India is set to become the second largest market this year for Forevermark Diamonds Private, the diamond brand of the De Beers Group, Forevermark India president Sachin Jain said.
“From the current trends, we see India surpassing the USA, to become the largest market by volumes for Forevermark,” Mr. Jain said.
One in million
He said that among all the polished diamonds emerging from the rough ones mined by the De Beers Group of companies, only one in a million had the exceptional qualities needed to get the Forevermark.
This is then given to the partner companies for further processing to make jewellery. In India, Forevermark’s market stood at 60,000 diamond pieces and was expected to increase to 1,30,000 pieces by the end of 2017, Mr. Jain added.
Forevermark is present at the retail level through a shop-in-shop model. “Beginning in 2011, we now have 230 doors,” Mr. Jain said. This is in comparison to 800 in China and 400 in the U.S.
The south is the largest market, followed by the north, west and east.
He welcomed the GST saying that it will be good for the organised players.
Later addressing the gathering at the sixth edition of an event called Forevermark Forum here Stephen Lussier, CEO said that this year the company “inscribed the two millionth Forevermark diamond at its lab in Surat. This bore testament to the country’s growth,” he said. The Indian market has overcome the demonetisation effect and was posting good growth, he said.
Over 30,000 Forevermark diamonds were on display at the event which also showcased a collection designed by master couturier Sabyasachi Mukherjee.
