Diamond & Jewelry News, Advice and Prices for Consumers
Diamond & Jewelry News, Advice and Prices for Consumers
September 21, 2010
Antwerp used to be the world capital of the diamond industry and I get the sense it isn't anymore. Though the entire diamond industry has suffered from huge losses last year I have a feeling Belgium is suffering the most, is this true. The diamond industry is clearly moving east, but how is the diamond industry in Belgium doing compared to other strong western diamond centers (US, Israel, etc)? Is it only a matter of time until diamonds aren't produced in Belgium anymore?
September 27, 2010
Well, in terms of diamond production surely things aren't going well for the diamond center of Antwerp. More and more diamonds are polished in India and China and unless Belgium becomes a third world country with extremely cheap labor, this trend is expected to continue in full speed. Still, when it comes to rough diamonds a big percentage of the world's stones is traded in Antwerp and with the historic vital connection between Antwerp and diamond mining, through the enormous influence and wealth of the De Beers group I don't see the day when Belgium isn't a prominent diamond trading center.
Concerning polished diamonds, about a half of the polished diamond which are traded in Antwerp are destined to be sold in the US, which means that the success of the Antwerp diamond trading center is heavily dependent on the strength of the US economy and the US consumer demand for diamond jewelry.
In the past year diamond export from Belgium to the US have dropped by about 10%. This is a troublesome fact, but this number isn't so high compared to the overall deceleration of diamond trading in 2009. Still, the latest stats are alarming since there's no clear idea whether the current balance of diamond trading, including the shift of diamond trading related activities from Belgium to India, China and Israel, would allow Belgium's diamond trading to firmly stand on its feet again.
September 27, 2010
In present days the Antwerp diamond market is comprised of about 7000 people who deal with diamonds directly and about 3-4 times more of working position which are indirectly connected to diamond trading, such as bankers, security guards and insurers. The decrease in the number of workers within this market didn't begin last year and not even in this decade. In the beginning of the 1970's Antwerp lost some of its power as a diamond trading center, when diamond polishers already encountered more rewarding markets in Tel Aviv and Dubai. From the epoch until now about 25,000 people have lost their job as a result of a reduction of the market size.
