Antwerp Diamond Dealer

 

Are diamonds eternal? While it is true that the mines are becoming rarer, diamonds have stood the test of time without altering the inspiration and fascination they have held for nearly 3000 years.

 

With a history of more than six centuries of diamond production, Antwerp remains the world's leading diamond center, despite recent competition from Asia and the Middle East. No less than 1,700 diamond companies and 4,500 diamond dealers make the Flemish city shine all over the world, making it the "Diamond of Flanders".

 

Want to buy a diamond in Antwerp? The diamond district is the ideal place to buy, sell, sort, cut and polish the most beautiful diamonds in the world. Located right next to the central station, the famous district covers about one square kilometer and consists of five streets, three of which are off-limits to traffic and form the heart of the business. These are Rijfstraat, Hoveniersstraat and Schupstraat. Here you will see the diamond dealers, one next to the other, trading. Thousands of diamonds are bought in this area and shipped all over the world.

Contact i-diamants.com, online sales platform, managed by a family of diamond dealers in Antwerp since 1888

 

i-diamants.com is an online store exclusively dedicated to diamonds and jewelry that enhances their unique and radiant beauty. Our family has been developing its know-how and maintaining tradition for four generations. We are present in Antwerp, Paris, Nice and, since 1999, we have a visibility on the net thanks to our platform. On i-diamants.com, we proudly display our most beautiful diamonds, our favorites, and our selection of the moment. All our creations are custom made by our jewelers in our workshops in Nice and Paris. Thanks to i-diamants.com, you can order the diamond jewel of your dreams, we deliver worldwide. All our diamonds are GIA, HRD and IGI certified and come with a money back guarantee. If you have any questions, or need information, you can contact us easily when it suits you, we are extremely responsive to bring you the best of answers. Indeed, we are diamond manufacturers and surrounded by jewelers, and we handle our own customer service.

Send us an email at info@i-diamants.com, or call us at +33 (0)4 22 45 08 70

Make an appointment via i-diamants.com with a diamond dealer in Antwerp

 

Would you like a physical appointment with a diamond dealer? You have the possibility to meet one of our diamond experts in Antwerp, Paris or Nice through i-diamants.com. Your satisfaction is our priority, we will be pleased to receive you quickly and to accompany you in all your reflections until the final choice of your diamond.

 

How does one become a diamond dealer? There are only a few diamond dealers in the world, and Antwerp is their capital. Since the 15th century, Antwerp's diamond merchants have built their prestigious reputation thanks to their knowledge of the diamond industry and their expertise in the selection of rough stones, which they transform into dazzling jewels that are prized the world over. The exciting profession of diamond maker requires exceptional manual skills. These craftsmen, experts in their field, work the rough diamond, cutting it according to techniques that require precision and technicality. A diamond cutter has the extraordinary art of decoding the stone to reveal its soul, to pierce all its mysteries in order to make them readable to the public. In the end, they present a cut stone with multiple facets of pure and brilliant beauty, which arouses an unequalled emotion when admired.

With the growth of world trade, diamond dealers have also had to adapt to the evolution of the diamond market, associated with communication and marketing techniques, especially digital.

The purchase and trading of rough diamonds

 

The Diamond Trading Company DTC

There are three ways to obtain rough diamonds. The first is to buy them from the Diamond Trading Company DTC. This legendary company in the history of the diamond industry restricts its access to a few lucky diamond dealers with elitist financial capabilities.

The "Outside" Market

This market is beyond the control of the DTC. It is made up of a few industrial, semi-industrial or artisanal rough diamond mining companies, as well as buying houses in African producing countries. Trading is conducted by an expert.

Diamond exchanges

More than half of the international trade in rough diamonds takes place in Antwerp, where the famous diamond district contains no less than four diamond bourses. Each of them specializes in the trade of rough or cut diamonds, and sometimes both. Other major diamond exchanges are located in New York, London, Mumbai and Tel Aviv. The safest way to negotiate the purchase of rough diamonds in Antwerp is through a diamond broker or diamond dealer. These exchanges also have strict entry requirements, but are more affordable than the DTC membership requirements. A good knowledge of the diamond trade and the expertise of a diamond dealer are essential to complete a purchase in good conditions.

Cutting rough diamonds into cut diamonds

 

The diamond cutter will use his art to give the rough diamond its brilliance, beauty and magnificence. For that, he will proceed in several stages, the first being the observation.

 

•     The observation

The rigorous examination of the diamond will allow the diamond cutter to define the cleavage planes, and to decide on its size. The diamond cutter's eye is his first tool.

