Looking back at IIJS 2009

The IIJS has been steadily growing in prominence over the years becoming India’s largest, Asia’s 2nd largest and World’s 5th largest show. So how did the 2009 event fare and what could be its implications on the diamond industry.

One of the big winners at the show was the jewellery products, which was expected considering that the marriage and festival seasons, are just around the corner. Keeping this in mind, both, international and national vendors displayed a lot of very innovative designs. There were a wide range of latest international designs on display and these stalls saw a lot of interest and action.

The other section which attracted buyers in huge numbers was the machinery section, where customers flocked to see the latest technological advancements related to the gem and jewellery industry. This was a clear reflection of the fact that Indian manufacturers and retailers want to attain world-class standards and are willing to make the necessary up gradations in equipments required to do so.

As for loose diamonds, the major demand was for the goods which have become extremely scarce and expensive locally, namely the H/I/J colours in VVS and VS clarities. There was also a significant demand for 5 to 10 carat stones which showed that India has a healthy demand and is increasingly developing a penchant for large stones.

However, as has always been the case the Indian buyers were extremely price conscious and looking for prices that weren’t available locally. As a result, transactions were few in number. The problem was compounded by the fact that most Indian buyers were looking for rupee prices. The perennial issue of unnecessary import taxes also played a role in reducing the volume of actual business.

While there were enough deterrents to business and a few international vendors complained that you can do business in India only if you are willing to compromise your profit margins, there was no shortage of participants who were impressed by the humongous potential of the Indian market.

There was a common consensus that India probably happens to be only market where local consumer demand is still strong and largely unaffected by the global recession. Profits might be thin and conditions difficult but if you want to increase your market share, you cannot ignore India and you have to be active in this market.

The event further raised the stock of the IIJS show and of the Indian diamond market.

India has long established itself as the largest exporter of cut and polished stones.

But now it is coming into its own as a massive demand creator thanks to a population of 1.3 billion and a surging middle class with substantial disposable income and growing appreciation and love for diamonds.

IIJS 2009 validated this and things will only get better from here on. Sphere: Related Content

Israeli Diamond industry going the e-commerce route in a big way - how do Indian companies compare

In an interesting development, which further reinforces the importance of the role the internet has to play in the modern diamond trade, the Israel Diamond Institute (IDI) group of companies is helping the Israeli diamond industry utilize the power of the World Wide Web to full advantage through their “Together Works” program.

As part of this program, the Israeli companies are being given free professional consultation on everything – right from website development and online marketing tools to creating web content and drafting terms and conditions.

The response to this program has been tremendous and a large number of companies are participating in this. Clearly they realize that an online business helps them to reach out to far more customers at a substantially lower cost.

While the internet revolution was expected sooner or later; thanks to the precedent set by American companies, the process of change was hastened by the economic crisis as companies looked out for ways to become leaner and more cost effective.


The American diamond industry already has a substantial e-commerce footprint and now Israel is taking massive strides to get there. Where does the Indian industry stand in the middle of all this? India is the world’s largest exporter of cut and polished stones but what about our position in the online stakes.

India is not doing too badly either. We don’t have an IDI to lend a helping hand but thanks to being the IT capital of the world, a lot of Indian companies have set up their websites. Most of these are fairly basic but a few have advanced functionality too.

The biggest challenge however is not about technological capability. It’s about wholeheartedly adopting the online way – truly believing in the advantages of an e-commerce business and molding other business practices accordingly. We often talk about changing consumer mindsets. The bigger challenge is for the trade to change their mindset.

Once we can do that it will just be a matter of time before Indian diamond companies rule the e-commerce business as well. Sphere: Related Content

Interpreting export import numbers for rough and cut and polished diamonds - what they say about demand and supply in the market

These are the provisional export and import figures received from the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) for the month June 2009.

Import of rough diamonds

India imported rough diamonds worth Rs 4224 crores in June 2009 as compared to Rs 7483 crores last year in June, declining by nearly 44 percent.

This clearly corroborates what we have known all along, i.e. fewer manufacturers are buying rough and production of fresh goods has taken a hit which has resulted in a shortage of diamonds in the market. Also inventory levels for rough has come down drastically and manufacturers have almost exhausted their old stocks.

Import of cut and polished diamonds

Cut & Polished Diamonds worth Rs 3068 crores were imported in June 2009, as compared to Rs 2909 crores in June 2008, thus showing a growth of 5.44 percent.

This is surprising. If we combine this with the rough import numbers then it only means one thing; that thanks to the shortage of domestic goods, people have stepped up imports to meet the domestic requirements. Imports are usually expensive but in the current scenario where rough is very expensive, they are probably a better option.

Export of cut and polished diamonds

Total export of cut and polished diamonds stood at Rs 5061 crores in June 2009, while in June 2008 it was Rs 5248 crores. Cut and Polished diamonds exports declined by almost 4 percent.
We all know that the overseas markets are reeling and that is what explains the drop in cut and polished exports.

This is what the market watchers at TradersDiamonds feel about these export import numbers. What is your take on them?

Numbers courtesy GJEPC website Sphere: Related Content