Editor’s Note
This article explores India’s remarkable diamond legacy, from its historical dominance as the world’s primary source for over a millennium to its modern pivot, leveraging unparalleled manufacturing skill to process the vast majority of the world’s stones.
It is a well-known fact that India has a long-established connection with diamonds, not for years, but for centuries. Before the discovery of diamonds in Brazil in the 1720s, most diamonds came from India, and the country was the world’s principal producer of diamonds for over 1000 years. As the Indian mines depleted, India’s control over the trade became restricted to its strong manufacturing capabilities, and right up to today, over 95% of the diamonds worldwide are cut and polished in India.
However, times are changing again for India. With the rising popularity of lab-grown diamonds across the world, and India being the world’s leading producer of Type IIa CVD diamonds, the country is regaining its claim to fame as a leading producer of the finest quality diamonds.
Thanks to the indigenously developed and completely made-in-India CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) technology, India is now emerging as a global hub for not just manufacturing, but also diamond production.
Bain & Company’s recent Diamond Industry Report 2021 reveals that global lab-grown diamond production has crossed 7 million carats per year. Of this, India leads in CVD diamond production with almost 1.5 million carats each year, higher than the overall production levels in the USA, Europe, the Middle East, Russia, and Singapore combined.
These huge production volumes have translated into rapid growth in export collections. As reported by the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), polished lab-grown diamond exports nearly doubled to Rs 5,175 crore for FY2021, compared to Rs 2,985 crore the previous year.
Leading the evolution of the lab-grown diamond industry in India is Bakul Limbasiya, the leading technocrat who developed the CVD diamond technology in India and is responsible for nearly 80% of the 1.5 million carats produced domestically.
Commonly known as the Bhishma Pitamah (originator or creator) of the lab-grown diamond industry in India, Limbasiya has been instrumental in shaping the domestic lab-grown industry. Having produced scalable volumes, he has successfully proven that India can emerge from being just a manufacturing hub to becoming one of the largest producers of diamonds, and of the finest quality.
According to a Frost & Sullivan report published in 2015, due to resource limitations, mined diamond supply will decline to 62 million carats by 2030, while demand will increase, leaving a deficit of nearly 160 million carats.
Limbasiya sees this huge gap between the demand for rough diamonds and the depleting supply of mined diamonds as an opportunity to be filled with lab-grown CVD diamonds within ten years. With India as a leading producer and exporter of CVD diamonds today, it stands to gain significantly from this situation.
While lab-grown diamonds are 100% real and a more affordable option, the fact that these diamonds best align with the values of today’s consumer is what sets them leagues apart from traditional stones. Those opting for lab-grown diamonds are also making sure that they not only pass on a precious heirloom to future generations but also a planet that is ecologically diverse and lively.
Interestingly, lab-grown diamonds have the highest demand from millennials, who have historically been the largest purchasers of mined diamonds. With ever-increasing environmental threats and mine depletion, consumers have become wary of purchasing diamonds. They now focus not only on aesthetics and rarity in their jewels but also seek assurances that the diamonds have been sourced responsibly. These values have led to increased demand for non-mined diamonds, and the demand is expected to grow.
This preferential shift towards lab-grown diamonds is now reflecting in increasing lab-grown sales in mined-diamond-dominant markets, such as the USA and China. India is not far behind and is catching up swiftly, with Indian millennials also beginning to embrace lab-grown diamonds. With a millennial population of over 40 crore, the highest in the world, and its increasing support for sustainable and eco-friendly products, a boost in the domestic demand for lab-grown diamond-studded jewellery is inevitable.