Diamond Quarter
Some 85% of the world's uncut diamonds pass through Antwerp, and the diamond trade has its own quarter, where the skills of cutting and polishing the gems have been handed down for generations by a tightly knit community. Twenty-five million carats are cut and traded here every year, more than anywhere else in the world. The district occupies a few nondescript city blocks west of Centraal Station. A large part of the community is Jewish, so you'll see shop signs in Hebrew and Hasidic men with traditional dark clothing and side curls, though many of the businesses are now Indian-owned. Below the elevated railway tracks, a long row of stalls and shops gleams with jewelry and gems. Diamond cutting began in Bruges but moved to Antwerp in the late 15th century, and the industry now employs some 8,000 workers. Many shops close for the Saturday sabbath.
