Diamonds had been changing hands in Antwerp long before the Indians arrived. As long ago as the 15th century, Jewish diamond cutters have been faceting diamonds and traders have been selling them on Hovenierstraat – the heart of Antwerp’s diamond quarter.

The Indian connection began in the 1930s and 1940s, when the ruling Nawab of the small farming village of Palanpur in Gujarat state secretly encouraged his trustworthy Jain administrators to buy large diamonds from Antwerp for members of the Indian and Nepali royalty.

As the visits became more regular in the 1960s, the Indians closely observed the market and realised the enormous potential of a diamond-manufacturing industry based on small low-quality rough diamonds – which the Jewish dealers overlooked when they cut larger stones.

A fledgling industry developed and soon an entire community became involved in sorting and cutting small and beautiful sparklers, more affordable and opening up a whole new market.

In a way, Indians democratised the diamond, leading to a mutually beneficial marriage between mining giant De Beers and the Indians. “De Beers didn’t follow the European attitude of generalising problems in the third world,” says Dilip Mehta, CEO of Rosy Blue, an Indian diamond company that moved to Antwerp in 1973.

Rosy Blue was one of the first ten Indian companies to secure a sight or a contract to buy rough diamonds directly from De Beers and gain the prestige of being a De Beers sight holder in 1969. Today it is the largest diamond company in the world, operating in over 15 countries with more than 100,000 employees.

The Indian diamond community in Antwerp started as a handful of Gujarati families, but expanded to 300 in the 1970s when a wave of Indians, encouraged by Belgium’s lenient immigration laws, settled in the city. They spotted a golden opportunity at the time, following a crash in the global diamond market that left many of Antwerp’s traditional traders shaken.

“At that time, confidence in the market was completely lost,” recalls Kaushik Mehta, managing Director of Eurostar. He spotted an opportunity before the crash and opened a diamond-polishing plant on the outskirts of Antwerp. “Many companies and factories were closing down,” he said. “It was a very risky venture for us to be taking.”

India’s largest export

Antwerp is now home to some 500 Indian families directly involved in the diamond trade. The sector is currently worth €26 billion, representing 8% of Belgium’s exports and employing 30,000 people.

The port city is a multicultural melting pot of the diamond business, and is home not only to Indians and Jews, but also Chinese, Japanese, Lebanese and African communities.

As diamond cutting has shifted to cost- effective centres in India, some 1,000 cutters remain in Antwerp out of a diamond- polishing industry that employed 25,000 in the 1970s.

Indian economic might now spans the globe from India to the US, and Surat in Gujarat state is now the world’s diamond-cutting capital. Meanwhile, diamonds have become India’s largest export. Indian companies have now expanded into manufacturing larger stones measuring up to five carats.

They have set up polishing and manufacturing facilities in countries ranging from China and Thailand to South Africa and Russia.

Despite their meteoric rise, Indians have not forgotten the salient traditions of the business; they still seal multi-million dollar deals with a simple handshake and the Jewish word mazal – a custom picked up from their Jewish counterparts.

Chetan Choksi, managing director of Diminco says: “The Indian community has been part of the Jewish business and vice versa. We are both from conservative religions and have similar cultural and traditionalvalues.”

Trust is intrinsic in an industry where packets of diamonds worth millions are transported across the world. This requires a large family network to keep the businesses operating.

“The most trustworthy counterparty is definitely a family member,” says Choksi. “The Indian community consists of large, hard-working international families that are not afraid to adapt and are very flexible,” says Freddy Hanard, CEO of the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC, the industry’s main representative body). “They live according to the ‘one pocket principle’, which basically means they all work to benefit the family.”

For Indians, Antwerp represents a stable, secure and transparent one-stop shop for conducting their business activities. The city is essentially the world’s main rough- diamond trading centre where all the major diamond-mining companies are present. The diamond-mining giant De Beers, which controls around one-half of the world’s diamond market share, has an office here, along with other major companies such as Rio Tinto, BHP and Alrosa.

At present, over 80% of the world’s rough diamonds and 50% of polished diamonds pass through the port city. The fortified pedestrian streets in the diamond district, close to Central Station, are home to 1,800 companies, four diamond exchanges, and a highly respected and credible diamond- grading facility.

Also present are two specialised banks which finance the trade – ABN Amro and the Antwerp Diamond Bank – along with strong government institutions like the AWDC. Indian banks such as State Bank of India, ICICI and Bank of India have also set up in Antwerp to cater to the growing financial needs of Indian businesses.

One crucial factor is the unflinching support of the Belgian government, which has led to the Indian community becoming strongly embedded in the diamond landscape.

In May 2006, diamond dealers from India gained a historic political victory when they won five out of 12 seats on the board of the diamond industry’s key government organisation – formerly known as the Diamond High Council (HRD), and now part of the AWDC. This effectively broke the monopoly position that Jewish traders had exercised on the board for many centuries.

A place to call home

They may lead global lifestyles that take them to the four corners of the world, but the Indian community see Antwerp as home – while many have even adopted Belgian nationality out of choice.

In order to give back to the city that offered them a world of opportunity, the community has invested in social projects in local schools and hospitals.

“Over the past ten to 15 years, more children from the Indian community have studied at Flemish schools, and this brings the language and culture into your home,” says Vijay Goel of the Antwerp Indian Association (AIA).

The AIA is a cultural organisation that helps to facilitate integration into the Belgian community. At the same time, it infuses the community with Indian cultural events all year round – with Indian cricket tournaments forming the highlight of the calendar.

But the community’s largest contribution to Belgium is the construction of a Jain Temple in the suburb of Wilrijk – where many Indians live. This massive project – an undertaking of the Jain Cultural Centre of Antwerp – is due to open this August. It is already considered the best Jain Temple outside India in terms of craftsmanship.

According to Marc Huybrechts, Honorary Consul General for India: “The Jain temple will be a tourist attraction and convey the values of the Indian community – non-violence and respect for others.”