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Collecting
Insights and Perspectives
As with the jewellery market in general, the diamond trade is expanding globally. The Flemish capital, Antwerp, has been the leading market for the world’s diamond trade for centuries. Merchants there handle 80% to 85% of the global rough-diamond trade through 1,500 retail and wholesale companies and exchanges. Just five streets in Antwerp had a turnover of $42 billion in 2007. Antwerp was once the capital for cutting and polishing as well but that has moved to cities like Mumbai and Dubai, which is poised to be the next world diamond hub. Dubai is a port franc surrounded by wealthy countries with an appetite for jewels and therefore a likely place to see more diamond trade.
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| Although there has historically been a demand for diamonds that exceeds supply, causing substantial increases in value, there is no guarantee that this will be the case in the future. Demand for diamonds of a particular type may be affected by regional or world trends and tastes. | |