| Israel's
prominence in diamond manufacture and trade is well-known. Ramat
Gan, a complex of four high-rise buildings, located in Tel Aviv
is the hub of Israel's lucrative diamond industry. The Indian
diamond community is now in the top league of the Israel's business
elite and has established a secure global network which has
begun to call the shots in the world of small diamonds.
Out of the total sales of rough diamonds worth about $8
billion, stones worth $5.6 billion are purchased by Palanpuri
Gujaratis. The turnover by Indians in Israel is around $1
billion annually.
The bulk of the procurement is done in Antwerp by around
300 Gujarati families who reside there. Most of them, besides
in Tel Aviv, Antwerp and Mumbai, have offices in Bangkok and
New York.
An Indian hold in Israel is important as Israel is the key
center for buying rough diamonds from Africa and Russia.
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Besides, Tel Aviv offers the cheapest option to buy these
diamonds from these centers.
Tel Aviv is one of the major centers for "mixing" diamonds.
With India acquiring an assured market niche for inexpensive
but quality diamonds, Israeli merchants find it advantageous
to pass on some of their relatively more expensive products
to Indian market strongholds, especially in South and South-East
Asia. The vice versa is equally true because of the Jewish
networking in prominent pockets of the high-end market in
Europe.
The
secret of India's diamond boom lies in the Gujarati work culture
and the availability of cheap labour in India. Rough stones
procured across the globe are mainly polished in Mumbai, Surat
and Bhavnagar.
Incidentally,
India is one of the fastest growing markets for diamonds,
absorbing around 70 per cent of small diamond sales.
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