The Shimmering Legacy of Antwerp’s Diamond District
Diamonds in Antwerp Today
Just off the central train station of Antwerp (which incidentally has been named World’s Most Beautiful Train Station several times) we find the S-shaped district known as the Diamond District. It is composed of three streets (Rijfstraat, Hoveniersstraat and Schupstraat) and houses a myriad of companies dedicated to the diamond industry, companies which do everything from Diamond Boiling (a method of cleaning the gems) to Gemstone Testing, from Diamond Cutting and Polishing to Diamond Photography and Imaging. Not to mention, of course, Diamond Trading (selling to businesses, to individuals and Import/Export).
On one corner of Hoveniersstraat is located the Diamond Bourse (Beurs van Diamanthandel), founded in 1904 and housing a magnificent trading hall, where the actual trading of diamonds took place for many decades and functioning today as a conference hall for events and seminars. The Bourse itself has been renovated into a modern complex with restaurant, cafeteria and 400 offices spanning eleven floors. It functions as the heart of the diamond district today. It is worth mentioning here that Antwerp in fact has four diamond exchanges, all located on the same block (Hoveniersstraat and Pelikaanstraat): besides the already mentioned Bourse, there is the Diamond Club of Antwerp, founded in 1892, the Antwerpsche Diamantkring (The Diamond Circle of Antwerp), founded in 1929, and finally the Vrije Diamanthandel (The Free Diamond Trade), founded in 1928.
This is in addition to the many diamond jewellery stores which are housed in the Central Station, and along many streets leading from the station into the city of Antwerp: the most famous among these are Pelikaanstraat, Vestingstraat and Appelmansstraat, besides the Keyserlei boulevard, which leads straight into the city center, via the popular shopping street, the Meir.
As mentioned, the companies composing the backdrop of the diamond trade in Antwerp are located in the three streets of the Diamond District. As mentioned, here you can find specialists in every area of the diamond trade. We can distinguish the diamond companies in three main areas:
- Diamond trading, import/export. These are dedicated to the selling and buying of both large diamonds (to businesses and individual clients) and smaller gemstones (mainly to jewellers, who use them to create jewels or set in watches)
- Diamond cutting and polishing. These companies have workshops where they either cut and polish rough diamonds, or repair and custom design gemstones.
- Diamond tools and services. Here I would group the companies which are dedicated to supplying the many tools and machines needed in diamond trading industry. These include microscopes for examining diamonds, testers which can instantly detect a synthetic diamond from a natural one, spectroscopes, refractometers, etc. In addition, we must mention the goldsmiths and diamond setters, which are responsible for creating the jewels. Also can be included here those specialized in diamond imaging (an important aspect in the business) and the associations dedicated to organizing trade fairs, workshops, etc. (such as the AWDC).
In conclusion, the good news for the individual consumer is that with a little background knowledge and a clear idea of the gemstone(s) you are looking for (see my Introduction and Buyer’s Guide), you will find a large number of companies that can help you with professional advice and with an ample supply of merchandise to select from.