US. Tariffs Shake Up World’s Diamond Centers 

India’s natural-diamond sector will encounter three possible outcomes as competition from synthetics emerges in the vibrant local market.

The March edition of the Rapaport Research Report assesses how likely each of these scenarios are given Indian consumers’ traditional focus on jewelry’s long-term value. It also analyzes how each of these could impact the natural sector, which has seen consistent growth as the country’s population and wealth expands.

Lab-grown store networks have mushroomed in recent years as venture-capital and private-equity investors have pumped funding into the sector. Titan Company and other publicly listed jewelers have also launched brands selling the product.

However, the category will have a harder time taking market share in India than it did in the US, where price is a bigger factor, even in high-emotion segments such as engagement rings, the report explains. The Indian buyer views wedding jewelry as an investment. This might mean fashion jewelry is the most probable target for cannibalization. The report addresses whether lab-grown will attract new customers who have never bought diamonds before, resulting in overall market expansion and opportunities for upselling to natural.

This month’s issue once again includes exclusive RapNet data for 0.30-, 0.50, 1- and 3-carat natural diamonds, including average prices, discounts, inventory by country, search volume, and turnover time.

It also features an in-depth analysis of the price gap between goods located in the US and in India — using data available in the Rapaport Research Report — and how tariff cuts affected this in February.

For the first time, the articles in this report are available exclusively to subscribers on this web page in addition to the usual PDF, enabling a smoother read. It also includes a video interview with Richa Singh, managing director for India and the Middle East at the Natural Diamond Council (NDC), who explains how she views the lab-grown situation and what the marketing group is doing to minimize the impact.

Subscribers can access the full edition of the Rapaport Research Report below or here.

Not yet subscribed? Click here to sign up for the latest edition, featuring RapNet data as well as detailed analysis of diamond-price movement and supply and demand trends.

Introduction

There were two main topics of conversation at January’s IIJS Bharat – Signature show in Mumbai. The first was the gold price, which was on its way to a record high (although it has since fallen). The second was lab-grown diamonds, which have suddenly become a force in the domestic Indian jewelry market.