KOLKATA: Prices of certified polished diamonds have fallen month-on-month by a whopping 35% during Dussehra compared to last year’s Navratri-Dussehra period. The drop has now reached a level where certain categories of diamonds have touched 2004 prices.
A combination of factors like the Russia-Ukraine war, recession in the US and China, and the growing popularity of labgrown diamonds have led to fall in prices of polished diamonds. The Indian diamond trade that cuts and polishes 9 out 10 diamonds available in the world has inventory in hand it wants to sell off in the domestic market at a lower price, giving a chance to Indian buyers to own bigger diamonds at a lower price.
“The fall in prices of diamonds have resulted in a 20 percent hike in sales this Dussehra at our stores pan-India,” said Suvankar Sen, managing director & CEO of Senco Gold & Diamonds.
The maximum price fall has happened in diamonds sized between .25 carat to 3 carats, said Kirit Bhansali, vice-chairman, of the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC). This is giving a chance to Indian consumers to own bigger size diamonds, which otherwise would have been out of their reach.
However, the domestic market could see a further fall in polished diamond prices as rough diamond prices have started falling. Over the last three months, rough diamond prices have fallen as demand from the US, the largest buyer of polished diamond, declined significantly.
“The Israel-Hamas row will further impact the demand for polished diamonds in other global markets, and it is possible that prices may come down further,” said Vijay Mangukiya, regional chairman, GJEPC (Gujarat).
A carat of slightly included (SI) quality diamond priced at around $7,000 in 2004 now commands nearly the same price. Diamond clarity grade covers anything that affects the free passage of light through the stone. The prices of smaller diamonds, which come out while cutting and polishing rough diamonds as small broken prices, have fallen by 10 -15%.
“I have spent 30 years in the diamond trading industry in Surat and the present recession in the industry is worse than 2008,” said a leading diamond trader, who did not want to be identified.
The overall gross exports of cut and polished diamonds between April to September of FY24 fell 28.76% to US$ 8702.23 million compared to the same period of FY23.
