Antwerp diamond district

51°12′52″N 4°25′06″E / 51.214509°N 4.4182508°E / 51.214509; 4.4182508

Diamond shops

Antwerp's diamond district, also known as the Diamond Quarter (Diamantkwartier), and dubbed the Square Mile,[1] is an area within the city of Antwerp, Belgium. It consists of several square blocks covering an area of about one square mile. While as of 2012, much of the gem cutting and polishing work historically done in the neighborhood had moved to low wage centers elsewhere, about 84% of the world's rough diamonds passed through the district, making it the largest diamond district in the world with a turnover of 54 billion dollars.[2] Each year, approximately 50% of the rough diamonds return to Antwerp for cutting and polishing.[3]

Over $16 billion in polished diamonds pass through the district's exchanges each year. There are 380 workshops that serve 1,500 companies. There are also 3,500 brokers, merchants and diamond cutters. In 2017, roughly 234 million carats were traded in the district, an area with a workforce of 30,000 people. Over 80% of rough diamonds were purchased in Antwerp.[4]

Within the area is the Antwerp World Diamond Centre, and four trading exchanges[5] including the Diamond Club of Antwerp and the Beurs voor Diamanthandel, both of which were founded by Hasidic diamantaires,[6] the Antwerpsche Diamantkring and the Vrije Diamanthandel.[7]

The neighborhood is dominated by Jewish, Jain Indians, Maronites Christian Lebanese and Armenian dealers, known as diamantaires.[8][9] More than 80% of Antwerp's Jewish population works in the diamond trade; Yiddish was, historically, a main language of the diamond exchange.[10] No business is conducted on Saturdays.[11]

  1. ^ Organized Crime: Culture, Markets and Policies By J. M. Nelen, p90
  2. ^ Tagliabue, John (November 5, 2012). "An Industry Struggles to Keep Its Luster". The New York Times.
  3. ^ "The diamond people: How Antwerp became a world leader". Flanders Today. 25 June 2020. Archived from the original on 6 October 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020. Antwerp is the capital when it comes to diamonds. There are a lot of cities that would like to call themselves the diamond capital, but there is only one.
  4. ^ Garcia-Carballido, Carmen (5 July 2018). "An Afternoon in Antwerp's Historic Diamond District". The Gemmological Association of Great Britain.
  5. ^ Minerals Yearbook 2008: Area Reports, International, Europe and Central Eurasia, Volume 3, By Interior Department (COR)
  6. ^ "The Diamond Trade: Diamond Bourses of Antwerp". Allaboutgemstones.com. Archived from the original on August 23, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. ^ The industry | Antwerp World Diamond Centre Archived 2015-06-26 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Antwerp Diamond District. Virtual Globetrotting (2007-03-31). Retrieved on 2011-06-02.
  9. ^ Recession takes the sparkle out of Antwerp's diamond quarter | World news. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2011-06-02.
  10. ^ Jewish Quarter and Diamond Quarter - Antwerp, Belgium. Sacred-destinations.com. Retrieved on 2011-06-02.
  11. ^ Frank, Ben G. (1992). A travel guide to Jewish Europe. Pelican Publishing. p. 311. ISBN 9781455613298.