Antwerp's diamond district, also known as the Diamond Quarter (''Diamantkwartier''), and dubbed the Square Mile, is an area within the city of

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. 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

diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...

s passed through the district, making it the largest diamond district in the world with a turnover of 54 billion dollars. Each year, approximately 50% of the rough diamonds return to Antwerp for cutting and polishing. 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. Within the area is the '' Antwerp World Diamond Centre'', and four trading exchanges including the Diamond Club of Antwerp and the '' Beurs voor Diamanthandel'', both of which were founded by

Hasidic Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most of those aff ...

diamantaire A diamantaire (''French origin'') could be a gem-quality diamond manufacturer or producer, master diamond cutter, and or a graduate gemologist specializing in diamonds. Such individuals demonstrate considerable expertise in different types of g ...

s, the Antwerpsche Diamantkring and the Vrije Diamanthandel. The neighborhood is dominated by

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, Jain Indians,

Maronites Maronites (; ) are a Syriac Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant (particularly Lebanon) whose members belong to the Maronite Church. The largest concentration has traditionally resided near Mount ...

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, Lebanese and

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

dealers, known as diamantaires.Antwerp Diamond District
Virtual Globetrotting (2007-03-31). Retrieved on 2011-06-02. More than 80% of Antwerp's

population works in the diamond trade;

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

was, historically, a main language of the diamond exchange. No business is conducted on Saturdays.

Location

The diamond district is located adjacent to the Central Station (Antwerp Centraal) and a few minutes' walk to Meir, Antwerp's main shopping street. The

Antwerp Zoo Antwerp Zoo () is a zoo in the centre of Antwerp, Belgium, located next to the Antwerpen-Centraal railway station. It is the oldest animal park in the country, and one of the oldest in the world, established on 21 July 1843. History Since its ...

is also nearby. There are numerous and various restaurants, bars and cafes around the district.

History

Antwerp has been a focus of the diamond trade since the 15th century. The industry was transformed when Lodewyk van Berken invented a new form of diamond polishing tool, the '' scaif'', which enabled the creation of the stereotypical sparkling, multifaceted diamond. This attracted orders from European nobility - and attracted other craftsmen to Antwerp.

Charles the Bold Charles Martin (10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), called the Bold, was the last duke of Burgundy from the House of Valois-Burgundy, ruling from 1467 to 1477. He was the only surviving legitimate son of Philip the Good and his third wife, ...

commissioned him to cut and polish the Florentine Diamond. In the 1890s a diamond industry was established in Antwerp by families of diamonds traders and manufacturers who came from Amsterdam, Netherlands. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the city's mayor encouraged Jews to return to Antwerp and many did so, including some who were working in the diamond trade. That helped to boost the industry. There was a subsequent decline however, starting in the 1960s, when some of the polishing business moved to India because of lower labour costs. Subsequently, some of the cutting business also moved to that country. A 2019 research study stated that India continued to dominate the cutting and polishing industry. In February 2003, thieves stole loose

diamonds Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of electricity, and insol ...

, gold, silver and other types of jewelry valued at more than $100 million in the Antwerp diamond heist, also known as the "heist of the century." The industry has avoided the 2022 European sanctions against Russia although the imports from Alrosa have diminished. If banned, the Antwerp World Diamond Centre claims 10,000 jobs would be at risk.

References

External links

Map of district
{{Authority control Populated places in Antwerp Diamond industry in Belgium Jewellery districts Indian diaspora in Europe Jews and Judaism in Antwerp Armenian diaspora Geography of Antwerp Lebanese diaspora Shopping districts and streets in Belgium

Location

History

See also

References

External links