Glitter glitter!

Mumbai, May 23: Diamonds have a glittering future in India. The $4-billion Indian diamond market is likely to maintain its robust growth of 20 per cent reported over the past two years.

Gareth Penny, managing director of Diamond Trading Company (DTC), who will take over as the head of De Beers in February next year, is bullish about diamond sales in the country.

Penny is visiting India along with Nicholas Graham Smith, DTC’s regional director who is responsible for the developing markets.

India ranks sixth in the world in diamond sales. However, the current figure of $1.4 billion is still small when compared to gold sales in the country.

“Studies show that the number of women who are buying the precious stone is still very small. Only 4 per cent go for diamonds,” said Smith. DTC’s plan is to take it to 12 per cent. Clever marketing has helped it reach a position in India, but DTC has ambitious plans.

For the first time in many years, diamonds are under threat from synthetic varieties, which mirror every cut of a real specimen and even an expert can be fooled.

Smith, however, is dismissive of such threats. “Diamonds are given as a symbol of love, and who will gift a fake?” he ripostes. “We have no objection if the nomenclature used signifies that it is not a real diamond. We are monitoring whether they (manufacturers of synthetic diamond) use the right language,” Smith added.

“Real diamonds are made over millions of years and synthetic ones are really no comparison,” he added.

India has been a cut above the rest for diamond merchants because of the skilled and cheap labour available. Eleven out of 12 diamonds mined elsewhere are brought here for cutting and polishing.

De Beers is also helping the Indian government to prospect for diamonds, but Smith said it would take time for diamond mines to be commercially viable.

Meanwhile, in South Africa, De Beers is facing pressure from the Mbeki government to increase local employment and set up diamond cutting and polishing centres in the country.

Penny’s appointment is also gathering political storm in South Africa. The deputy minister of minerals, Lulu Xingwana, has criticised the appointment by calling the board “lily white” as there are only white officials on the board of De Beers.