India may become biggest natural diamond market: De Beers Group CEO

What we see at the moment is that as Indian consumers become more independent, have more freedom, they're choosing to buy diamond jewellery as symbol of that independence and symbol of their success

De Beers Group has doubled down on its marketing spend in India for natural diamonds this year, which will be the highest in the last decade. In an exclusive interview, Al Cook, chief executive officer, De Beers Group, talks to Sharleen D’Souza about doubling down on the company’s support for the Indian natural diamond jewellery market. Edited excerpts:

 

What will drive growth for the natural diamond market in India, as you expect the market to double by 2030?

 

We’re seeing extraordinary growth in the Indian economy at the moment, and the rise in per capita income between now and 2030 will be dramatic in India. That’s the primary driver. On top of that, India is a country that loves diamonds. We know there’s a traditional love.

 

What we see at the moment is that as Indian consumers become more independent and have more freedom, they’re choosing to buy diamond jewellery as a symbol of that independence and a symbol of their success.

 

Gold has traditionally been the way Indian couples mark their marriage, but for other milestones in their life — whether it’s the birth of a child, a birthday, or a self-purchase to celebrate an important promotion at work, we’re seeing people want to celebrate with diamond jewellery. That combination of a rising economy, a growing middle class, and a deepening love of diamonds and jewellery is what we see really doubling the market for diamonds over the next five years.

 

What are your plans in India with Element Six?

 

Element Six creates diamonds for technology and industry. For many years, they’ve been valued because they’re very hard. But now we’ve created diamonds that are technological marvels, and because India itself is a technological marvel, we see the combination of Indian software and synthetic diamond hardware coming together to create technology solutions for India.

 

We’re in discussions with the Indian government about how we can bring Element Six to India, create jobs here, and also help India’s technological revolution and its position at the forefront of technology.

 

Where do you see India standing in the pecking order for De Beers by 2030?

 

India is the second biggest market in the world for natural diamond sales after the US. We don’t see India overtaking the US by 2030, but over time, we see India potentially becoming the biggest market in the world. That’s why we are doubling down on our marketing spends in India as well.

 

De Beers has tied up with the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) to launch the Indian Natural Diamond Retailers Alliance (INDRA). How will this pan out in the Indian market?

 

We recognise that a combination of De Beers’ understanding of diamond marketing and GJEPC’s understanding of the Indian market is working well. We’ve already worked together on a few generic marketing campaigns over the past few months; they’ve been very successful, and that’s why we decided to create INDRA. We haven't even launched INDRA yet, and already 1,700 Indian retailers have contacted us to say they want to join our work. That’s a great start and makes us very confident. We’ll launch INDRA in August this year, and then I think we’ll see its full potential.

 

Forevermark diamond jewellery is coming to India for the second time. What do you think will work differently this time for the brand compared to your previous entry?

 

The first incarnation of Forevermark was a global brand adapted to India. This time, it is different. This is a brand created in India for India, and we believe that it’s really going to capture what is the world’s fastest-growing natural diamond market.

 

How will the US trade tariff war impact the natural diamond industry in India?

 

The natural diamond industry is very lucky to have such a great economic leader as Minister (Piyush) Goyal. He's doing a great job in the US of building the bridge between India and the US, and I’m very confident that he, his team, and the Indian government will succeed in getting a tariff deal that allows diamonds to flow freely from India to the US and back, if needed.