Why Antwerp’s northern region 'De Kempen’ became important for the diamond industry?

In 1896, after the discovery of the Kimberley diamond mine in South-Africa, large numbers of rough diamonds were shipped to Antwerp. However, the city did not have the capacity to process all of the stones, so the smaller diamonds were sent to the rural areas to the north of Antwerpen, ‘De Kempen’. As the industry grew, all sorts of diamond related activities emerged, such as distribution of polishing equipment, and ‘De Kempen’ became home to some 60.000 diamond manufacturers. Techniques improved and the polishing grew into real craftsmanship. Today, the diamond industry in ‘De Kempen’ has almost completely dissappeared. Because of the high labor costs, small goods are mostly shipped to countries with cheap labour.

Would you like to discover more about the history of the diamond processing in ‘ De Kempen’? Come to the Kempen Diamond Center in Nijlen, more information can be found on www.briljantekempen.be

Image source:  www.kempenserfgoed.be