De Beers CEO Al Cook has expressed a growing confidence in India as the next major diamond consumer market thanks to the country’s economic and political stability.
India has emerged as the world’s second-largest market for natural diamonds, driven by sustained demand growth and rising consumer confidence, Cook said at a roundtable in Mumbai recently, as quoted by the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).
According to him, India recorded its fourth consecutive year of double-digit growth in natural diamond demand in 2025, with preliminary estimates pointing to an 11% year-on-year increase. Thanks to that, the country has overtaken China as the second-largest diamond consumer market, placing it behind only the US.
“India is no longer only where diamonds are made for the world. It is increasingly where diamonds are bought for India,” Cook said, adding that the country has emerged as a rare pocket of economic and political stability with a growing influence on the global diamond industry.
He added that De Beers expects natural diamond demand in India to double between 2024 and 2030, driven largely by Gen Z and younger consumers seeking jewellery that reflects individuality, meaning and legacy.
At the same time, De Beers is planning to increase its retail presence in India by accelerating the expansion of its natural diamond jewellery brand Forevermark. Cook said that the company has opened four Forevermark stores in India so far, with a fifth store to be unveiled in Mumbai in the nearest future.
Cook has also welcomed the recent steps undertaken by the Indian government to boost consumer trust such as the clarification on diamond terminology made by the Bureau of Indian Standards, and the country’s chairmanship of the Kimberley Process.
Theodor Lisovoy, Managing Editor, Rough&Polished
