The future of diamonds in India will be even greater than the past, the CEO said, reiterating the company’s support for the fast-growing Indian natural diamond jewellery market, and commitment to unlocking India’s full diamond potential
Mumbai: Mumbai: Al Cook, CEO of De Beers Group, reiterated the Group’s commitment to unlocking the full potential for natural diamonds in India during his visit to Mumbai on May 22. As India continues to power ahead as the world’s fastest growing market for natural diamond jewellery demand, Cook and other senior leaders from De Beers Group have been visiting the country to meet with its range of leading retailers, traders, cutters and polishers, and industry groups.“Over time, we see India potentially becoming the biggest natural diamond market in the world. That’s why we are doubling down on our marketing spends in India,” declared Al Cook, CEO, De Beers Group.
Further dwelling on the growth of India, the home of diamonds, across the diamond value chain, Cook said, “For more than two thousand years, India has been at the heart of the world’s diamond industry. I have seen that history for myself over the past three days in Mumbai and Surat. But I have also seen that the future of diamonds in India will be even greater than the past. I have seen innovation. I have seen cooperation. I have seen determination,” Cook stated.
Recognizing the rapidly growing consumer demand for natural diamonds in India as the country has overtaken China to become the second largest market globally, Cook added: “The industry used to be focused on diamonds ‘from India’ and ‘by India’, but now it’s increasingly about diamonds ‘for India’ and ‘to India’.”
As the value of lab-grown diamonds (LGDs) continues to decline at pace, Cook also highlighted the importance of technology-enabled diamond testing, reiterating the significance of the DiamondProof instrument launched by De Beers Group earlier this year to facilitate rapid verification of natural diamonds at the retail counter. “LGD prices in the jewellery sector have fallen 90% at wholesale, tracking closer to a cost-plus model as they have diverged from natural diamond prices. 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 DiamondProof’s influence is only going to grow,” he stated.
Commenting on De Beers’ closure of its LGD brand Lightbox, Cook stressed that the De Beers Group sees the long-term commercial future for LGDs as being in high-tech industrial applications, underpinning its intention to close the Lightbox LGD jewellery brand. Moreover, he noted that the 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,” Cook said.
With regard to marketing investments, Cook noted that the De Beers Group has already announced that its natural diamond marketing spend in 2025 will be the highest in a decade and referenced De Beers Group’s long-term strategic collaboration with Tanishq, leading jewellery retail brand from the Tata group, to connect more Indian consumers with the rarity and preciousness of natural diamonds and amplify the growing opportunity in the Indian market. He also highlighted the importance of the Group’s work with India’s Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council, as well as the focus on building De Beers Group’s Forevermark jewellery brand in India. “This multi-billion opportunity is why we’re working with the GJEPC to reinvigorate category marketing and why we’ve refocused our Forevermark brand in India. By 2030, we’ll have 100 co-owned or franchise-owned stores here, spread across 40 key cities,” Cook declared.
As part of De Beers Group’s collaboration with the GJEPC, the two parties have established INDRA – the Indian Natural Diamond Retailer Alliance – to support independent retailers in India with promotional campaign assets and innovative marketing tools for natural diamonds. As part of the INDRA collaboration, registered retailers have been able to access and customize the campaign materials for the ‘Love, From Dad’ collection as part of the Second Ear Piercing Ritual programme. In addition, registered retailers have been able to receive virtual training on natural diamonds.
Summarizing the key role that India plays in the world of diamonds and the opportunity to power its growth even further, Cook added, “I have seen the good that India does for diamonds, and the good that diamonds do for India. As I have said many times before, this is a land of exciting diamond opportunities, and a diamond is forever when we all work together.”
The De Beers Group, a subsidiary of Anglo American Plc, is a South African-British corporation that operates in 35 countries with mining taking place in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Canada. The brand’s jewellery houses are De Beers Jewellers and Forevermark, and it also operates diamond sourcing and traceability initiatives Tracr and GemFair.
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