Buying in India, China may keep the sparkle in diamond

Diamond prices are headed north in the medium-term as demand from India and China together is expected to more than make up for the slackening demand from European markets, says a diamond industry expert.

“The supply of rough diamonds remains stable, but the demand — propelled particularly by Indian and China — is growing,” said Mr Stephen Lussier, CEO, Forevermark. Forevermark is a division of De Beers group of companies with an agenda of driving diamond demand in key markets and maintaining consumer confidence. And, De Beers controls over 40 per cent of the global rough diamond market.

Mr Lussier said currently, India and China account for 20 per cent of the global demand, and is expected to grow anywhere between 20 and 25 per cent every year for the next four to five years.

“At this rate, India and China would outperform the US by the end of this decade.”
Prices up 30%

He said, in the last few months the prices of rough diamonds went up by over 30 per cent. However, according to him, for the rest of the year, the prices may not go up as global diamond mining giants, including De Beers, “have decided to hold on to their current prices and supplies till the end of this year.” (According to industry sources, currently, the price hovers around $230 a carat.)

Mr Lussier was in town today to announce the Forever brand's foray into the Chennai market through tie-up with jewellery retailers such as GRT Jewellers, Joyallukkas, Prince Jewellery, VBJ Jewellers and Sugal and Damani Jewellers.

The diamond brand is currently available in cities such as Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai.

The company is planning to step into a few other cities such as Hyderabad in the coming months, he said.