Antwerp in Belgium is a foodie delight and is known for its chocolate, waffles, fries and beer but there is more to Antwerp than food, however delicious it is. Think architecture, think art, think museums, think shopping and think... diamonds.
To celebrate Antwerp being the ‘diamond capital; since 1447' I was recently invited to visit the city by Visit Antwerp and report back to my readers on all the interesting things happening in this vibrant city.
My stay for the two days was Hotel Franq, a newly opened modern boutique hotel a short walk from the main shopping area. The hotel was very chic and beautiful inside and makes a great base for a stay.
Day 1 in Antwerp included a visit to the Mas Museum where I visited the Dazzling Desire exhibition, a new exhibition about diamonds and their links to our emotions. To see some beautiful historic pieces of jewellery, such as a diamond-encrusted pair of boots, was a real eye-opener and certainly worth a visit. That evening we ate the RAS Restaurant overlooking the waterfront, where I dined on shrimp linguine and Belgium beer!
Day 2 started with a scrumptious continental breakfast at Hotel Franq, with locally sourced ingredients and then our group of bloggers and journalists met in the lobby, before being taken to our first stop - Jewellery Van der Veken.
Jewellery Van der Veken is a high-ended jeweller in the heart of the diamond district. Being the first company to be awarded the “Antwerp’s Most Brilliant’ quality label, has really put this jeweller on the map. To be awarded this label a jeweller has to meet 30 strict quality requirements such as ethics, sustainability and service and can only obtain this mark after an independent audit.
The family-run jeweller was founded in 1952 by Joseph Van der Veken and today it is run by Joseph’s son and grandson, Stephen and Christian.
What is special about this jeweller is that it is one of the few artisan jewellery makers left, where everything is ‘hand-forged’. This process means that the jeweller can get a finer finish whilst making the jewellery stronger and in Van der Veken jewellers they are proud of the fact that all the jewellery gets a lifetime warranty due to the superb craftsmanship.
It’s certainly the place to go when you want something special for yourself or a loved one. I could only guess at the price of the beautiful pieces of jewellery we saw, including an amazing diamond brooch and a gorgeous tennis bracelet. Van der Veken jewellers, however, do have a number of items that start under 1000 Euros that do not scrimp on quality and design, so a unique piece of handmade jewellery is within many people's reach.
Next, we visited the site of the new Diva museum, due to open next spring in the centre of Antwerp and spoke to the enthusiastic director Jeroen Martens. This museum, dedicated to diamonds will have many interactive elements and the aim is to provide an immersive and theatrical experience. Modern technology such as touchscreens will be used and special activities for children, such as sorting diamonds will make it fun for younger ones.
As well as finding out about diamonds from their source deep in the ground to the process of cutting and polishing and the finished article, it will also talk about the roll Antwerp plays until this day in the world of diamonds (more of that later).
Less positive aspects of diamond dealing will also be addressed, such as blood diamonds as well as how this has been addressed today with The Kimberly Process - a guarantee that diamonds have not been sourced in an area of conflict. A visit to a 'strong room' where you will see how diamond theft is being dealt sounds interesting. At the end of the museum, you will get a chance to buy your very own diamond. That is one gift shop I will not be exiting quickly I can assure you!
The DIVA museum certainly sounds exciting, and I for one will be delighted to return to Antwerp just to see this new museum when it opens next May.
So time for lunch next, and a short walk brings us to the Mercado food hall. Here you can choose from a choice of 13 different food stands, from waffles to felafel, to Asian food. As well as having felafels I had the most amazing ‘bubble’ waffle. A light as a feather waffle with cream and syrup which was a decadent snack. Of course, I had to have it as Belgium is known for its waffles and it was totally scrumptious!
Our last stop of the day was to the Antwerp World Diamond Centre.
Here are some of the facts I learnt about diamonds here:-
A diamond is a chunk of coal that is made good under pressure.
Russia is the biggest producer of diamonds.
84% of rough diamonds are traded in Antwerp.
50% of polished diamonds are traded in Antwerp.
220 million dollars of diamonds passed through the Antwerp diamond office every day.
Diamonds provide 6600 direct jobs and over 26,000 indirect jobs in Antwerp and the surrounding area.
Why is Antwerp so important for the diamond trade?
Antwerp is important as 570 years of expertise and heritage are in the Antwerp area and there are more than 1700 diamond companies and manufacturers here.
The Antwerp World Diamond Centre has stringent controls on diamonds including monitoring the import and export of diamonds and running the Kimberley process scheme. This scheme implemented over 10 years ago has helped control conflict diamonds to less than 0.2% of all diamonds worldwide, from 15%. When diamonds are found to be used in armed conflict all participants are suspended from trade.
I really enjoyed my stay in Antwerp. This underrated city has much to offer and is a must-visit for fashion and diamond lovers everywhere.
If you want to read more about my trip to Antwerp, check out my posts Antwerp - the city of diamonds - part 1 and Hotel Franq, a luxury boutique hotel review, Antwerp.
