Roughly 90 per cent of the world's diamonds pass through Surat to be cut and polished before reaching retail markets. The city processes around 8,000 tonnes of rough diamonds annually, from tiny industrial-grade chips to gems destined for major jewellery houses. The Surat Diamond Bourse, opened in 2023 near the airport, is the largest office complex in the world and houses over 4,000 diamond merchants.
Visiting the diamond district is possible with advance arrangement through tour operators or hotel concierges. The workshops are concentrated in areas like Varachha, Katargam, and Mahidharpura, where dozens of workers sit at polishing wheels in small storey-buildings. Photography inside the workshops is almost never permitted. The sight of thousands of people working on gems that will end up in engagement rings around the world — many of them migrants from Saurashtra and other parts of Gujarat — is genuinely unlike anything else in India.