Binu Alex/Commodity Online
It seems the global meltdown has already hit Surat’s diamond market. The most common reaction in Mahidarpura Diamond Market (MDM) in Surat now is: “Parvadega nahi saab”. “We sell the polished diamonds at a loss now,” says Ghanshyam Gabani, owner of a small-scale diamond polishing unit in MDM.

“Bilkul parvadata nahi saab,” he reiterates. The market is spread over just 1 kilometre radius in but has almost 2 lakh people jostling around with diamonds at any given point of time. You can very well feel the impact of market crash here as the number of agents milling around MDM is very less now.

Hero Honda Splendor is the favourite two-wheeler here as you can see thousands of them parked in narrow bylanes of the market with many of them having diamond shaped novelties on number plates. Most of those who own these two-wheelers can also own a Merc but it is of no use here because from 10 in the morning till 7 in the evening, they are in the market — looking for sellers and buyers of diamonds.

This could easily qualify as world’s biggest B2B informal platform of diamonds. And one commodity that makes this bazaar work is trust. The market during evening time looks like Mumbai’s Churchgate station at peak time. You need not only jostle around people, but also cattle, dogs and till recently pigs.

Dogs and pigs have slowly disappeared because of a cleanliness drive undertaken by Surat Municipal Corporation, but traders take blessings from cows – most blessings are free because bovines don’t demand anything in return for their blessings.

There are buildings where small rooms of 12x12 ft are bought by people like Ghanshyam. They employ 4 to 5 people who cut and polish roughs bought from big importers. Everyone, including the chaiwallas, can differentiate between an original and synthetic diamond here.

“I can tell you an original diamond even with my eyes shut,” said Jivrajbhai Gabani, a trader who buys polished diamonds from people like Ghanshyam. “We don’t need any machines. Our hands and eyes are accustomed to the glittering stones and we have never gone wrong once,” he said chewing Mava.

Mava is a typical Saurashtra word which came to Surat because most of the traders here are from that region. Mava is prepared by mixing a handful of beetelnut with lime on a plastic sheet. It is then consumed and has a life of any chewing gum. So, Mava vendors do a brisk business in this market. People who don’t chew Mava prefer sweet pan or Calcutti pan.

But not a single mouth in the market is free from chewing one of these concoctions. But the good part is that it is very tough to find liquor habits among diamond traders. “If any one is found drunk, I can vouch that nobody in this market will deal with him. Such is the power of unity here,” said Haresh Savani, another trader.

Every morning owners of the firms have to personally come to release the inventory from the high security vaults that each building has. These safe vaults operate with thumbnail identification and are kept under maximum security. In the evening, the diamonds or the roughs are kept in the vaults.

People like Ghanshyam takes roughs from big importers in Surat at a credit of 60 days with a leniency of 15 days. If the credit ratio is not maintained, then it will be tough to get roughs in future. Ghanshyam buys a padika (a common word used for a paper packet in which roughs or polished diamonds are kept) at Rs 251 per Carat.

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