Diamond industry in Israel
Encyclopedia
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
s for wholesale
Wholesale
Wholesaling, jobbing, or distributing is defined as the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers, to industrial, commercial, institutional, or other professional business users, or to other wholesalers and related subordinated services...
. In 2010, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
became the chair of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.
History
Since the fifteenth century, when an Antwerp Jewish diamond cutter Lodewyk van BerkenLodewyk van Berken
Lodewyk van Berken was a mid- to late-15th century Flemish Jewishjeweller and diamond cutter, renowned in the industry for inventing the scaif. The device revolutionized the diamond cutting industry and contributed to increased popularity of diamonds....
invented the scaif
Scaif
Scaif is a polishing wheel infused with a mixture of olive oil and diamond dust used in the diamond cutting industry.It was invented in 1456 by Lodewyk van Berken. With the scaif, it became possible to polish all the facets of the diamond symmetrically at angles that reflected the light best...
, diamond cutting was one of traditional Jewish crafts. The Israeli diamond industry began in 1937, before the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel
Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel
The Israeli Declaration of Independence , made on 14 May 1948 , the day before the British Mandate was due to expire, was the announcement by David Ben-Gurion, the Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization and chairman of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, that the new Jewish state named the...
, when the first diamond polishing plant was opened in Petah Tikva
Petah Tikva
Petah Tikva known as Em HaMoshavot , is a city in the Center District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv.According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, at the end of 2009, the city's population stood at 209,600. The population density is approximately...
by refugee experts from Holland. In 1938 the 15% import duty on imported rough stones was removed. By 1944 the industry employed 3,300 workers in 33 factories, with £P.1,320,000 capital investment, entirely Jewish. The value of exports was over £P.3,200,000 mainly to the USA, Canada and India.
Trading infrastructure
The industry is located in the "Diamond District", located in Ramat Gan in the Tel Aviv DistrictTel Aviv District
The Tel Aviv District is the smallest and most densely populated of six administrative districts of Israel with a population of 1.2 million residents...
. The complex is made up of four buildings, interconnected with walkways. The entire trading operation takes place in this complex The Diamond Tower
Diamond Tower
The Diamond Tower is a skyscraper located in the city of Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv in Israel containing the world's largest diamond trading hall, accommodating up to 1,000 people. At 115 meters over 32 floors, the tower was the tallest building in Ramat Gan from 1989 until 2000, when it was surpassed...
in the district contains the world's largest diamond trading floor.