DiamondBuzz
HRD Antwerp Launches Globally Recognised Diamond, Gemmology and Jewellery Education Programmes in India
HRD Antwerp, one of the world’s leading authorities in diamond, gemmology and jewellery education, has announced the launch of its internationally recognised education programmes in India. The initiative marks a significant step in strengthening professional training standards for the country’s diamond and jewellery industry.
The inauguration was honoured by the presence of Frank Geerkens, Consul General of Belgium in Mumbai, and Mehul N. Shah, Vice President, Bharat Diamond Bourse, highlighting strong industry support for the initiative and the enduring ties between Belgium and India in the diamond and jewellery sector.

The launch and inauguration took place during the first official visit to India of Paul De Wachter, CEO, HRD Antwerp, highlighting the strategic importance of the Indian market for the organisation. The CEO was joined by Stanley De Belie, Chief Operating Officer, and Philip Baeten, Chief Financial Officer, reflecting HRD Antwerp’s strong global leadership engagement with its India operations.
Representing HRD Antwerp’s India leadership team at the event were Ramakant Mitkar, Managing Director; Chandrakant Narkar, Sales Director; and Anand Gusani, Global Education Manager, who will lead the growth and delivery of HRD Antwerp’s education initiatives in the country.
The programmes will be delivered from HRD Antwerp’s education facility in Mumbai, providing Indian students, retailers, entrepreneurs and industry professionals access to globally benchmarked education without the need to travel overseas. The launch brings HRD Antwerp’s European standards of scientific precision, consistency and integrity directly to one of the world’s most important jewellery markets.
With a legacy spanning over five decades, HRD Antwerp has trained more than 240,000 students worldwide, contributing to the development of skilled professionals across the global diamond and jewellery value chain. The introduction of its education programmes in India is aimed at addressing the growing demand for structured, credible and internationally aligned training within the industry.
The curriculum covers a wide range of subjects, including diamond grading and identification, gemmology, gemstone treatments, small diamond expertise, lab-grown diamonds, and jewellery-related market knowledge, combining scientific fundamentals with practical, industry-relevant applications.
Training is conducted by senior industry experts using advanced grading and gemmological equipment aligned with HRD Antwerp’s global standards. Upon successful completion, participants receive a Diploma from HRD Antwerp, a qualification recognised across international diamond and jewellery markets.

Speaking at the launch, Paul De Wachter, CEO, HRD Antwerp, said,
“India plays a central role in the global diamond and jewellery industry. By introducing HRD Antwerp’s education programmes in India, we aim to support the development of skilled professionals who meet the highest international standards, strengthening trust and professionalism across the value chain.”
Commenting on the significance of the initiative, Mehul N. Shah, Vice President, Bharat Diamond Bourse, said, “India’s diamond and jewellery industry continues to grow in scale and global relevance. Access to structured, internationally aligned education programmes will play an important role in strengthening professional standards and supporting the industry’s long-term development.”

With this launch, HRD Antwerp reinforces its commitment to advancing education, ethical practices and global standards within the diamond and jewellery industry.
DiamondBuzz
De Beers Group Sets Out Portfolio and Organisational Actions to Support Long-Term Value Creation
Company outlines strategic cost optimisation, portfolio streamlining and operational changes to strengthen resilience while positioning for long-term growth in the natural diamond industry.
De Beers Group is advancing delivery of its business streamlining by setting out a number of planned portfolio and organisational changes to ensure an efficient cost base that strengthens resilience in the near-term while enhancing future competitiveness and retaining optionality as industry conditions improve.
Since 2024, De Beers has been streamlining its business in line with its Origins strategy to reduce costs, divest non-core assets and prioritise investment in activities that create the most value. Significant progress has been made, with more than $100 million of annual overhead costs removed from the business, the sale or closure of a number of non-core assets and significant capital and cost reconfigurations to asset expansion projects.
Simultaneously, De Beers has reinvested in natural diamond category marketing to support the industry’s efforts to grow natural diamond demand, launching new large-scale campaigns and collaborating with key stakeholders across the value chain to foster industry-wide investment. Global consumer demand for natural diamond jewellery returned to growth in 2025, while natural diamond sales increased across US independent jewellers in 2025 and into Q1 2026, led by higher value diamonds and those promoted by De Beers’ Desert Diamonds marketing campaign.
On the supply side, global rough diamond production is now decreasing, with several producers closing mines during 2026. Whilst the increasing rarity of diamonds and the emerging signs of improvement in consumer demand are likely to support longer-term value creation, rough diamond trading conditions are expected to remain challenging in the near-term due to cyclical and industry-specific factors.
Consistent with recent actions to improve business resilience, De Beers intends to pause production at the Venetia mine in South Africa for two years to reduce costs while also rephasing capital expenditure on its underground project. This will involve critical infrastructure investment to enhance the capacity and efficiency of the mine, with the intention to support future production growth as business and industry conditions improve.
De Beers is engaging with stakeholders in accordance with relevant requirements and the company’s values as it moves through this process, and will both support impacted employees and continue to invest in its community and Social and Labour Plan commitments.
This proposed action at Venetia Mine follows the decision earlier this year to pause the Tuzo Phase 3 expansion project at the Gahcho Kué Mine in Canada.
In parallel, De Beers plans to reconfigure its global operating model to refocus and prioritise resources on the core operational businesses and reduce its central corporate cost base.
Al Cook, CEO of De Beers Group, said:

“In line with our commitment to focus and streamline our business, we are making a number of changes to De Beers to ensure greater business resilience in the near-term, while supporting long-term value creation. We recognise the protracted challenging conditions as the diamond industry evolves, though we are encouraged by signs of consumer demand growth in the US and beyond, particularly in higher quality diamonds.
Global rough diamond supply is falling, bringing more support to the market. The changes we are making to our business are focused on underpinning our efficiency now and into the future, favourably positioning De Beers in its leadership role.”
De Beers Group will maintain current production levels through its other operations, and previous production guidance remains unchanged.
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