Diamond jewellery demand in India likely to double by 2030, says De Beers Group CEO

Diamond company De Beers is expecting diamond jewellery consumption to double in India by 2030, its chief executive Al Cook has said. De Beers is launching the Forevermark brand in India.

“India has become the second largest market for natural diamond jewellery globally, overtaking China last year. We’ve seen double-digit growth for the last few years, and we actually see natural diamond demand in India, which is growing at 12 per cent annually, to double over the next five years by 2030.

“Currently, the diamond jewellery demand is just under USD 10 billion. So we’re very confident in the future of India,” De Beers Group CEO Al Cook told reporters.

De Beers is planning to open four Forevermark stores, two in Delhi and two in Mumbai, in the next few months.

“And within five years, we aim to have more than 100 stores across India,” said Cook, who is on a 3-day visit to the country.

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De Beers India managing Director Amit Pratihari said the Forevermark will be an omni-channel approach. “In the digital world, we are launching our e-commerce along with the store launch. And in India…physical availability is critical. So, for that, we have an expansion for physical stores. We’re going with a cluster-based approach rather than just spray and pray. So, we want to make sure that whichever city or market we go to, we maximise that before we go to the next market. And we have a five-year plan,” he stated. The five-year plan, a combination of company-owned stores and franchisees not only in big cities but will also include tier II and III cities, with a lot of aspiring customers, he added.

Cook stressed that De Beers Group sees the long-term commercial future for LGDs as being in high-tech industrial applications after highlighting the company’s intention to close the Lightbox LGD jewellery brand.

“De Beers Group’s Element Six subsidiary has the potential to support the development of key technology sectors in India. We believe Element Six can play a collaborative and impactful role in India’s semiconductor and data centre build-out as part of the country’s drive towards AI,” he added.

Talking about lab-grown diamonds (LGD), he said its wholesale prices in the jewellery sector have fallen 90 per cent.

“Our drive to educate consumers about the difference between natural diamonds and LGDs has accelerated. The myth that you can’t tell the difference between a natural diamond and an LGD is beginning to shatter, and Diamond Proof’s influence is only going to grow,” he added.

Recognising the rapidly growing consumer demand for natural diamonds in India, Cook said that with regard to marketing investments, De Beers Group has already announced that its natural diamond marketing spend in 2025 will be the highest in a decade.

Talking about the US imposing tariffs, Cook said diamonds are a little bit different as there are no natural diamond mines in America.

“… that’s why we’re so confident in our belief that the US will exempt natural diamonds from tariffs, just like they’ve exempted gold and other things that can’t be made in the United States of America,” he added.

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