Amsterdam, a Diamond City

In Amsterdam, Diamonds can be a Girl’s Best Friend:

If Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend, then we should really get to know a little more about our best friend’s qualities – the 4C’s.  What’s our best friend’s colour, is our best friend cut like a princess, oval or pear-shape, and how heavy is our best friend (in carats) and what’s the clarity of our best friend’s  internal characteristics, are there any flaws?  All these questions can be answered in a visit to an Amsterdam diamond factory.

In our case, Gassan Diamonds is the first stop on the first day of our holidays, probably causing palpitations amongst some of the men, will they be financially ruined even before the holiday has started?

Amsterdam’s Diamond Cutting Credentials

Gassan Diamonds is a company that was founded by Samuel Gassan in 1945, but the Dutch have been in diamond cutting and polishing since the 1800s.

Amsterdam cutters have worked on many famous diamonds including those of the British Crown jewellery. When the largest ever rough gem-quality diamond was found (a 3.106-carat-large stone) King Edward VII commissioned Amsterdam cutters to work on it.   From this large stone, the expert cutters created the Cullinan I, which adorns the British royal scepter and Cullinan II, the main stone in Queen Elizabeth II’s crown. In addition, 7 medium-sized and 96 small diamonds were cut from this large stone.

Queen Victoria also called on an Amsterdam cutter to come to London to work on the world famous KOH-I-NOOR diamond, the Mountain of Light. She wasn’t happy with the diamond’s brilliance and the Dutch cutter was able to turn the KOH-I-NOOR into a stunning jewel in the presence of the royal family. KOH-I-NOOR is one of the main stones in the royal crown.

So, if you’re interested in buying diamonds, Amsterdam has great credentials as a diamond centre. Gassan Diamonds run free diamond tours 7 days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., all year round, so no matter which day of the week you’re in Amsterdam, you’ll be able to join a tour.

At Gassan’s diamond tours, the multilingual guides provide a presentation of the diamond types and classes and prices.  You get to see diamonds being crafted through the various stages and rough diamonds turned into sparkling, exquisitely polished stones. There’s an amazing selection of stones which you can also choose and have it mounted while you wait.  This was the piece that I fancied, but I wasn’t allowed to buy it!

The tour lasts for about one hour and then you’re free to roam the large sales room where there’s a large collection of jewellery for sale. Men really needn’t worry as there are lots of small pieces of jewellery for sale that wouldn’t break the bank. From the ladies’ perspective, what a great treasure of a souvenir to have from Amsterdam!

And just in case you missed buying something at the factory, there is a Gassan Diamond shop at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.

Getting there:

Nieuwe Uilenburgerstraat 173-175
NL-1011 LN Amsterdam
Tel: +31 (0) 20-6225333

Your Turn: Do you have any advice you would like to share? What tips would you like to add? Please comment below.