The Palanpuri network: the community behind the industry
The Palanpuri Jain community from Palanpur in Gujarat entered the diamond trade in the 1940s and 1950s, initially as rough diamond dealers in India. Through the 1950s and 1960s, Palanpuri traders established relationships with Antwerp dealers that gave them access to primary rough supply, particularly rough from De Beers's distribution network. They routed this rough to Gujarat for cutting, initially in Palanpur itself and then increasingly in Surat, where the workforce was larger and infrastructure better (GJEPC industry documentation; academic studies on Palanpuri diamond trade community).
The major Indian diamond companies internationally, including those with De Beers Sightholding allocations, are predominantly Palanpuri community enterprises. Companies including Rosy Blue, Kiran Gems, Hari Krishna Exports, and Shree Ram Krishna Exports are Palanpuri companies whose combined operations account for a substantial fraction of India's diamond exports (GJEPC data, gjepc.org; industry analyses of India diamond trade).
The workforce: scale and skill concentration
The Surat diamond cutting workforce is estimated at 700,000 to 800,000, a concentration of diamond cutting skill in one city that is unprecedented in industrial history. The workforce is predominantly recruited from rural Gujarat, particularly Saurashtra, and trained in cutting centres in Surat in a system that has been refined over 50 years. The scale of the workforce enables the price economics that make Surat competitive: labour costs per carat polished in Surat are substantially lower than in Antwerp, Tel Aviv, or New York, even as skill levels have become equivalent or superior for commercial-quality goods (GJEPC Annual Reports, gjepc.org; India Ministry of Commerce data).
The Surat Diamond Bourse
In December 2023, the Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB) opened, a purpose-built diamond trading and business complex in Surat that is the largest office building in the world by floor area (approximately 6.7 million square feet). The SDB was designed to consolidate diamond trading, manufacturing, banking, customs, and support services in one location, reducing the logistics of moving goods between Surat and Mumbai for trading and export operations. Over 4,000 diamond companies are expected to operate from the SDB (Surat Diamond Bourse official documentation; GJEPC commentary on SDB opening, December 2023).
Lab-grown diamonds: a new chapter
The same workforce and infrastructure that Surat uses for natural diamond cutting is now extensively deployed for lab-grown diamonds. India, particularly Gujarat, has become a significant CVD rough producer and the world's dominant cutter of lab-grown goods. The Surat cutting industry processes lab-grown rough from India, China, and other sources alongside natural rough. This transition has maintained employment volumes while the natural diamond market has faced price and demand pressures (GJEPC monthly export data; industry analyses of India lab-grown market 2020–2026).
Primary sources
GIA Diamond Grading documentation. gia.edu/diamond-grading. Gemological Institute of America. [Cut grade system; proportion parameters; polishing and symmetry assessment; planning methodology context.]
GJEPC (Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council). gjepc.org, Mumbai. [India cutting industry data; Surat manufacturing statistics; export figures.]
Reinitz, I. et al. (2006). "Development of the GIA Diamond Cut Grading System." Gems & Gemology, 42(3), GIA. [Cut grade system basis; proportion parameters and their effect on light performance.]
Sarine Technologies product documentation. sarine.com. [Galaxy family scanning instruments; planning software; mapping of inclusions and proportions for yield optimisation.]