Natural diamonds are shining again

Kolkata: Natural diamonds have regained their sparkle after three years of price stagnation as supply reductions by major miners, including De Beers, have reignited investor interest, said industry executives.

Solitaire prices are up 5-8% year-on-year, with a one-carat natural diamond selling for about ₹1.85 lakh, they said, even as smaller diamonds continue to face severe pricing pressure from lab-grown synthetics.Investors are increasingly viewing solitaires as an asset class and are betting that prices will rise further as major producers curb output, said Colin Shah, managing director at Kama Jewelry.131976885The recovery also coincides with a pullback in gold prices from record highs, prompting some consumers to return to diamonds after favouring the yellow metal.

Gold prices declined to about ₹1.42 lakh per 10 grams on Wednesday in Mumbai's spot market from a peak of nearly Rs 1.8 lakh per 10 grams at the beginning of the year."The demand for natural diamond solitaires is holding firm and consistent, with India playing a central role in keeping the category resilient," said Toranj Mehta, country head, category marketing, De Beers India.

"India already cuts over 90% of the world's diamonds and has now become the second-largest and fastest-growing market for diamond jewellery globally.

At present, it accounts for 12% of global demand value, up from 8% in 2021, now worth over $9 billion (about ₹85,000 crore)."The trend is also evident among collectors and investors, he said, as reflected in De Beers' recent auctions across Hong Kong, Geneva and New York, in collaboration with Sotheby's.

The 10.02-carat fancy intense blue natural diamond fetched $8.7 million, standing out as a shining example of how rare natural diamonds continue to attract serious attention, the executive said."Gen Z and millennials have emerged as the strongest force behind the uptick in the solitaire trend," said Rajiv Popley, director at Bandra-based Popley & Sons.

"They are buying solitaires for two purposes - one for their aspirational value and the other as an investment, as natural diamonds are becoming rarer, with no new diamond mines coming up."The De Beers study said Gen Z and millennials together account for 86% of India's diamond jewellery market by value, signalling sustained long-term demand."Natural diamonds are inherently rare, and that rarity is at the heart of this resurgence.

Demand has been consistently outpacing supply, and that is what is being reflected in solitaire prices today," said Neil Sonawala, managing director, Zen Diamond India. ...