Most gems are mined in one country and cut in another. Over six centuries the work has moved from Flanders to the Netherlands, then to India, Thailand and China, following cheap skilled labor, access to rough and the money that finances both. This section covers the major cutting centers and the gem regions that supply them.
Why cutting centers move
A cutting center needs three things close together: a supply of rough, workers who know how to polish it, and traders with the credit to buy stones months before they sell. When any of these shifts, the work tends to follow. A silted harbor, a war or a new mine on another continent has redrawn the map more than once.
The European diamond cities
Diamond polishing in Europe took hold in Bruges, the wealthy Flemish trading port, by the 15th century. When the city lost its sea access and its foreign merchants, the trade moved up the coast to Antwerp, which grew into the leading diamond market of the 16th century and, after a long gap, again from the late 1800s.
Amsterdam rose after 1585, when war cut Antwerp off from the sea and many merchants and cutters moved north. Sephardic Jewish families played a large part in its diamond trade, and Amsterdam cutters later split and polished the Cullinan. The story of how cutting styles changed in these workshops, from point cut to rose cut to brilliant, is told in the history of faceted gems.
Colored stone and hardstone traditions
Not all European cutting was diamond work. Renaissance workshops in Milan and Florence carved rock crystal, agate and jasper into vessels, cameos and inlaid panels, covered on the page about Renaissance gem cutters and engravers.
In Germany, Idar-Oberstein began with local agate polished on water-driven wheels. When its own deposits ran low, emigrants found agate in Brazil and shipped it home. The town became a center for colored stones of every kind and later for modern sculptural cuts.
India, Thailand and China
Since the 1960s and 1970s, Surat and other towns in Gujarat have taken over most of the world's diamond polishing by piece count, starting with small, low-priced rough that European workshops could not cut at a profit.
Jaipur in Rajasthan has been a colored stone center for centuries and is best known for emerald and for carved and bead work. Thailand, centered on Bangkok and Chanthaburi, became the main hub for heating and cutting ruby and sapphire. In China, a jade carving tradition thousands of years old now sits alongside large-scale diamond cutting and the mass production of synthetic and simulant stones in Wuzhou.
Gem regions that feed the cutters
The rough comes from a smaller set of famous regions. Each has its own geology and its own trading routes:
- Sri Lanka: gem gravels around Ratnapura, sapphire, padparadscha, cat's eye chrysoberyl and moonstone.
- Madagascar: the Ilakaka sapphire rush, tourmaline, morganite and labradorite.
- Afghanistan: Sar-e-Sang lapis lazuli, Panjshir emerald and Jegdalek ruby.
- Minas Gerais, Brazil: imperial topaz, aquamarine, tourmaline and historic diamonds.
For diamond-specific trade history, see Antwerp's diamond bourses and the diamond trade history page.
Frequently asked questions
Where are most diamonds cut today?
By number of stones, most of the world's diamonds have been cut in India, mainly in Surat in Gujarat, since the late 20th century. Antwerp, Tel Aviv, New York and Dubai remain trading centers, and some high-value stones are still cut there.
Why did diamond cutting leave Europe?
Labor cost was the main reason. Polishing small diamonds takes many hours of hand work, and Indian workshops could do it far more cheaply, starting with small rough that European firms had passed over.
Is Idar-Oberstein still a gem town?
Idar-Oberstein has a long reputation for colored stone cutting, engraving and gem trading, and it is home to gem museums and a gemological training tradition.