DiamondBuzz
Natural Diamond Council and Dubai Jewellery Group Host a Successful ‘The Diamond Dialogue’ in Dubai
Industry leaders come together to discuss opportunities, challenges, and consumer trust in the diamond sector
Natural Diamond Council (NDC), a global not-for-profit organization collaborating the natural diamond industry and its entire value chain, hosted first-ever edition The Diamond Dialogue in partnership with Dubai Jewellery Group (DJG). The Diamond Dialogue was a thought-provoking industry roundtable that brought together leading voices from the UAE’s jewellery sector to discuss the evolving landscape of the natural diamond industry.
The session, held in Dubai, brought together key stakeholders, including retailers, industry leaders, and trade experts, for a candid exchange on the current challenges and opportunities shaping the diamond sector. Discussions centered on how the industry can better connect with today’s well-informed yet easily distracted consumer, ensuring that the emotional and enduring value of natural diamonds continues to shine through every interaction.
With the advent of lab-grown diamonds, experts reiterated that knowledge remains the cornerstone of trust and the strength of the diamond community. The dialogue emphasized the importance of clear and transparent communication, helping consumers understand that natural and lab-grown diamonds represent two distinct and parallel markets. Participants collectively agreed that honesty, transparency, and clarity must guide every engagement with consumers.
The session was moderated by Richa Singh, Managing Director – India & Middle East, Natural Diamond Council (NDC), and featured perspectives from Tawhid Abdullah, CEO, Jawhara Jewellery & Chairman, Dubai Jewellery Group; K.P. Abdul Salam, Vice Chairman, Malabar Group; Anuraag Sinha, Managing Director, Liali Jewellery; Chandu Siroya, Owner, Siroya Jewellers; and Amit Dhamani, CEO and Managing Director, Dhamani Group.
Our special guest, Mr. Ahmad Ali Moosa, Director of the Consumer Protection Department at the Dubai Corporation for Consumer Protection and Fair Trade (DCCPFT), offered a unique perspective on the importance of building a transparent ecosystem that prioritizes consumer trust and protection.

Commenting on the session, Richa Singh, Managing Director, Natural Diamond Council, “We’ve always envisioned The Diamond Dialogue as an open and honest conversation that leads to real action. Dubai has been the first market to embrace this initiative and to collaborate with us in moving the conversation forward. It’s inspiring to see industry leaders, retailers, and government stakeholders come together with a shared purpose, to strengthen trust, educate consumers, and shape a stronger, more transparent future for natural diamonds.”
Commenting on the session, Tawhid Abdullah, Chairman, Dubai Jewellery Group, “Dubai continues to be a beacon for the global jewellery trade, a place where innovation, integrity, and tradition converge. We are the most established jewellery market in the region and are thrilled to have NDC lead this important conversation. The Diamond Dialogue is an important step toward strengthening our collective voice and ensuring we uphold the highest standards of transparency and consumer confidence in natural diamonds.”

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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