【Antwerp, Bel】Diamond Trade in Antwerp – Russia’s Diamonds Find Their Way, Likely Despite Sanctions

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Editor’s Note

This article highlights Antwerp’s pivotal role in the global diamond trade, where 80% of Europe’s rough diamonds are traded, supporting 30,000 local jobs. It also touches on the evolving dynamics of the industry, including the impact of Russian diamonds.

Antwerp is the center of the diamond trade

Antwerp is the center of the diamond trade. Eight out of ten rough diamonds that arrive in Europe change hands in the Belgian city. 30,000 jobs there depend on the diamond trade.

The share of Russian diamonds is now 5 to 10 percent

Before Russia’s war against Ukraine, the share of Russian diamonds in the trade was approximately 25 percent.

“Today, the share of Russian diamonds is 5 to 10 percent,” explains Tom Neys. He is a spokesperson for the Antwerp World Diamond Centre.

It would be expected that the industry would react calmly to a possible import ban on Russian diamonds. The opposite is the case. The industry fears a European import ban, says Tom Neys.

“Europe would have no influence whatsoever on Russia’s war. Instead, it risks the diamond industry leaving Antwerp. And Antwerp is the place in the world where the diamond trade is most heavily regulated,” Neys states.
Traders find ways – bypassing sanctions

Unlike with gas and oil, the trade chains for diamonds are very easy to adjust. EU sanctions would be easy to circumvent. It is enough for diamond traders to adjust their flight route and fly to India or Dubai to sell their goods.

“A diamond today may already change hands fifty times before it reaches its end customer. It is very complicated to find a procedure that tracks diamonds across the entire value chain,” says Tom Neys, spokesperson at the Antwerp World Diamond Centre.

There, the Russian rough diamonds would be cut and polished, and from that moment on, it would no longer be possible to tell whether they were diamonds from Russia, Neys points out.

The solution would be certified supply chains for diamonds along the entire value chain. This would allow the origin of the gemstones to be proven at any time.

In conjunction with the Belgian government, diamond traders in Antwerp are advocating for such a technical solution. The idea: All countries that support the sanctions against Russia introduce this seamless proof of origin for diamonds.

Sales market lies mainly in the West

This would hit Russia hard. And it would also affect intermediate stations in the diamond trade in India or Dubai. Because 80 percent of all diamonds end up in Europe, the USA, Canada, or Japan sooner or later – i.e., the G7 countries. Like the EU, they also want to limit the export of Russian diamonds.

“So traders have no choice but to adhere to the same rules. Ultimately, they could buy Russian diamonds but not sell them,” finds Neys.

On paper, this solution is convincing. However, it has a major catch: the practical, technical implementation.

To this day, there is still no functioning system that could certify the entire trade chain. So far, there are only partial solutions. Integrating them is technically possible but requires many months of preparation time. A European import ban on Russian diamonds is likely to be correspondingly difficult to enforce.

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⏰ Published on: June 10, 2023