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A tremendously exciting time to be in India : Al Cook, CEO- De Beers Group

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Al Cook, CEO- De Beers Group, expressed robust optimism about India’s natural diamond sector during a media address in Mumbai, announcing significant retail expansion and reaffirming the company’s commitment to the world’s fastest-growing diamond market. The briefing underscored India’s strategic importance to De Beers’ global operations,

Market Outlook and Growth Trajectory

Cook characterized the current period as “a tremendously exciting time to be in India,” citing the natural diamond sector’s double-digit growth performance. He emphasized India’s historical significance as the country that introduced diamonds to the world, while highlighting contemporary factors driving market expansion: economic and political stability, a rapidly expanding middle class, and sophisticated consumer understanding of natural diamonds’ intrinsic value and emotional significance.

Al Cook outlined a favorable supply-demand dynamic for the long term, with anticipated growth in natural diamond demand coinciding with declining supply as mine production decreases globally. This structural shift positions natural diamonds as increasingly valuable assets in the jewelry market.

Strategic Investment in Indian Retail

De Beers five Forevermark retail stores across India, represent a substantial commitment to direct consumer engagement. Notably, the Mumbai location will become the largest Forevermark store globally, serving as a flagship for the brand’s retail ambitions. Cook described this investment as “a symbol of commitment and intention” that reflects De Beers’ long-term vision for the Indian market.

Shweta Harit, Global Senior VP- De Beers Group and CEO of Forevermark, explained that the Forevermark retail initiative employs a distinctive business model where “we have our name on the door,” signaling direct brand ownership and operational control. This approach marks a significant evolution in De Beers’ go-to-market strategy.

Product Differentiation Strategy

De Beers articulated its “and” principle, which recognizes distinct market spaces for natural diamonds and lab-grown diamonds (LGD) rather than positioning them as mutually exclusive categories. This strategic framework acknowledges different consumer needs while maintaining clear differentiation between the two products. Current revenue distribution validates this approach, with natural diamonds generating 98 percent of revenue compared to two percent from LGD.

Cook expressed appreciation for the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) establishment of standards and guidelines for both natural and lab-grown diamonds, stating this regulatory clarity builds consumer trust and protects the emotional and financial value of natural diamonds.

Government Engagement and Regulatory Environment

The De Beers CEO reported a productive meeting with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, noting the minister’s comprehensive understanding of diamond market dynamics. Cook expressed optimism about India’s chairmanship of the Kimberley Process, anticipating that Indian leadership would strengthen commitments to ethical, conflict-free diamond sourcing and trading.

Consumer Trends and Marketing Initiatives

Harit highlighted robust sales performance among Generation Z and millennial consumers, who are increasingly rejecting commoditized jewelry in favor of pieces with authentic emotional resonance. Current retail trends include significant self-purchase activity by women and brides, along with growing preference for white gold jewelry.

To deepen emotional connections with consumers, De Beers launched two targeted campaigns: “Second Piercing” and “Love You Dad.” These initiatives emphasize personal milestones and family bonds, positioning natural diamonds as irreplaceable symbols of enduring love and sentiment. The campaigns align with the company’s differentiation strategy by creating distinct emotional territory for natural diamonds.

Broader Investment Portfolio

Beyond retail expansion, Cook indicated that De Beers’ bullish stance on India encompasses investments across multiple sectors including technology development, industry standards advancement, and diamond machinery manufacturing. This comprehensive approach demonstrates the company’s view of India not merely as a consumer market but as a complete diamond ecosystem spanning the entire value chain.

De Beers’ Mumbai announcements reflect strategic confidence in India’s natural diamond market, supported by favorable demographic trends, regulatory clarity, and evolving consumer preferences. The company’s substantial retail investment, combined with its product differentiation strategy and emotional marketing approach, positions it to capitalize on anticipated long-term growth while maintaining natural diamonds’ premium positioning in an evolving competitive landscape.

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DiamondBuzz

Gemfair and De Beers London have launched a capsule jewellery collection featuring ethically sourced artisanal diamonds.

This launch marks the first time that GemFair’s ethically sourced, artisanal-mined diamonds are featured in jewellery, bringing their story of supporting livelihoods to consumers

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De Beers Group is pleased to announce a collaboration between GemFair, the company’s programme to help formalise the artisanal and small-scale diamond mining (ASM) sector, and its luxury jewellery brand, De Beers London, to bring the story and beauty of GemFair’s ethically sourced, artisanal diamonds to consumers for the first time.

GemFair is a first-of-its-kind sourcing initiative that aims to transform standards and livelihoods for artisanal diamond miners by providing fair value purchasing, training to improve mining and working practices and a formal and traceable route-to-market for ethically sourced artisanal diamonds. Through GemFair’s proprietary digital tools and third‑party‑verified assurance programme, eligible diamonds can be traced from mine site to market.

