In a narrow street made narrower by rows of parked motorcycles, entrepreneurs sitting cross-legged on the walkways or set down on the motorcycles, are performing organization with their customers. The tools of their trade are standard– trays lined in velour, tweezers, and amplifying glasses. Their items are anything however.
These guys in Surat, a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat, are selling diamonds, bring the jewels covered in little squares of colored paper in their t-shirt pockets. The casualness of the entire operation belies its intricacy. Both the sellers and the purchasers are experienced entrepreneurs who can rapidly assess the tiniest of diamonds. Offers worth countless dollars are sealed over cups of tea purchased from street suppliers.
There is an unwritten code of honor amongst these traders and a slip of paper keeping in mind the deal is sufficient for credit. Nobody is a total stranger here and credibilities are developed or broken with time. The most credible purchasers have access to generous credit lines.
The increasing appeal of lab-grown, more affordable diamonds, and the prohibiting of diamonds stemming from Russia by the European Union and G7 nations have actually negatively impacted the market. However the greatest current risk is from U.S. President Donald Trump’s 10% tariffs on imports, consisting of diamonds. An even larger 27% tariff on Indian exports to the United States has actually been postponed for 90 days as the Trump administration works out trade offers. However even the 10% cut in revenues is harming.
4 out of 5 of the world’s diamonds are cut and polished in Surat, where generations have actually understood no other ability or trade. Behind the dirty exteriors of numerous structures in the market lie fancy workshops geared up with advanced innovation to create and cut the raw diamonds showing up from Australia, Canada, Russia and parts of Africa.
Just a little portion of Surat’s output is taken in by Indian customers. The rest is exported to the U.S., the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Belgium and other nations. The U.S. has no diamond mines. However 2 of the 3 primary institutes for grading the gems remain in the United States, and diamonds cross numerous borders before they are lastly offered in their completed kind.
The United States represented about 30% of gem and precious jewelry exports from India in 2023-24. About half of that remained in the kind of cut and refined diamonds. The future of this trade is now unpredictable, depending upon what Trump does about his tariffs.
“If the proposed tariffs are executed, we might lose about half of our export income. We will not be price-competitive any longer,” stated Jigar Patel, treasurer of the Jewellers Association Ahmedabad, based in Gujarat’s primary city.