Natural Prices Down 20-30% from Pandemic Highs, says De Beers

(IDEX Online) - Natural diamond prices have fallen 20-30% from their post-pandemic highs but are now stabilizing, according to Paul Rowley, executive vice president of diamond trading at De Beers.

Larger stones above two carats are rising significantly, he said.

Rowley made the remarks during an interview with The Economic Times in Kolkata on August 27 as part of De Beers' push to expand its presence in India, the world's second-largest natural diamond jewelry market.

"Prices have fallen but we have seen stabilization. In fact, 2 carats upwards, the pricing has started to increase significantly," Rowley (pictured) said.

The most expensive shape for 2-carat natural diamonds is currently marquise, priced at Rs 19 lakh ($228,000), while the least expensive is princess, at Rs 12 lakh ($144,000).

The 20-30% decline represents an improvement from the market's worst point, when the IDEX Polished Price Index - benchmarked at 100 at its launch in July 2004 - fell more than 40% from its March 2022 peak.

The recovery comes as De Beers shifts its focus to India, betting on the festive season - which runs from late August through early November, culminating with Dhanteras on November 6 and Diwali on November 8 - to revive consumer demand and targeting 10-12% growth in fiscal year 2027.

The company is increasingly looking at markets such as India to offset weaker demand in China, where luxury spending has slowed amid an economic downturn and growing preference for gold.

India has emerged as the world's second-largest natural diamond jewelry market, accounting for 12% of global demand in 2024, up from 10% in 2019.

"India is an important growth market for us," Rowley said, pointing to the country's expanding consumer base and increasing demand for natural diamond jewelry. India's estimated $10 billion market accounted for around 15% of the global natural diamond jewelry market in 2025-26, he said.

The Indian natural diamond jewelry market was valued at Rs 785 billion ($9.4 billion) in 2024 and is forecast to grow at a 12% compound annual growth rate through 2030, reaching about Rs 1.52 trillion ($18.2 billion), according to a De Beers study.