If you want to know what else to do in Antwerp, visit the Visit Antwerp website. Many thanks to Visit Antwerp for inviting me on this press trip. I will be back!
To celebrate Antwerp being the ‘diamond capital; since 1447' I was recently invited to visit the city by Visit Antwerp and report back to my readers on all the interesting things happening in this vibrant city.
My stay for the two days was Hotel Franq, a newly opened modern boutique hotel a short walk from the main shopping area. The hotel was very chic and beautiful inside and makes a great base for a stay.
Day 1 in Antwerp included a visit to the Mas Museum where I visited the Dazzling Desire exhibition, a new exhibition about diamonds and their links to our emotions. To see some beautiful historic pieces of jewellery, such as a diamond-encrusted pair of boots, was a real eye-opener and certainly worth a visit. That evening we ate the RAS Restaurant overlooking the waterfront, where I dined on shrimp linguine and Belgium beer!
Day 2 started with a scrumptious continental breakfast at Hotel Franq, with locally sourced ingredients and then our group of bloggers and journalists met in the lobby, before being taken to our first stop - Jewellery Van der Veken.
Jewellery Van der Veken is a high-ended jeweller in the heart of the diamond district. Being the first company to be awarded the “Antwerp’s Most Brilliant’ quality label, has really put this jeweller on the map. To be awarded this label a jeweller has to meet 30 strict quality requirements such as ethics, sustainability and service and can only obtain this mark after an independent audit.
The family-run jeweller was founded in 1952 by Joseph Van der Veken and today it is run by Joseph’s son and grandson, Stephen and Christian.
What is special about this jeweller is that it is one of the few artisan jewellery makers left, where everything is ‘hand-forged’. This process means that the jeweller can get a finer finish whilst making the jewellery stronger and in Van der Veken jewellers they are proud of the fact that all the jewellery gets a lifetime warranty due to the superb craftsmanship.
It’s certainly the place to go when you want something special for yourself or a loved one. I could only guess at the price of the beautiful pieces of jewellery we saw, including an amazing diamond brooch and a gorgeous tennis bracelet. Van der Veken jewellers, however, do have a number of items that start under 1000 Euros that do not scrimp on quality and design, so a unique piece of handmade jewellery is within many people's reach.
Next, we visited the site of the new Diva museum, due to open next spring in the centre of Antwerp and spoke to the enthusiastic director Jeroen Martens. This museum, dedicated to diamonds will have many interactive elements and the aim is to provide an immersive and theatrical experience. Modern technology such as touchscreens will be used and special activities for children, such as sorting diamonds will make it fun for younger ones.
As well as finding out about diamonds from their source deep in the ground to the process of cutting and polishing and the finished article, it will also talk about the roll Antwerp plays until this day in the world of diamonds (more of that later).
Less positive aspects of diamond dealing will also be addressed, such as blood diamonds as well as how this has been addressed today with The Kimberly Process - a guarantee that diamonds have not been sourced in an area of conflict. A visit to a 'strong room' where you will see how diamond theft is being dealt sounds interesting. At the end of the museum, you will get a chance to buy your very own diamond. That is one gift shop I will not be exiting quickly I can assure you!
An exhibit at Diva
So time for lunch next, and a short walk brings us to the Mercado food hall. Here you can choose from a choice of 13 different food stands, from waffles to felafel, to Asian food. As well as having felafels I had the most amazing ‘bubble’ waffle. A light as a feather waffle with cream and syrup which was a decadent snack. Of course, I had to have it as Belgium is known for its waffles and it was totally scrumptious!
Our last stop of the day was to the Antwerp World Diamond Centre.
Here are some of the facts I learnt about diamonds here:-
A diamond is a chunk of coal that is made good under pressure.
Russia is the biggest producer of diamonds.
84% of rough diamonds are traded in Antwerp.
50% of polished diamonds are traded in Antwerp.
220 million dollars of diamonds passed through the Antwerp diamond office every day.
Diamonds provide 6600 direct jobs and over 26,000 indirect jobs in Antwerp and the surrounding area.
copyright Jan Crab
Why is Antwerp so important for the diamond trade?
Antwerp is important as 570 years of expertise and heritage are in the Antwerp area and there are more than 1700 diamond companies and manufacturers here.
The Antwerp World Diamond Centre has stringent controls on diamonds including monitoring the import and export of diamonds and running the Kimberley process scheme. This scheme implemented over 10 years ago has helped control conflict diamonds to less than 0.2% of all diamonds worldwide, from 15%. When diamonds are found to be used in armed conflict all participants are suspended from trade.
I really enjoyed my stay in Antwerp. This underrated city has much to offer and is a must-visit for fashion and diamond lovers everywhere.
If you want to read more about my trip to Antwerp, check out my posts Antwerp - the city of diamonds - part 1 and Hotel Franq, a luxury boutique hotel review, Antwerp.
If you want to know what else to do in Antwerp, visit the Visit Antwerp website. Many thanks to Visit Antwerp for inviting me on this press trip. I will be back!
