The natural diamond industry, which had been going through a prolonged period of lower demand and higher-than-normal levels of inventory in the midstream, is set to stabilise in 2025, according to industry experts.
Beam Consulting chief executive Pranay Narvekar told the recently ended Angola International Diamond Conference held in Saurimo that the growth will, however, be at lower levels than in the past.
“The foreseeable future of the industry is at lower levels than in the past,” he said.
Narvekar said the long-term future of the industry depends on the “diamond dream.”
“Luxury perception of natural diamonds is key to long-term survival or success of the industry,” he said.
KGK chief executive Sandeep Kothari said he is confident and optimistic about the future of natural diamonds despite the current challenges facing the industry.
“Some of the reasons we are optimistic about the future of natural diamonds is that we have already seen the decline in popularity of lab-grown diamonds, which are being sold in the U.S.,” he told the conference.
“The U.S. consumers are realising that natural diamonds are what they truly deserve and want. The US is almost 55% to 56% of our global market, so it is very impactful.”
Kothari said India is another reason they feel the natural diamond market will make a comeback.
“The economic growth in India is strong,” he said.
“The consumer demand for natural diamonds is active, and it's growing. We feel India is going to be the second largest diamond-consuming market in the world.”
He said they are also hopeful the stimulus packages that were announced in China will see some positivity coming onto the stock markets in the country.
“It is [however] too early to predict anything for China, but we hope that if the government continues with the stimulus packages, we will see some demand coming in from the Chinese consumers,” said Kothari.
He said the industry recorded some “amazing” growth and disappointing slowdowns in the last five years.
“Because of this uneven vulnerability, or, let's say, uncertainty, that we have seen in our industry, the midstream has built up a huge inventory pipeline,” said Kothari.
It is very important to align the supplies with the demands of the world that are there right now.
“If we can do that for the next few months, let's say maybe two quarters, we will see a lot of inventory pipeline getting cleared and robust and good demand coming in for the second half of next year.”
Both Narvekar and Kothari emphasised the need for a collective effort towards the marketing of natural diamonds.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief, Rough&Polished