 

•     The cleavage

The cleavage is an operation which consists in separating the diamond in two, by respecting the cleavage planes. These are always parallel to one of the faces of the stone. The operation is delicate; indeed, the diamond, despite its hardness, can shatter during the cleavage. The stone is placed in a vice, the diamond cutter digs a slight notch on the chosen cleavage plane. Then he introduces a steel blade and strikes with a sharp blow: the diamond divides into two parts, revealing a new, absolutely flat surface on each of them, similar to a polished surface.

 

•     Sawing

Sawing, less risky than cleaving, also splits the diamond in two; however, given the risks involved with cleaving, it is more widespread. The advantage of sawing is that the tips of the diamonds can be kept, so the diamond can be split in a non-cleavable plane, which is not possible with cleaving. There are two systems of sawing: one requires the use of a metal disc coated with diamond powder and oil. The other system is laser sawing, which allows cutting when sawing is not possible.

 

•     The deburring

The deburring phase of the diamond is, in a way, the preliminary operation to its cutting; it rounds the stone's belt, outlines its shape, and prepares it for cutting. To carry out this step, the diamond cutter uses a deburring machine, which can be compared to a precision lathe: the diamond is set on a deburring shaft which rotates at a speed of about 1700 rpm; opposite, in the mandrel, another diamond is set; its friction on the stone to be cut will round off the angles and edges, and present a rough outline of the final shape.

 

•     Faceting

In this step, the diamond cutter will create the diamond's facets and will determine the symmetry criteria. The diamond to be faceted is presented on the surface of a disc coated with a mixture of diamond powder and oil, which rotates at approximately 4,000 rpm until the facet is formed. The diamond cutter chooses the inclination of the facets so that they reflect a maximum of light. This phase is essential and influences the final value of the diamond. Today, this operation is carried out with the help of computers.

 

•     Polishing

Finally, the last step consists of polishing the diamond and is done at the same workstation as faceting. The diamond is rubbed with a softer abrasive until it is completely polished.

The cut diamond trade

 

The cut diamond business is different from the rough diamond business. Yet, one might think that they are linked and that the cut diamond market would be a logical extension of the rough diamond market; this is not the case. On the contrary, there are important factors that cause imbalances. One such factor is the existence of an oligopoly among diamond mining companies, which are very few in number and have a monopoly on supply over a large number of buyers.

 

When considering the demand for a diamond cut and mounted on a piece of jewelry, other criteria must be taken into account in calculating its value, such as the exchange rate, the color, purity and shape of the diamond, the work of the diamond cutter and, of course, the reputation of the brand that sells the jewelry.

 

Historians estimate the advent of diamond trading in India in the 4th century BC. At that time, trade by land between ancient Rome and India was carried out between Anatolia and Persia and was very limited; as a result, diamonds were a luxury reserved for rich Indian families. In the first century, the development of maritime routes through the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean and the expansion of the Silk Road allowed the diamond trade to flourish. The first diamonds thus made their appearance in Europe. In the 9th century, they were often exchanged for horses, silk, spices, etc.

The origin of Antwerp as a world diamond center

 

In the 15th century, Antwerp became an important center of commercial transit between India and Europe; the first rough diamonds from India arrived in the Antwerp region. They quickly became the most sought-after jewels of the European rich. The diamond trade intensified thanks to the prestigious reputation of Antwerp's specialized merchants.

 

In the 18th century, diamond resources in India became scarce and other deposits were discovered in Brazil. Trade exploded with the discovery of a deposit in South Africa in 1866. It wasn't until 1886 that diamonds really abounded on the tables of the Flora café in Antwerp: this was the beginning of the fabulous history of Antwerp diamonds.

The diamond communities in Antwerp: Flemish, Jewish, Indian, Lebanese, etc.

 

Several communities share the Diamantaires district in Antwerp, the two main ones being the Indians and the Jews. The Jewish community has been present here since the 15th century, while the Indian community has only recently moved in, in the 1970s, and has taken over the market from the Jews, who ruled the diamond trade with the Armenians and the Maronite Christians from Lebanon. The Indians now control a large part of the diamond chain, from mining to retailing.

The international competition and the other diamond strongholds in the world: Tel Aviv, New York, Bombay, Hong Kong

 

During World War II, Jews left Antwerp for New York and Tel Aviv. At the end of the war, they stayed and resumed their diamond business, making Tel Aviv the second largest diamond trading center after Antwerp.

 

Recently, India has reappeared on this market. Since the diamond district in Bombay moved into its new stock exchange in 2010, Indian diamond dealers have made no secret of their goal to dethrone Antwerp and become the world's leading diamond dealer.

 

Since 2005, competition has also come from Dubai, Shanghai and Hong Kong, which have become international diamond trading centers.

 

In 2018, Antwerp diamond dealers traded $46 billion worth of rough diamonds (46% of the world market) or polished diamonds (50% of the world market).