Surat is one of World's & India's fastest growing cities. Surat is at the heart of India's thriving diamond-polishing industry, which in 2005 cut 92% of the world's diamond pieces and earned India $80,00,000 in exports. Gujarati diamond cutters emigrating from East Africa established the industry in 1901 and by the 70s Surat-based diamond cutters began exporting stones to the US for the first time. Though a majority of polishing work takes place on small weight stones, Surat's workshops have set their eyes on the lucrative market for finishing larger, pricier stones in the future. It is a major production centre for synthetic textiles in India.
Surat Diamonds: It is just amazing to know that though India does not produce almost any diamonds these days the city of Surat alone manages to capture three-fourth of the diamond cutting and polishing business of the entire world. So how did this come about and why? Legends are rife with tales of a Surat trader having returned to India from Africa with a boatload of diamond cutting artisans. Since then the craft has permeated into the lives of the people of Surat who have generations of families cutting and polishing diamonds. Nowadays, even the biggest of diamonds are cut and polished in Surat – such is the reputation the city’s artisans have earned world over.
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