“We buy our diamonds direct from the cutter in Antwerp” is a popular tagline these days in the retail industry. However, is Antwerp really the biggest and best place to buy diamonds?
The answer is of course, no. Beautiful diamonds can be found in any major cutting centres around the world, which currently include:
- India
- Antwerp
- Israel
- New York
Over the past five years, we have seen many diamond manufacturers in Antwerp, Israel and New York stripped of their DTC (De Beers) sightholder status, in favour of Indian firms, who are capable of manufacturing large amounts of diamonds at a very low cost.
Why then aren’t retailers advertising “We buy our diamonds direct from India”? Most likely, it’s because it’s not the best marketing message when trying to sell quality diamonds. Perhaps the Indian diamond industry can improve it’s image, although I find this highly unlikely as I imagine there are still a lot of teenagers who get off a bullock cart in Surat and start cutting diamonds.
So whilst it may be a great marketing message, I find it hard to believe that one can buy an entire year’s worth of stock on one trip, unless you’re either small or not selective. That said, the romantic message of a diamond from Antwerp still lives on:
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