Historical Gem Cutting Regions: Antwerp, The Diamond City
Antwerp's Diamond Industry
Article Copyright © 2010 AllAboutGemstones.com
Antwerp, located on the Scheldt river in Belgium, has been the on-again, off-again center of diamond trade (diamanthandel) for over 500 years, being temporarily displaced by Bruges and Amsterdam in the 17th through 18th centuries. The history of diamond cutting in Antwerp dates back to the early 1500s, but when the Spanish took control of the city in 1585, most of Antwerp's Jewish diamond cutters fled to Amsterdam, halting diamond production.
The "Peace of Westphalia" (Münster and Osnabrück) in 1648 ended the Thirty Years' War, and made it possible for some of the Jews to return to Antwerp, but they were still potential targets of the Inquisition [2]. During the 1700s, Amsterdam still supplied Antwerp with rough diamonds from India, but the Dutch kept the better stones for their own cutters, leaving the craftsmen of Antwerp to work with second-rate raw material. This led to new cutting and polishing innovations, in order to extract the most beauty out of the inferior rough diamonds.
Antwerp c. 1815 |
|
|
By the end of the Napoleonic wars in 1815, Antwerp was incorporated into the Netherlands. All religious groups were granted equality, and the Jewish community of Antwerp was officially re-established in 1816. Antwerp's Hasidim diamantairs opened their first formal diamond trading exchange (Bourses) in 1863 [10].
By the mid 19th century, the diamond trade was expanding rapidly, and with the discovery of the South African Kimberley diamond fields in 1871 (the Cape Period), Antwerp was able to reclaim its leadership roll in the world diamond market after its 300 year hiatus [4].
Diamond Cutters in Antwerp c. 1906 |
|
Diamond Bourse c. 1904 |
During WWI's "Siege of Antwerp" in 1914, war took its toll yet again, when the "Fort of Antwerp" consisting of the outer and inner ring of the city were breeched (map, above) and the German army occupied the city until its liberation 1918.
Again Antwerp's future seemed bright, hosting both the 1920 Summer Olympics (poster, above), and at the 1930 World Expo, the diamond industry figured prominently. Famous architects such as Henry van de Velde and Le Corbusier were commissioned to transform Antwerp's skyline into a gleaming postmodernist metropolis.
Antwerp's diamond industry flourished until the American great-depression began to wash over Europe in the early 1930s. As the depression deepened, demand for diamonds and other luxury goods went into a free-fall, and by 1934 De Beers began to stockpile diamonds, restricting supply in order to stabilize pricing [6]. As the situation worsened, the Antwerp and Amsterdam diamond exchanges cut production by 50% to limit overcapacity. Factories and trading centers were forced to severely limit operations, cutting work-hours or eliminating jobs for some 25,000 workers [5].
1920 Summer Olympics, Antwerp City Map c.1814 |
|
Postcard of Guild Houses c. 1930 |
By the end of the 1930s, the diamond industry saw a modest resurgence due to speculators looking for "safe" investments in tangible commodities that were highly portable, and had a fairly stable value. Despite this brief resurgence, Antwerp's good fortunes would be short lived.
By 1940, up to 80% of Antwerp's Jews were involved in the diamond trade. With the onset of World War II in 1939, Antwerp's diamantairs could see the writing on the wall, and many took the opportunity to flee to Cuba, England, Palestine, Portugal, and the USA, taking as many stones as they could (up to 90% by German estimates), to prevent them from falling into German hands [7].
The Correspondence Office for (the) Diamond Industry (COFDI) was created by two intrepid diamantairs, Romi Goldmuntz and Herman Schamisso, along with the help of Antwerp's mayor, Camille Huysmans, and the British government. The COFDI registered and stored the transfered diamonds until the war ended. Jewish diamond cutters and merchants that did not flee met their fates at the hands of the Nazis.
Expatriate Jewish diamantairs set up Bourses (bourse van de diamant) in Tel Aviv and Ramat Gan, Palestine at the Israel Diamond Exchange (est. in 1930), and in New York City at the Diamond Dealers Club which was established in 1931.
Antwerp's Guild Houses Built c. 1580 |
|
Diamantmuseum Antwerpen, Belgian Stamp |
De Beers' New York advertising agency, N.W. Ayer & Son (founder of the "A diamond is forever" slogan) launched a series of advertising press releases like "Diamond, King of Gems, Reigns Supreme Despite War" and "Diamond Supply Unhurt by War," to ward off panic selling [8].
When Antwerp was finally liberated on September 4th 1944, fewer than 5,000 of its original 35,000+ Jewish inhabitants survived. As Antwerp was slowly repatriated, the 'Correspondence Office for the Diamond Industry' began to return the hidden diamonds to their rightful owners, and Antwerp's diamond industry started to rebuild itself from the ashes of WWII.
Today, Antwerp remains a global powerhouse in the diamond trade. With the thriving diamond Bourses containing some 1500 diamantairs, almost 85% of the world's rough diamonds, and about half of the polished diamonds (est. $16 billion US), pass through Antwerp every year [11]. There are approximately 4,000 people working in Antwerp's diamond-cutting industry.
The 'Belgian Polished Diamond Dealers Association' (BVGD) was set up as an industry association, and to lobby to facilitate and promote the Belgian diamond trade. The BVGD works in conjunction with the Diamond High Council (HRD or Hoge Raad voor Diamant).
On February 16, 2003, the famed 'Antwerp Diamond Center' was robbed by thieves breaking into 100s of vaults to steal more than $100 million in diamonds and gems, making it one of the largest heists in Belgium's history. Although some of the thieves have been caught, none of the stolen diamonds have been recovered.
On October 9, 2006, the "Lesotho Promise," the largest raw diamond found in the last thirteen years (603 carats), sold for $12.36 million at the Antwerp Diamond Center [12].
On To:
Antwerp's Diamond Bourses
Antwerp Hotels
Bibliography on Antwerp's Diamond Industry
1. Victoria Finlay, Jewels: A Secret History  . Ballantine Books
2. Beth Hatefutsoth, The Jewish Community of Antwerp . www.bh.org
3. Francesco Guerrera, Andrew Parke, The Changing Face of the Diamond Industry . specials.ft.com
4. Joods Historisch Museum, Amsterdam's Boas Diamond Factory . www.jhm.nl
5. FCIT, Washington Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets . fcit.usf.edu
6. Malcom Surry, The Diamond Wars . cargonewsasia.com
7. Diamond Land, Antwerp's Diamond History - The ANDB . www.diamondland.be
8. Edward Jay Epstein, The Diamond Invention . www.edwardjayepstein.com
9. Nationaal Vakbondsmuseum, Amsterdam Monumenten - The ANDB . www.bma.amsterdam.nl
10. Diamond Direct, Antwerpen, Centrum Van de Diamanthandel . www.diamantdirect.nl
11. Int. Herald Tribune, Charles Goldsmith , Antwerp Diamonds Lose Cutting Edge . www.iht.com
12. HRD, HRD Diamond High Council . www.hrd.be
13. Gassan's, Gassan Diamonds of Amsterdam . www.gassandiamonds.nl
14. BVDG, Belgische Vereniging van Handelaars in Geslepen Diamant . www.bvgd.be
15. Diamonds of Stamps . www.diamondsonstamps.be
|
