Indian diamond market grew around 11%, fastest globally in 2025: De Beers

CEO Al Cook says India is De Beers' fastest-growing market globally as natural diamond demand logs four years of double-digit growth

De Beers Group continues to double down on its marketing spend in India for natural diamonds, with investments now at an all-time high. In an exclusive interview, Al Cook, chief executive officer (CEO), De Beers Group, and Shweta Harit, global senior vice-president, De Beers Group, and CEO, Forevermark, speak to Sharleen D’Souza in Mumbai about ramping up the company’s support for the Indian natural diamond jewellery market. Edited excerpts:

 

Is De Beers spending heavily on marketing in India?

 

Al Cook: We’ll be undertaking two forms of marketing over the next year. We will continue our category marketing, building on the success of campaigns such as Love, From Dad, Love, From Bestie, and the IPL. Alongside this, we will increase our marketing for Forevermark. With the launch, we have five Forevermark stores as of this week, which will expand to around 25 stores by the end of the year. We will also be marketing specifically around Forevermark. India is becoming an increasingly important market for us, and we are investing accordingly.

 

Shweta Harit: For Forevermark, this year’s spending will be higher than last year's. Last year, we had fewer stores; this year, we are starting fresh with a full-scale marketing push.

 

How is the Indian market panning out for De Beers, given that it is the second-largest diamond market globally after the US?

 

Cook: In fact, it is growing even faster. We believe India grew around 11 per cent in 2025, the strongest growth of any country in the world. This is driven by India’s economic growth, combined with a deep-rooted love for jewellery and diamonds. That combination is extremely positive for diamonds and for De Beers. I’m here in early January, and India is where I chose to begin my year — and that’s no accident. It reflects the importance of India to De Beers and to the diamond industry as a whole.

 

Do you expect this growth in natural diamonds to continue in 2026?

 

Cook: India has been growing strongly for several years now. We’ve seen double-digit growth in natural diamond demand for four consecutive years — 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025. We expect that momentum to continue into 2026 and 2027. High gold prices have had some impact, but the strength of the Indian economy has helped demand push through. We’re delighted by that.

 

Now that we have a retail brand in India, alongside our category-level diamond marketing, we can really double down and create synergies between the two — between category marketing and Forevermark. We’re also encouraged by India’s leadership on consumer protection standards through the Bureau of Indian Standards, as well as its new role as Chair of the Kimberley Process. India is stepping up, and we’re investing even more.

 

With gold prices at current levels, are you seeing a pickup in demand for studded jewellery?

 

Harit: Yes, we are seeing many gold-only jewellers approach us to start selling diamonds or studded jewellery. Margins on gold are under pressure, and selling gold alone has become challenging. I believe studded jewellery will grow, and possibly even coloured stones. The shift is clearly underway.

 

Lab-grown diamonds are also picking up in India. Do you see this impacting demand for natural diamonds?

 

Cook: The Indian consumer is arguably the most sophisticated jewellery consumer in the world. Nowhere else do consumers insist on knowing the quantity and quality of gold and diamonds quite like India does. That sophistication matters, especially because there has been global confusion between lab-grown and natural diamonds — one reason lab-grown prices initially rose and then collapsed.

 

In India, we see something different. Lab-grown diamonds are emerging in retail, but at lower price points. Consumers understand what they are buying. They know it’s not a natural diamond; they know it’s commoditised. It’s fun, fashionable and attractive, and that’s fine — but it’s clearly distinct from natural diamonds.

 

What matters to us is that consumers understand this difference. There is something special about a diamond that is a billion years old, compared with one made in a few weeks. A natural diamond is rare, valuable and created by Mother Earth. With the Indian consumer’s level of awareness, we’re confident natural diamonds will continue to be treasured here.

 

Forevermark is opening its largest store in India. How have customers responded so far?

 

Cook: It’s a real symbol of our confidence in India and our long-term intent.

 

Harit: We launched our Delhi store three months ago. The other stores have been operational for only about a month, so it’s still early days. That said, the Delhi store is performing very well. We haven’t yet rolled out our full marketing campaign because we wanted a critical mass of stores first. Early results are encouraging, and we’re quite happy.

 

You’ve partnered Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council to launch Indra for jewellery retailers. Has it rolled out yet?

Harit: We are rolling out our first diamond tray for retailers who haven’t stocked natural diamonds in the past. This will be their first curated collection of natural diamonds. The next step for Indra is to further increase the availability of natural diamonds across the market.