Amsterdam and diamonds PDF Print E-mail
Written by Ber van de Rijdt   
diamondsAmsterdam is just like a prominent centre of the diamond-trade. Nowadays Chinese are the customers to be seen with pleasure in the important Amsterdam’s “diamond-shops” .

One of the oldest diamond cutting houses was established in 1840. Here The Koh-I-Noor was cut and ground; one of the biggest diamonds ever found. It was worked into the English Royal Crown.

In the 16th century Jews were persecuted in Spain and Portugal for religious reasons. Many fled to the Netherlands and came to Amsterdam where they were allowed to practice their religion but they were only allowed a limited number of occupations. The guilds remained closed to them. It was only in 1796 that they were given fully equal rights.

One of the trades they were allowed to practice was the cutting, grinding and polishing of diamonds and other gemstones. Many of the Jews took this opportunity. The first Amsterdam diamond cutter was registered in 1568.

Diamond is the hardest matter in the world. Only few realize that a natural diamond is such a very old stone. The formations where they are found are formed at least 50 million years ago.

In the 16th century mankind tried to shape nature as we can see in the artful gardens in the  baroque style of that period, with the artificial brooks, ponds and fountains and topiary hedges and bushes.

The raw diamond is shaped by patient craftsmen trying to give maximum shine and brilliance to the stones. One wrong treatment can ruin a valuable stone. That is why the cutters and grinders value the trust of their patrons. The final models are standardized and the various cuts  and the weight of the stone decide on their value.

Amsterdam is no longer the big diamond town it once was. Antwerp became a serious competitor. Only a fraction of the 4000 workers of the period before the second world war  (1939-1945) remain. But the number of visitors increased dramatically. In the year 2004 there were more than 800 000 visitors in Amsterdam alone.

These last year’s more and more visitors are Chinese tourists and they not only come to look but are known to be enthusiastic buyers. The carat value of the sold diamonds has more than doubled since the arrival of Chinese tourists. Thus Amsterdam became the largest trading place for commercial diamonds worldwide.