De Beers Group, a leading diamond company, and the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council have entered into a strategic collaboration to strengthen natural diamond reach.

The collaboration, titled INDRA (Indian Natural Diamond Retailer Alliance), will leverage Artificial Intelligence to create customised retailer campaigns. It will support retailers with the tools to make sure that natural diamonds resonate deeply with every consumer. An interactive roadshow on the collaboration will start from January. The event will enrol GJEPC members in the programme.

Vipul Shah, Chairman, GJEPC, said the industry is poised for rapid growth to reach $130 billion by 2030 from the current level of $85 billion.

INDRA is designed to harness this momentum by tapping into India’s dynamic young population, the rise of organised players, and increasing demand across bridal, everyday wear, fashion, and entry-level jewellery, he added.

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Sandrine Conseiller, CEO, De Beers Brands, said India has now become the second largest market in the world for retail sales of diamond jewellery.

The penetration of natural diamonds stands at only about 10 per cent in the Indian jewellery industry and this is much below the rate seen in mature jewellery markets such as the US, said Conseiller.

Retailers will be able to register for the programme and benefit from multi-lingual staff training modules focused on generic natural diamond product knowledge as well as access to a market intelligence portal.

With over 10,500 members, GJEPC is the apex body driving India’s gem and jewellery sector. Through this collaboration, the two partners will capitalise on GJEPC’s deep understanding of the Indian market built up over five decades, combined with De Beers Group’s expertise in the diamond category.

The new collaboration follows the GJEPC’s adoption of the updated definition, nomenclature and guidelines for diamonds specified by the Federal Trade Commission of the US. The FTC’s updated guidelines provide distinct terminology standards, supporting clarity and transparency both for industry stakeholders and consumers.