| The
Diamond industry in Israel is a world leader in
producing cut diamonds for wholesale. Nearly two
thirds of gem quality diamonds in the world are
manufactured in Israel.
Since the fifteenth
century, when an Antwerp Jewish diamond cutter Lodewyk
van Berken invented the scaif, diamond cutting was one
of traditional Jewish crafts.
The Israeli diamond industry began in 1937, before the
Declaration of the Establishment of the State of
Israel, when the first diamond polishing plant was
opened in Petah Tikva. After the state was declared, a
war economy was shifted to a consumer economy. This
came at the height of a diamond crisis, as many war
torn economies were struggling to re-establish. Since
then, the industry has continued to grow, producing a
world leader in the diamond industry. |
