Most people imagine diamonds being cut in Antwerp, or perhaps Amsterdam - European diamond centres with centuries of history. The reality is that approximately 90% of the world's diamonds are cut and polished in one city: Surat, in the Indian state of Gujarat.
Surat processes everything from the smallest accent diamonds to significant commercial stones. Its diamond ecosystem employs hundreds of thousands of highly specialised workers. The level of skill developed there over decades is extraordinary - cutters who can assess a rough stone and determine the optimal cut by eye, workers who can handle stones so small they're measured in points rather than carats.
How did this happen? It started in the 1960s when the Palanpuri Jain community, who had traditionally worked in the diamond trade, began routing stones through India for cutting. Labour costs were lower. Skills developed. Volume increased. Infrastructure was built around it.
By the 1980s and 1990s, Surat had become indispensable. The technology improved. Laser cutting arrived. What began as a cost-saving measure became the foundation of the global diamond supply chain.
The Antwerp Diamond District still exists - especially for trading, larger stones, and specialist expertise. But the stone in many modern diamond rings has likely passed through Surat. It was assessed, cut, polished, and graded there, by hands you'll never know, in a city most customers never think about.
There's something worth pausing on: the craft behind jewellery often exists at a distance from the story told about it. We believe in making that story transparent - from the lab to the setting.
