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Surat, which polishes almost more than 95 per cent of the world's diamonds, is poised to become the assorting and trading hub for the precious jewel stone in the next 3-4 years.
"Surat has all the potential of becoming the hub for direct trading and assorting of diamonds in India, with the opening of International Gemological Institute's (IGI) International Certification Laboratory here," Rohit Mehta, President Surat Diamond Association said.
"Recently, Asit Mehta-run Blue Diamond shifted its base from Belgium to Surat, indicating the potential this city has," Mehta said adding, the firm owner is considered as an industry stalwart in deciding prices of rough diamonds.
Rough diamonds from the world come to Surat for cutting and polishing, while their assorting is done by the diamontaries in Mumbai to meet the customer-specific demands coming from foreign shores.
IGI has launched its diamond certification and stone grading laboratory in Surat, and is equipped to laser inscribe codes on diamonds, providing each one a unique identity. "With the launch of this international diamond grading facility in Surat the industry will get a fillip. The units can begin online-trading using these certificates and also negotiate the price with overseas buyers," Chandrakant Sanghvi, Regional Head, Surat Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council, said.
"The IGI certification will attract attention of international buyers, Sanghvi said. "In next 3-4 years a good portion of polish diamond assorting could move to Surat from Mumbai that will facilitate direct trading of the precious stone from here," Managing Director IGI, India Tehmasp Printer said.
"Currently nearly 90 per cent of diamond assorting is done only in Mumbai to meet specific demands of overseas clients," Printer said adding Surat has the required infrastructure for expansion in this arena, while Mumbai is far too cluttered now.
Presently, very few cut and polishing houses in Surat have in-house assorting facility, Printer said. The reason being all international trading is done directly from Mumbai where overseas clients arrive and place their demands for specific kind of diamond lots, Mehta said.
According to SDA estimates out of close to 4,500 diamond polishing units in India nearly 80-85 per cent are located in Surat, while just 200 odd big units in the town have diamond assorting facility. In the past, cut and polishing units at Surat have upgraded the technology to compete with international standards, so today virtually there is no difference between the Belgium cut and Indian cut, Printer said. A Surat based firm has polished probably the world smallest diamond of .0003 carat, which is barely visible with the naked eye, he added.
The .0003 carat diamond was polished manually for 57 facets, now poised to make an entry into the Guinness Book of World Records. According to estimates of IGI, in last 6-7 years close to 60 per cent of diamond trading has shifted from Antwerp to India (Mumbai), of which a part could shift to Surat once the city gets an international airport.
"Slowly in last 6-7 years 50-60 per cent of the polished diamond trading has moved to Mumbai from Belgium. This has switched because the Indian diamond industry is getting more and more professional by the day," said CEO IGI Roland Lorie during his recent visit to Surat.
Belgium that used to be a central market for entire world in the past, is still an important place for European countries, but is getting big competition from countries like India and Telaviv in Israel, he said.