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The Fascinating Trade in Diamonds
Trading in diamonds has always been a fascinating business, dating back centuries to the 4th century BC, to the mines and trade in India. Originally, diamonds were traded along the overland Silk and Spice Routes from India and the Far East to Venice; where they were cut and then sold throughout Europe. Venice was briefly the only diamond cutting centre outside of India. However, by the end of the Fourteenth Century Antwerp, Paris, Bruges and Amsterdam had replaced Venice as major cutting centres for diamonds. When Vasco Da Gama discovered a sea route around the Cape of Good Hope in 1499, a new, quicker and safer diamond route from India to Lisbon, and from there to Antwerp, was born.
India was the only source of diamonds until the discovery of diamonds in South Africa in 1866. The De Beers Diamond Company was founded shortly afterwards and dominated the diamonds industry until the early Twenty-First Century. Today, the industry has additional big players from Russia and Australia. Antwerp is still the major centre for the trade in diamonds with over 80% of rough diamonds and 50% of polished diamonds passing through the ‘bourse’ (diamond exchange). Business here still follows traditional lines, with deals being made with a handshake and cash.
We at Marlows, based in Birmingham’s two hundred year old Jewellery Quarter, respect these traditions and are proud to be part of the latest, fastest diamond route – the Internet Diamond Route. Browse our website and choose your diamond engagement rings and wedding bands in complete confidence, knowing that you are an important part of this fascinating, long-established trade.
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