Thursday, March 28, 2013

An Overview of the Diamond Trading Industry

Diamond is of one the rarest and hence one of the most precious gem. It has been loved and sought after everywhere around the world since the very early days. Today the diamond industry has become one of the largest and most profitable industries in the world market. Diamond trading hence has become a very profitable profession.

The diamond industry is primarily dependent upon the activities which take place in the diamond exchange market. It is undoubtedly the main reason for the distribution of diamonds.

At the top of the long chain of diamond supply is the process where the freshly mined diamonds are brought for sorting and distribution. The diamonds are graded according to various natural characteristics so that they can be sold according to their quality.

Popular world markets:

The world's most important diamond exchange is located at Tel Aviv, Israel. Other important exchanges are the New York exchange and the Antwerp exchange in Belgium.

Online markets:

The world market is again globally distributed through the various diamonds trading websites all over the net. They are equally responsible for the wholesale diamond trading.

Polishing:

They buy the rough sorted diamonds from the exchange in form of packets containing only a certain kind of diamonds. Then they either sell them to polishing and cutting industries or get them polished in order to sell it to other wholesale traders.

A very significant fact about diamond trading is that the polishing industry is largely located in Surat, India. Almost 92% of the world's diamonds are cut and polished there. Other important regions where the polishing of diamonds takes place are Amsterdam, Belgium and London. It is this final polishing that makes the diamond ready for retail.

The purchased wholesale diamond is then bought by the factories where they are polished to finally reach the costumer. The exchanges have great command over the sight-holders. The only people who prove to have large costumer networks are allowed to trade with the exchange.

The specialty about the diamond market is that it is largely centralized. The exchanges named above dominate most of the sight-holders and the wholesale market is dominated by a few companies like De Beers and its branches like the DTC. The fact that there is a large chain of traders between the exchange and the retailer makes the industry even more profitable.

The international borders association:

The boarders also play a very important role in the diamond industry. The international boarders association organizes the world diamond conference every year in order to monitor if the diamonds are used for funding the inhumane activities.

The international borders association is also responsible for checking the quality of diamonds which are being traded all around the world, although the price of the wholesale diamond is more or less decided by the exchanges and traders.

The diamond mines of the world are located majorly in Russia and hence it automatically becomes an important trading centre. Apart from them, there are some unauthorized mines as well, which in fact form a major part or the world diamond trade. This illegal trade has led to the decreased efficiency in the centralization of diamond trading. This trend has started since the 1990's.

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