Where is the majority of the world's diamond production cut and polished?

• A. Russia
• B. India
• C. South Africa
• D. United States

Answer: (B)

The key point is that the cutting and polishing of diamonds is heavily centralized in India, with Surat being the major hub. India has developed a vast, skilled workforce and a dense ecosystem of cutting factories and related services that make it cost-effective to shape and facet rough diamonds there. Rough stones mined elsewhere are sent to India for processing, and the finished polished diamonds are then distributed globally. This is why India handles the majority of the world’s diamond cutting and polishing. Russia is a major source of rough diamonds, South Africa is famed for mining, and the United States is an important market, but none of them matches India for the dominant processing role.