GemFair is also part of Building Forever – De Beers Group’s industry-leading commitment to sustainabilitytransforming rarity into responsibility by supporting meaningful impact that endures beyond diamonds for countries, communities and ecosystems. The programme’s success is measured through improvements in standards, support of livelihoods in both mining and alternative livelihoods like farming and fishing, and traceability rather than production volume, reflecting its long-term, systems-based approach.

The capsule collection with De Beers London translates this journey into a series of creations that pair rough and polished GemFair diamonds, offering a rare and tangible expression of transformation. Comprising twelve unique pieces, the capsule collection celebrates the House’s intimate relationship with the source. Sculpted by the quiet force of rivers, each diamond was individually selected for its character and quality. The polished diamonds were handcrafted exclusively for the capsule, while the rough diamonds remain as nature intended – an authentic and powerful tribute to the Earth’s raw beauty. Through ‘Toi & Moi’ rings and the ‘Modern Lines’ set, each piece reflects a continuous dialogue between discovery and craftsmanship, honouring both the origin of the diamond and the artistry that reveals it.

Beyond this capsule, GemFair is now a registered supplier to De Beers London for future collections, having met the House’s rigorous standards for quality and responsible sourcing. This partnership marks an important step in strengthening the connection between exceptional diamonds, the people who discover them, and the finished jewellery piece.

Emmanuelle Nodale, CEO of De Beers London, said: “We’re proud to be the first jeweller to launch a collection featuring GemFair ethically sourced diamonds, bringing not just their beauty but also the powerful story of artisanal miners to our clients. By introducing both rough and polished diamonds within the same creation, we offer a rare and tangible connection to each diamond’s path, from its discovery in ancient riverbeds to its transformation into a jewel.

These pieces carry not only the beauty of the diamond itself, but also the human stories behind it — stories of pride, opportunity and meaningful impact for artisanal mining communities. This collection marks an important step in our ongoing commitment to GemFair and to raising awareness of the programme’s important work.”

De Beers Group launched GemFair to lead industry efforts to formalise a transparent route to market for artisanal diamond miners, which accounts for around 10 per cent of global diamond supply by value and provides a vital source of livelihood for millions of people in some of the poorest parts of the world.

The programme launched in 2018 in the Kono region of Sierra Leone, where it continues to operate today. De Beers chose Sierra Leone to establish the GemFair programme because the government has made substantial efforts to include artisanal mining in its regulation and the country has transformed following the civil conflict that ended more than two decades ago.

Sandrine Conseiller, CEO of De Beers Brands & Diamond Desirability said: “Today’s luxury is defined not only by craftsmanship but by conscience. As part of our commitment to Building Forever, GemFair plays a vital role in supporting livelihoods by formalising artisanal mining and creating fair, traceable routes to market. For the first time, we are bringing these diamonds to consumers through this new collection with De Beers London with pieces that celebrate the beauty of natural diamonds while telling a story of the producers’ empowerment and transformation.

It’s an important step in our efforts to translate rarity to responsibility and create meaningful impacts that endure beyond diamonds.”

Today, there are more than 500 artisanal mine sites participating in GemFair, which in turn support approximately 7,000 direct and many more indirect livelihoods. Since launching, GemFair has purchased more than 20,000 diamonds from participating miners and conducted more than 5,700 compliance visits to participating sites. GemFair has also launched a programme to reclaim artisanal mine sites once mining has ended to help improve safety and environmental practices within the sector. Since 2020, the programme has converted almost 160 abandoned mine pits to agricultural use and donated over 1,000 kilograms of rice, fruit and vegetable seedlings for local communities, supporting food security and providing an alternative source of livelihoods.

Steve Allan, Head of GemFair, said: “The collaboration with De Beers London marks a significant milestone for GemFair as our beautiful, ethically-sourced artisanal diamonds are sold in a dedicated jewellery collection for the first time. GemFair makes a tangible difference to the lives of the artisanal miners involved in the programme and it’s a great privilege to help tell their stories through the diamonds that we source and sell.

We’ve come a long way since starting out as a pilot programme trying to establish a model for something that had never been done before. It’s very rewarding to see GemFair diamonds set in such stunning jewellery pieces, representing a real full circle moment.”

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JewelBuzz is Asia’s First Digital Jewellery Media & India’s No.1 B2B Jewellery Magazine, published by AM Media House. Since 2016, we’ve been the trusted source for jewellery news, market trends, trade insights, exhibitions, podcasts, and brand stories, connecting jewellers, retailers, and industry professionals worldwide.

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