The Antwerp Diamond Heritage

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History Timeline

14th Century

• 1314

  Bruges welcomed into its port the first trading ships from Venice.

• 1324

  Death of Marco Polo, the Venetian explorer who opened the trading routes from Europe to China and the East.

15th Century

• 1447

  First documented record of a diamond trade in Antwerp.

• 1476

  Lodewijk van Bercken is said to have method of cutting a diamond with a diamond.

• 1477

  Archduke Maximilian of Austria gives a diamond ring to Mary of Burgundy, establishing the tradition of diamond engagement rings.

• 1483

  Wauter Pauwels is listed as diamond cutter in Antwerp.

• 1497

  Vasco da Gama opens Portuguese trading route to India. On route he discovers Cape of Good Hope.

16th Century

• 1572

  The Eighty Years' War breaks out.

• 1582

  First diamond polishers guild established in Antwerp.

• 1585

  Antwerp captured by Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma and Piacenza. Many Protestant diamond cutters were sent into exile.

17th Century

• 1648

  Peace of Munster ends the Eighty Years War and signals the start of dominance by Amsterdam.

• 1668

  Jean-Baptiste Tavernier sells Indian diamonds to King Louis XIV of France.

18th Century

• 1729

  The Danish East India Company was chartered to carry on trade in the East Indies.

• 1730

  Discovery of diamonds in Brazil.

• 1769

  Patenting of the spinning machine in England, signalling the start of the Industrial revolution.

19th Century

• 1866

  Diamond fever erupts in South Africa after the Eureka find.

• 1870

  Opening of the Kimberly mine (Big Hole).

• 1886

  Cafe Flora was created in Antwerp as an informal diamond club.

• 1888

  Establishment of De Beers Consolidated Mines.

• 1893

  Establishment of Diamantclub van Antwerpen, Belgium's first diamond bourse.

20th Century H1

• 1904

  Establishment of Beurs voor Diamanthandel in Antwerp.

• 1910

  Establishment of Fortunia Society, which was later disbanded.

• 1911

  Establishment of Vrije Diamanthandel.

• 1928

  Establishment of Antwerpse Diamantkring.

• 1940

  Antwerp occupied by German forces.

• 1944

  Antwerp liberated by Allied forces.

• 1945

  Belgian government creates Diamond Office.

• 1947

  Establishment of World Federation of Diamond Bourses.

20th Century H2

• 1955

  Commercial quantities of diamonds discovered in Soviet Russia.

• 1973

  Hoge Raad voor Diamant (HRD) established as umbrella organisation and official representative of Belgium's diamond industry.

• 1991

  First economic diamond deposit discovered in Canada's Northwest Territories.

21st Century H1

• 2003

  Kimberley Process Certification System launched.

• 2007

  HRD reconstituted as the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC).

FROM COFFEE HOUSES TO DIAMOND BOURSES

19th Century

Antwerp’s re-emergence as a major European port coincided with the discovery of massive quantities of rough diamonds in South Africa in 1866. As it became more apparent that this was to be the richest source of diamonds to be discovered since India, a diamond rush ensued. Among the ambitious prospectors who were drawn to dusty town of Kimberley were a number of Englishmen, Cecil John Rhodes and the brothers Harry and Barney Barnato. Ambitious and enterprising, they bought up smaller claims and eventually became the largest mining conglomerate in Kimberley. In 1888 they merged their companies, and so was born De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited, the forerunner of the firm that still plays a leading role on the diamond stage today.

The influx of diamonds from South Africa changed the world market rapidly. Demand surged and the need for experienced and skilled workers became a necessity. Antwerp’s ability to compete with Amsterdam in terms of labour and rough supply improved considerably, and within a relatively short time it resumed its leadership role in the diamond industry.

With the influx of dealers into the city towards the end of the 19th century, the volume of goods traded in Antwerp rose substantially. The dealers would gather in several of the city’s coffee houses, and an informal diamond club was created at the Cafe Flora in Aneesensstraat in 1886.

On October 8, 1893, the city's first bourse, the Diamantclub van Antwerpen, was established to promote and facilitate trade and industry in diamonds and other precious stones. Soon after its creation, the Diamantclub purchased a property at 40-42 Pelikaanstraat. The building that was constructed consisted of a trading hall and eight offices. It was the cornerstone of what was to become the Antwerp diamond district. The district was centred around three important streets in close proximity to city’s massive new railway station, namely Rijfstraat, Hoveniersstraat and Schupstraat.

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