The inaugural Doha International Diamond and Gem Conference, which ran from 29th -31st January 2025, focused on developing strategies to build demand for diamond jewellery.
Panel discussions at the event, staged at The Ned, Doha, looked at ways to boost demand for luxury jewellery, notably natural diamond jewellery which faces competition from other luxury sectors, such as tourism, travel, and fashion.
The conference took place just before an announcement by De Beers Group on 3rd February that it had reached the successful conclusion of negotiations with Botswana’s government focused on establishing a new sales agreement for Debswana’s rough diamond production, as well as extending Debswana’s mining licences beyond 2029.
Debswana, a 50:50 joint venture between the Botswana government and De Beers, operates several leading diamond mines in Botswana.
At the Doha conference, organiser and diamantaire Alex Popov, in a question-and-answer session, spoke of the need to differentiate between natural and lab-grown diamond jewellery in marketing communications.
This was vital, he said, because any marketing initiated by the natural diamond jewellery community of so-called “diamond jewellery”, without identifying the type of diamonds, could bolster sales of lab-grown diamond jewellery, which is a lower priced segment of the market.
Recently, wholesale prices of lab-grown diamonds (LGD) have shrunk at a faster pace than natural diamonds.
LGD manufacturers in India and China have ramped up production, with a risk of driving LGDs towards the fashion jewellery category, industry executives said.
David Kellie, CEO of the Natural Diamond Council (NDC), which promotes natural diamond jewellery to consumers, presented a video to the plenary that showcased the unique positioning of natural diamonds, which evolved in the earth’s crust over millions of years.
De Beers executives spoke of the need for the global industry to share the cost of generic natural diamond jewellery marketing, rather than expect the world’s leading miner of diamonds to bear the cost alone.
The demand outlook for natural diamond jewellery is constructive in key markets such as the United States, China and India, Paul Rowley, Executive Vice President of De Beers Group, said.
He told Solitaire in an interview that the United States was a resilient market, as underlined by a positive sales performance over the Christmas period, particularly among independent retailers.
Some analysts believe that President Trump’s policies to cut taxes may boost disposable income in the United States, the world’s largest economy, in 2025. However, analysts have also voiced concerns over inflationary risks linked to tariff policies.
China’s appetite for natural diamond jewellery was set to pick up in the second half of 2025, into 2026, Rowley said.
A slowing Chinese economy has dragged on natural diamond jewellery demand in the world’s second largest economy.
India’s vibrant economy was set to lift demand for natural diamond jewellery, Rowley opined. “India is becoming a particularly important consumer market,” he noted, referring to the world’s most populous country. “The country is buzzing at the moment,” added the De Beers executive, who is a regular visitor to India
India has risen to become the world’s second largest jewellery market, with domestic demand in the diamond jewellery complex centred mainly on natural diamonds.
The natural diamond jewellery demand outlook in Europe was steady, Rowley said. Natural diamonds have faced tough competition from lab-grown diamonds, which according to him were headed for the fashion jewellery segment as production increased.
Retail margins in the United States were starting to fall after wholesale prices collapsed, he added.
De Beers currently accounts for around a third of global supply of mined diamonds, down from around two-thirds a few decades ago.
The conference preceded the Doha Jewellery and Watches Exhibition, a consumer-facing show featuring many of the world’s leading jewellery and watches brands.
A senior Qatari official linked to the organisers, said the total value of sales at this edition of the show was expected to exceed $250 million.
Many of the visiting jewellery buyers at the busy show came from Qatar, as well as several other Middle Eastern countries.
Exhibitors at the show included many of the world’s top jewellery brands, including Cartier, Bulgari, and Rolex.
The Doha Jewellery and Watches Exhibition featured an India Pavilion, organised by the GJEPC, including Mumbai- and Jaipur-based suppliers of high-end diamond and gem-set jewellery, as well as loose natural diamonds.
Narola Diamonds Private Limited, one of the exhibitors at the India Pavilion, were looking to supply loose natural diamonds, including rare fancy colour diamonds, to top level retailers and local customers in Doha.