Freshly mined diamonds pass through an international diamond exchange, which is essentially the central point of distribution in the diamond supply chain. There are a number of factors that are taken into account when diamonds are reviewed for grading, after which they are passed on to dealers and manufacturers. Once they reach that point, the diamonds are cut and prepared for sale. Tel Aviv, Israel is home to Ramat Gan, the world’s largest international diamond exchange. Ramat Gan makes its home at the Diamond Tower, which is where you’ll find the largest diamond trading floor in the world. It also houses several other international exchange buildings.

Diamonds are a global business, so you’ll also find exchanges in places like Antwerp, Belgium, and New York City. It is on these exchanges that dealers buy rough diamonds that have been recently mined. Clarity, color, shape and size are characteristics that influence the value of a diamond. The people who work in the exchanges need to know a lot about the gems to arrive at a fair value. It goes without saying that all diamond graders must go through rigorous background checks. Once the diamonds have been graded, ultra-sensitive scales are used to weigh the stones. It’s worth noting that you typically only get about an ounce of usable stone out of every 142 carats.

With grading and weighing complete, the international diamond bags move on to distribution. The stones that are sent to the merchants are those that the classifiers have deemed usable. Once the merchants take possession of the stones, they are very often sent to factories to be cut and polished. Diamonds can change hands many times before they reach the market. It is the profit made by the classifier that determines the difference between the buying and selling price of the diamonds. On average, the classifiers show a profit margin of around 10%. The Ramat Gan Diamond Exchange is responsible for grading approximately 65% ​​of all rough diamonds in the world, which explains why the graders who work there earn more than most.

There are some merchants who are allowed to transact with Israeli exchanges. These traders are known as sight forks. These merchants are granted access to packs of stones that may not necessarily agree with the request that the sight holder submits. The only option they have is to accept or reject the package based on the sale price. Once the packages have been accepted, sight holders are expected to market and distribute the stones to consumers to generate more interest in the Israeli diamond market.