India's diamond industry is witnessing two sharply contrasting realities.
On one hand, exports of both natural and lab-grown diamonds have declined over the past two financial years and on the other, jewellery retail giants are ramping up investments in both segments to tap rising domestic demand.
The country’s cut and polished diamond exports—its largest diamond export segment—declined to Rs 1.07 lakh crore in FY26 from Rs 1.12 lakh crore in FY25 and Rs 1.32 lakh crore in FY24, data from the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) showed, even as they continued to account for nearly 44% of the country's gems and jewellery exports.
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Worked lab-grown diamond exports also fell to Rs 10,012 crore from Rs 10,716 crore a year earlier and Rs 11,612 crore in FY24, suggesting that this weakness is not limited to natural diamonds and that slowing global demand, pricing pressures and disruptions in key overseas markets have affected nearly every segment of India's diamond export basket.
According to GJEPC, cut and polished diamond exports were hit by global inventory correction, weaker discretionary spending and tariff-related uncertainty in the US, while polished lab-grown diamonds witnessed price corrections despite higher shipment volumes.
The export slowdown comes despite India's growing strategic role in the global lab-grown diamond industry.
