Antwerp, Belgium, at one time one of the diamond polishing capitals of the world, is now seeing its trade diminish as more and more work is exported to India where diamonds can be cut and polished for " one-fifth of the labor costs." Once a cottage industry in Antwerp where as many as 25,000 diamonds experts worked from their homes in 1970, now less than 800 gemologists live in the city.

From the International Herald Tribune article, " In a Belgian city, twilight for diamonds:"

" On office doors, nameplates like Bernstein, Goldberg and Greenspan have been gradually replaced by those of Shah, Jhaveri and Gandhi.

Indian dealers began arriving in the 1970s, drawn by the lucrative trade and the easy Belgium immigration process.

"The Indians sent their workers here to learn and improve their techniques, and then they opened their own businesses," said Langerman, who, like some other Belgian diamond dealers, has opened a plant of his own in India. Indians handle two-thirds of the $26 billion diamond trade in Antwerp, while the once-dominant share of the Jewish dealers has been reduced to just a fourth.

This city, with its respected grading laboratory and four diamond exchanges, remains the world center for uncut diamonds, a domain of security guards, bulletproof cars and doormen in body armor."