SURAT, India (AP) — In a narrow street made narrower by rows of parked motorbikes, businessmen sitting cross-legged on the sidewalks or perched on the motorbikes, are conducting business with their clients. The tools of their trade are basic — trays lined in velvet, tweezers, and magnifying glasses. Their wares are anything but.
These men in Surat, a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat, are trading in diamonds, carrying the precious stones wrapped in small squares of colored paper in their shirt pockets. The casualness of the whole operation belies its complexity. Both the sellers and the buyers are seasoned businessmen who can quickly appraise the smallest of diamonds. Deals worth thousands of dollars are sealed over cups of tea ordered from street vendors.
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An advertising poster featuring Bollywood actor Kajol is displayed outside a jewelry shop in Ahmedabad, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
A salesperson shows a diamond ring to a prospective buyer at a jewelry shop in Ahmedabad, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
A woman tries on a diamond ring at a jewelry shop in Ahmedabad, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
A trader inspects diamonds at his office in Surat, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
An employee works at a diamond cutting and processing workshop in Surat, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
A trader inspects diamonds on a market street in Surat, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
Diamond traders conduct business at a market in Surat, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
A trader inspects a diamond as he sits on a pavement at a market in Surat, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
An employee consults a blueprint for cutting a raw diamond at Shree Ramkrishna Exports in Surat, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
Employees cut and polish diamonds at Shree Ramkrishna Exports in Surat, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
A computer screen shows an representative image of a diamond in the designing area of Shree Ramkrishna Exports in Surat, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
A diamond trader measures a diamond using a vernier caliper in Surat, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
Diamond traders conduct business at a market in Surat, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
Diamond traders crowd a market street in Surat, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
Diamond traders wait for clients at a market in Surat, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
A worker inspects a polished diamond at Shree Ramkrishna Exports in Surat, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
A diamond is cut at Shree Ramkrishna Exports in Surat, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
A diamond is cut by laser at Shree Ramkrishna Exports in Surat, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
A worker inspects a diamond at Shree Ramkrishna Exports in Surat, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
There is an unwritten code of honor among these traders and a slip of paper noting the transaction suffices for credit. No one is a complete stranger here and reputations are built or broken over time. The most trustworthy buyers have access to generous lines of credit.
The increasing popularity of lab-grown, cheaper diamonds, and the banning of diamonds originating from Russia by the European Union and G7 countries have adversely affected the industry. But the biggest recent threat is from U.S. President Donald Trump’s 10% tariffs on imports, including diamonds. An even bigger 27% tariff on Indian exports to the United States has been delayed for 90 days as the Trump administration negotiates trade deals. But even the 10% cut in profits is hurting.
Four out of five of the world’s diamonds are cut and polished in Surat, where generations have known no other skill or trade. Behind the grimy facades of several buildings in the market lie swanky workshops equipped with sophisticated technology to design and cut the raw diamonds arriving from Australia, Canada, Russia and parts of Africa.
Only a small percentage of Surat’s output is absorbed by Indian consumers. The rest is exported to the U.S., the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Belgium and other countries. The U.S. has no diamond mines. But two of the three main institutes for grading the gems are in the United States, and diamonds cross multiple borders before they are finally sold in their finished form.
The United States accounted for about 30% of gem and jewelry exports from India in 2023-24. About half of that was in the form of cut and polished diamonds. The future of this trade is now uncertain, depending on what Trump does about his tariffs.
“If the proposed tariffs are implemented, we may lose about half of our export revenue. We won’t be price-competitive anymore,” said Jigar Patel, treasurer of the Jewellers Association Ahmedabad, based in Gujarat's main city.
An advertising poster featuring Bollywood actor Kajol is displayed outside a jewelry shop in Ahmedabad, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
A salesperson shows a diamond ring to a prospective buyer at a jewelry shop in Ahmedabad, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
A woman tries on a diamond ring at a jewelry shop in Ahmedabad, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
A trader inspects diamonds at his office in Surat, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
An employee works at a diamond cutting and processing workshop in Surat, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
A trader inspects diamonds on a market street in Surat, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
Diamond traders conduct business at a market in Surat, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
A trader inspects a diamond as he sits on a pavement at a market in Surat, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
An employee consults a blueprint for cutting a raw diamond at Shree Ramkrishna Exports in Surat, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
Employees cut and polish diamonds at Shree Ramkrishna Exports in Surat, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
A computer screen shows an representative image of a diamond in the designing area of Shree Ramkrishna Exports in Surat, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
A diamond trader measures a diamond using a vernier caliper in Surat, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
Diamond traders conduct business at a market in Surat, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
Diamond traders crowd a market street in Surat, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
Diamond traders wait for clients at a market in Surat, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
A worker inspects a polished diamond at Shree Ramkrishna Exports in Surat, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
A diamond is cut at Shree Ramkrishna Exports in Surat, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
A diamond is cut by laser at Shree Ramkrishna Exports in Surat, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
A worker inspects a diamond at Shree Ramkrishna Exports in Surat, India, on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
