Surat by the Numbers
Surat processes approximately 90% of the world's polished diamonds by volume — an estimated 12–14 billion carats of rough are polished annually in the city's 5,000+ cutting and polishing units. The industry employs over 700,000 skilled artisans, from rough planners to polishers, symmetry graders, and packers.
The city's diamond district spans Varachha, Katargam, and Salabatpura, with the Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB) — opened in 2023 and the world's largest office building by floor area — consolidating the trade's commercial infrastructure. The SDB hosts 4,200+ offices and has become the primary venue for international buyer visits and parcel trading.
The Skill Pyramid: Why Surat’s Labour Force Is Irreplaceable
Diamond cutting is an extraordinarily skilled trade. A master bruter who shapes rough diamonds into preforms trains for 5–7 years before working unsupervised on high-value goods. The knowledge is largely tacit, passed through apprenticeship networks that have operated in Surat for over 60 years.
This concentration of skill is nearly impossible to replicate elsewhere in the short or medium term. While China, Belgium, and Israel also have cutting centres, none approaches Surat's combination of scale, skill depth, and cost efficiency. Even as lab grown diamond production has scaled globally, the polishing of those stones overwhelmingly returns to Surat.
Infrastructure for International Buyers
Surat Diamond Bourse's international buyer facilities include dedicated customs offices, bonded warehouses, on-site banks, and gemological labs. Buyers flying in from New York, Antwerp, or Dubai can process, inspect, and certify parcels within the Bourse complex without leaving the building.
Rachna Export's facility is located in the Surat SEZ, offering additional customs and export benefits for our B2B clients. We handle end-to-end logistics including GIA/IGI certification, export documentation, Kimberley Process certification, insurance, and freight — so buyers receive a complete, verified parcel at their destination.
Lab Grown Diamond Manufacturing: Surat’s New Frontier
Surat has replicated its dominance in natural diamond polishing in the lab grown sector. The city now hosts hundreds of CVD reactor facilities, with Gujarat's Solar Park powering many of them on renewable energy — a significant sustainability differentiator from Chinese competitors relying on coal-heavy grids.
Rachna Export's CVD partnership facility in the SEZ operates entirely on Gujarat solar grid energy, allowing us to offer lab grown diamonds with a credible low-carbon provenance — increasingly important for buyers in European and US markets where ESG criteria influence purchasing decisions.