Antwerp diamond district

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Antwerp's diamond district, also known as the Diamond Quarter (Diamantkwartier), and dubbed the Square Mile, is an area within the city of Antwerp, Belgium. It consists of several square blocks covering an area of about one square mile. While as of 2012, much of the gem cutting and polishing work historically done in the neighborhood had moved to low wage centers elsewhere, about 84% of the world's rough diamonds passed through the district, making it the largest diamond district. In 2011, it had a turnover of $56 billion dollars. Each year, approximately 50% of the rough diamonds return to Antwerp for cutting and polishing such as The Black Falcon, the world's largest cut diamond. Over $16 billion in polished diamonds pass through the district's exchanges each year. There are 380 workshops that serve 1,500 companies. There are also 3,500 brokers, merchants and diamond cutters. In 2017, roughly 234 million carats were traded in the district, an area with a workforce of 30,000 people. Over...

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