Cook: 'I have seen the good that India does for diamonds and the good that diamonds do for India'

‘Innovation sits at the heart of De Beers’

Established in 1888, the De Beers group is the world’s leading diamond company, with expertise in the exploration, mining, marketing and retailing of diamonds. Al Cook, CEO, De Beers group, was in India on a business trip – to visit Surat and Mumbai. Talking to Lancelot Joseph of Business India, he reiterated the group’s commitment to unlocking the full potential for natural diamonds in India. He met leading retailers, traders, cutters and polishers and industry groups. Together with its joint venture partners, De Beers group now employs more than 20,000 people across the diamond pipeline and is the world’s largest diamond producer by value, with diamond mining operations in Botswana, Canada, Namibia and South Africa. Excerpts:

Published on:

08 Jun 2025, 1:39 pm

What is your observation on India?

The growth of India across the diamond value chain is huge. It is the home of diamonds and, for more than two thousand years, has been at the heart of the world’s diamond industry. I have seen that history for myself over the past three days in Mumbai and Surat. But I have also seen that the future of diamonds in India will be even greater than the past. I have seen innovation; I have seen co-operation; I have seen determination. Recognising the rapidly growing consumer demand for natural diamonds in India, as the country has overtaken China to become the second largest market globally.

The industry used to be focussed on diamonds ‘from India’ and ‘by India’, but now it’s increasingly about diamonds ‘for India’ and ‘to India’. Innovation sits at the heart of De Beers group’s strategy, as it develops a portfolio of offers that span the diamond value chain, including its jewellery houses – De Beers Jewellers and Forevermark – and other pioneering solutions, such as diamond sourcing and traceability initiatives, such as Tracr and GemFair. De Beers group is committed to ‘Building Forever’ – a holistic and integrated approach to sustainability that underpins our efforts to create meaningful impact for the people and places, where our diamonds are discovered. ‘Building Forever’ focusses on three key areas where, through collaborations and partnerships around the globe, we have an enhanced ability to drive positive impact; livelihoods, climate and nature. De Beers plans to double the company’s support for the fast-growing Indian natural diamond jewellery market.

As the lab-grown diamonds (LGDs) are falling, so is the consumer confidence. Your comment...

The significance of tech-powered diamond testing to underpin consumer confidence as the value of LGDs continues to decrease. As LGD’s wholesale value falls to below $60 per carat, the significance of DiamondProof (an instrument launched by De Beers group earlier this year to facilitate rapid verification of natural diamonds at the retail counter) grows. As the value of LGDs continues to decline at pace, it highlighted the importance of technology-enabled diamond testing, reiterating the significance of the DiamondProof. Our drive to educate consumers about the difference between natural diamonds and LGDs has accelerated. The myth that you cannot tell the difference between a natural diamond and an LGD is beginning to shatter and DiamondProof’s influence is only going to grow.

What about De Beers’ closure of Lightbox and the opportunities for Element Six in high-tech industry in India?

De Beers group sees the long-term commercial future for LGDs as being in high-tech industrial applications, underpinning its intention to close the Lightbox LGD jewellery brand. Moreover, De Beers group’s Element Six subsidiary has the potential to support the development of key technology sectors in India: We believe Element Six can play a collaborative and impactful role in India’s semiconductor and data centre build-out as part of the country’s drive towards AI.

The industry used to be focussed on diamonds ‘from India’ and ‘by India’, but now it’s increasingly about diamonds ‘for India’ and ‘to India

What about your marketing collaborations?

Marketing collaborations with Tanishq and the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) continue. With regards to marketing investments, De Beers group has already announced that its natural diamond marketing spend in 2025 will be the highest in a decade and referenced De Beers group’s long-term strategic collaboration with Tanishq, to connect more Indian consumers with the rarity and preciousness of natural diamonds and amplify the growing opportunity in the Indian market. The group’s work with India’s GJEPC, as well as the focus on building De Beers group’s Forevermark jewellery brand in India is important. By 2030, we will have 100 co-owned or franchise-owned stores here, spread across 40 key cities.

As part of De Beers group’s collaboration with the GJEPC, the two parties have established INDRA – the Indian Natural Diamond Retailer Alliance – to support independent retailers in India with promotional campaign assets and innovative marketing tools for natural diamonds. As part of the INDRA collaboration, registered retailers have been able to access and customise the campaign materials for the ‘Love, From Dad’ collection as part of the Second Ear Piercing Ritual programme. In addition, registered retailers have been able to receive virtual training on natural diamonds. I have seen the good that India does for diamonds and the good that diamonds do for India.