In recent months, the large corporate Indian jewellers have come out in full force reiterating a commitment to natural diamonds amidst continued buzz around man-made diamonds in the Western world.
For instance, Tanishq, India’s largest jeweler, just debuted “Diamond Expertise Centres” in a handful of stores with plans to expand the initiative to 200 stores this fiscal year and eventually 500 stores – the aim is to instill consumer confidence in its natural diamonds. The Centres provide a full-service experience that includes access to gemmological tools and personal gemmologist-led consultation to navigate customers through their natural diamond purchase.
Further, De Beers’ diamond brand Forevermark has recently singled out India as its priority growth market. The company unveiled a plan to open around one hundred Forevermark (natural diamond only) stores in India targeting $100 million in annual sales by 2030.
Man-made or lab-grown diamonds (LGDs) are estimated to represent only a low-single digit percentage of consumer diamond sales by value in India, which compares to over 1/3 in the US. That said, the LGD product is still on Indian consumers’ minds –albeit for different reasons than it is in the West.
In a recent interview with CNBC, the CEO of Tanishq, noted that “the biggest question our customers ask is: are your diamonds natural?” This is despite the fact that the jewellery brand only sells natural diamonds.
The US was the first consumer market aggressively targeted by the LGD industry approximately a decade ago –and it remains its primary focus. This is likely due to the US being the largest consumer of diamond jewellery (at upwards of 55% of global demand by value) but also because of cultural imperatives, i.e. US consumers stereotypically tend to prefer “big” and “cheap.” However, in Indian culture it is more common for consumers to prioritize quality over quantity –especially when it comes to jewellery.
Gold jewellery consumption also supports this theory. In the US, 10- or 14-karat (42-58% purity) gold tends to be most common – or now even plated or hollow gold given the recent runup in prices. Whereas, in India, 18- to 22-karat (75-92% purity) is standard.
Just a few years ago the question remained whether LGD would take off with Indian fine jewellery consumers the way that it has with Americans. Today, it seems that the response is leaning more towards “no” – especially after the precipitous fall in LGD prices.
CaratLane’s CEO, India’s more diamond-focused jeweller, told the Economic Times in June that the company “is not going to get into LGD, that’s very clear…we are going to play in natural diamonds only…at the falling rate of LGDs, making money would be very difficult for anybody who is venturing into it.”
Many Indian consumers, especially younger cohorts with limited budgets, are opting for “mini solitaire” natural diamonds, rather than more affordable lab-diamonds. According to CaratLane, the mini-solitaire category, which includes 0.2 to 0.7-carat sizes, is “attracting many first-time buyers” and is the company’s fastest-growing diamond category.
Paul Zimnisky, CFA is an independent diamond industry analyst and consultant based in the New York metro area. For regular in-depth analysis and forecasts of the diamond industry please consider subscribing to his State of the Diamond Market, a leading monthly industry report; an index of previous editions can be found here. Also, listen to the Paul Zimnisky Diamond Analytics Podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts for exclusive full-length conversations with special guests from the gem and jewelry industry. Paul is a graduate of the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business with a B.S. in finance, and he is a CFA charterholder. He can be followed on X @paulzimnisky and on YouTube @paulzimnisky.
Paul will be giving keynote presentations at the DMCC Lab Grown Diamond Symposium in Dubai, UAE on September 30, 2025, and the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) Convention in Toronto, Canada on March 2, 2026.
Disclosure: At the time of writing Paul Zimnisky held a long equity position in Brilliant Earth Group and Newmont Corp. Paul is an independent board member of Lipari Mining Ltd, a publicly-traded Canadian company with an operating diamond mine in Brazil and a development-stage asset in Angola. None of the above constitutes investment advice, please read full disclosure at www.paulzimnisky.com.
