Israel Diamond Exchange Ltd., located in the

Tel Aviv District The Tel Aviv District (; ) is the geographically smallest yet also the most densely populated of the six administrative districts of Israel, with a population of 1.35 million residents. It is 98.9% Jewish and 1.10% Arab (0.7% Muslim, 0.4% Chris ...

city of

Ramat Gan Ramat Gan (, ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv, and is part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area. It is home to a Diamond Exchange District (one of the world's major diamond exch ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, is the world's largest diamond exchange and the centre of Israel's diamond industry. The exchange is a private company that incorporates about 3100 members; these diamantaires are engaged in

diamond cutting Diamond cutting is the practice of shaping a Diamond (gemstone), diamond from a rough stone into a faceted gem. Cutting diamonds requires specialized knowledge, tools, equipment, and techniques because of its extreme difficulty. The first guild ...

and

trading Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market (economics), market. Traders generally negotiate throu ...

- marketing, brokerage, import and export. The exchange operates from a complex of four buildings in area known as the

Diamond Exchange District The Diamond Exchange District (Hebrew: מִתְחַם הַבּוּרְסָה, ''Mitham HaBursa'', lit. "The Exchange District") is a diamond district and commercial area in Ramat Gan, a city located in the Tel Aviv District, Israel. The district ...

; the buildings are connected by bridges creating one complex, which contains the world's largest diamond trading floor; consisting of 1000 office rooms, restaurants, banks, post, and package delivery services.

History

The first

facility was opened in 1937 (Mandatory Palestine at the time), in Petach Tikva by two cousins Asher Anshel Daskal and Zvi Rosenberg professional diamantaires trained in Antwerp, originally from Romania during the British Mandate. The industry grew over the next seven years, but between 1944 and 1948 it suffered from the increasing lawlessness and in February 1948 closed down completely, with seemingly little chance of recovery. After a new start and renewed growth, by the 1960s a

trade association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific Industry (economics), industry. Through collabor ...

was established, which later evolved into the Diamond Exchange. From 1967 to 1993

Moshe Schnitzer Moshe Schnitzer (; 1921 – August 16, 2007) was a Romanian Jewish immigrant to Israel who became a key player in the international diamond trade. From 1967 to 1993 he was President of the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE), which became the world's la ...

was President of the IDE, which grew rapidly under his direction. Exports of polished diamonds from Israel during this period increased from $200 million to $3.4 billion a year. In 1968, the first building in the complex was opened: the 22-story Shimshon Tower, at the time one of the tallest buildings in Israel. During the 1980s, the Maccabi Tower and Noam Tower were constructed and in 1992 the tallest building in the complex was opened, the 32-story

Diamond Tower The Diamond Tower is a skyscraper located in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel, containing the world's largest diamond trading hall, accommodating up to 1,000 people. At 115 meters and 32 floors, the tower was the tallest building ...

Trading

For many years the supply of rough diamonds was dominated by the

Diamond Trading Company The Diamond Trading Company (DTC) is the rough diamond sales and distribution arm of the De Beers Group. The DTC sorts, values and sells about 35% of the world’s rough diamonds by value. The DTC has a combination of wholly owned and joint vent ...

Sightholders The De Beers Group is a South African–British corporation that specializes in the diamond industry, including mining, exploitation, retail, inscription, grading, trading and industrial diamond manufacturing. The company is active in open-pi ...

, a selected group authorised bulk purchasers of rough diamonds (which includes also about 10 Israeli diamantaires, controlled by the

De Beers Group The De Beers Group is a South African–British corporation that specializes in the diamond industry, including mining, exploitation, retail, inscription, grading, trading and industrial diamond manufacturing. The company is active in open-pi ...

, the single largest producer and purveyor of rough diamonds in the world.About DTC Sightholders
/ref> During the 1990s the stronghold of

was weakened by diamond traders who engage directly with diamond producers in Russia and Africa.

References

External links

Israel Diamond Exchange
{{Authority control Companies based in Ramat Gan Diamond exchanges Diamond cutting Diamond industry in Israel

History

Trading

See also

References

External links