, the company had consolidated its operations in its Shenzhen premises, which it has modernized and expanded to 100,000 square feet.

In April 1998, the company joined the ranks of the industry's biggest players with the launch of an Initial Public Offering on the Nasdaq. Since then it has seen sales achieving double-digit growth constantly.