Editor’s Note
This reportage offers a glimpse into Antwerp’s storied Diamond District, where history and high-stakes commerce intersect. It follows veteran sorter Anita, the “Pink Lady,” as she handles the last of the rare pink diamonds from a now-closed Australian mine—a poignant moment in the city’s enduring diamond narrative.
Having become the capital of the diamond trade in the 15th century, the Belgian city welcomes traders from all over the world. A guided tour of some of the big names in the Diamond District.
The “Pink Lady” is feeling blue. In a few months, she will stop sorting her “babies” – extremely rare pink diamonds from the Argyle mine in Australia, which has just closed. Anita, the “Pink Lady,” with thirty years of seniority in the Antwerp offices of the operator Rio Tinto, is enjoying the final moments with her gems in a dedicated room. And when it’s over, perhaps she will organize a “Pink Party” with her colleagues over a bottle of champagne.
In Antwerp, where precious stones have been traded since 1447, it’s simple:
says Chantal Pauwels, the director of the Antwerpsche Diamantkring, one of the city’s four Diamond Exchanges. Yet, near the station, in the area dedicated to the most p…