A medium-sized Surat diamond factory on a weekday morning: the rough intake room receives a courier parcel from Mumbai, parcels of sorted rough from a Palanpuri trader who purchased at the last DTC sight. Each parcel is weighed, recorded, and assigned to a planner. The planner feeds the larger stones through the Sarine Galaxy scanner; smaller commercial goods are assessed by eye and experience. By afternoon, the cutting plans are assigned to the production floor. By the following week, the same parcels, now polished round brilliants of various sizes, will have been sorted, graded, packed, and transferred back to the trader in Mumbai for sale to a retailer in New York, Antwerp, or Zaveri Bazaar. : GJEPC industry documentation, gjepc.org; industry descriptions of Surat factory operations

Factory organisation: the production flow

A typical Surat diamond factory operates in sequential departments that correspond to the stages of diamond manufacturing: rough intake and sorting; planning (Sarine scanning for larger goods, eye assessment for melee); sawing or cleaving; bruting; faceting (blocking and brillianteering); polishing; quality sorting and grading; and despatch. Each department operates as a semi-independent unit with its own productivity measurement and quality standards (GJEPC factory descriptions; industry analyses of Surat manufacturing operations).

Larger, more valuable goods move through dedicated planners and experienced cutters, the top 10 to 15 percent of a factory's workforce handles the goods that generate the majority of revenue. Commercial-quality melee (small stones below approximately 0.10 carats) is processed in semi-automated or high-volume manual production lines where individual cutter speed is the primary variable (industry factory descriptions; Sarine Technologies documentation on automation in commercial production).

Workforce: scale and skill structure

Surat's diamond workforce is estimated at 700,000 to 800,000 workers, predominantly recruited from rural Gujarat, particularly Saurashtra. The workforce is organised in a craft apprenticeship structure where new recruits learn cutting by working alongside experienced cutters, beginning on lower-quality goods and progressing to better goods as skill and accuracy improve. The training period for a competent commercial cutter is typically 6 to 12 months; for a skilled cutter capable of handling valuable goods, several years of experience are required (GJEPC workforce data, gjepc.org; Ministry of Labour India employment surveys).

Technology adoption: Sarine and automation

Surat's factories have been significant adopters of Sarine Technologies' planning, scanning, and quality assessment tools. The Sarine Galaxy scanner is standard in all major factories for goods above approximately 0.30 carats; the Sarine DiaExpert grading system automates initial quality sorting of polished goods by colour and clarity ranges. Laser-sawing equipment has replaced mechanical sawing in most significant operations. The combination of technology adoption and labour cost advantages has maintained Surat's competitive position against competitors in China, Russia, and elsewhere (Sarine Technologies product documentation, sarine.com; GJEPC commentary on technology adoption in Indian cutting, 2015–2025).

The Surat Diamond Bourse: a new chapter

The Surat Diamond Bourse, which opened in December 2023, represents a significant consolidation of Surat's trading and manufacturing infrastructure. With approximately 6.7 million square feet of floor space, the world's largest office building by area, the SDB is designed to house diamond trading companies, cutting operations, banking facilities, customs offices, and support services in one location. Its opening is expected to shift some volume of diamond trading directly to Surat rather than routing through Mumbai (Surat Diamond Bourse official documentation; GJEPC commentary on SDB, December 2023).

Primary sources

GJEPC (Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council). gjepc.org, Mumbai. [Surat workforce estimates (700,000–800,000); production flow descriptions; Palanpuri community role; SDB opening commentary (December 2023).]

Sarine Technologies product documentation and Annual Reports. sarine.com. [Galaxy scanner deployment in Surat; DiaExpert quality sorting automation; technology penetration data in Indian cutting industry.]

Surat Diamond Bourse official documentation. suratdiamondbourse.com. [Opening December 2023; floor area ~6.7M sq ft (world's largest office building by area); tenant companies; facilities overview.]