HISTORICAL CUTTING CENTRES | EN

Through the beginning of the century until World War II, centres were situated in Antwerp, Amsterdam, Idar Oberstein, Hanau, London and St Claude. Thischanged considerably from the fifties on.

Traces of cutters were found in Paris in the 14th century, and there were 75 master cutters there at the end of the 17th century. Most of them being jews or protestants had to flee after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, leaving only 7 cutters on the spot.
 
Already before that period, Bruges and later Antwerp were the main centers.
 
When the netherlands revolted against the Spanish rule, the southern Provinces were occupied and protestant and jewish diamond dealers emigrated to Holland, especially when Alexander of Parma took over Antwerp in 1585. in the "oude kerk" in Amsterdam can be found tracОs of the wedding on 27 December 1589 of Pieter Goos, diamond cutter with Cathelijne Van Somergem. Amsterdam grew larger to the prejudice of Antwerp who sunk into darker ages as a diamond cutting and dealing center. Yet, if Amsterdam was the leading center during the 17th and 18th centuries, Antwerp was not completely forgotten. Thanks to a print from that period representing noble men visiting a diamond cutter , it is presumable that diamonds were also cut in London during the 18th century. But a little industry developped there in the 19th century. Antwerp cutters were working in London between 1872 and 1890 in more or less 5 or 6 workshops employing about a hundred workers.
 
During the first World War, London and Brighton became larger cutting centers employing Belgian refugees. They left after the war to return to Belgium despite the fact that Ernest Oppenheimer tried to create more centers in England. War invalids were employed in Brighton and Forwilliam and other cities but these enterprises were closed down shortly after. Around 1850, Paul Bernard asked cutters in Amsterdam to come and create a cutting center in Paris such as those of Henri Jacobs and E.N David. Later, Charles Roulina a former apprentice of Paul Bernard, opened a cutting center in Paris after living in Brazil. Then one of his apprentice, Emile Goudard, settled in 1887 in St Claude (Jura) where he taught colored stones cutters how to cut diamonds. From there spread the cutting of diamonds to the near departments of Jura, Ain, Doubs, and Haute Savoie.
 
At the same time, in Switzerland were opened cutting centres in Geneva by Chappuis from Antwerp, and also in Biel, Baste and Luzern. In Germany, the first cutting factories appeared in 1874 in Hanau and later in Idar Oberstein already renowned as a cutting center for coloured stones and minerals. Other cutting factories opened and quickly disappeared in Berlin and Liegnitz as well as in Genova, Rome and even a small school in Milan. Between the twoo world wars, small factories were also operating in Marta Poura on BornОo and in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.
 
In 1886 an Amsterdam cutter installed a factory in Boston, later followed by others included one named Tiffany. The creation of a 25 % import tax influenced jewellers in their decision to open other cutting factories in New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago. Most disappeared quickly except New York which kept an important position.
 
At the end of the 19th century, Antwerp became the most important center. Cutters from Amsterdam moved down to Antwerp were the industry was working at full speed. Steam-powered factories were opened as soon as 1842 and later, with the development of electricity in the antwerp Campine, the diamond cutting dispersed itself to the provinces of Antwerp, Limburg and Flanders, to the dismay of the workers unions which then lost control on their members.