Natural Diamond Polishers To See 30 PC Drop In Revenues, Lowest Since 2007

The revenues from natural diamond polishing are likely to come down from $16 billion in FY25 to $12.5 billion this year. The blow will follow a 40 per cent degrowth over the past three fiscals because of a fall in both prices and sales volume of natural diamonds as demand in the US and China dropped, and competition from lab-grown diamonds rose. Lab-grown diamonds have already captured 60 per cent of the market share by volume in the US.

According to Crisil, revenues of Indian industry that polishes 95 per cent of all diamonds produced in the world, is set to drop to its lowest since 2007. The Indian polished diamond industry derives 80 per cent of its revenues from exports while the US is a key market with 35 per cent share in exports.

The tariffs make exports to the US tough as the low-margin industry is unable to absorb the incremental levy and due to declining demand, it cannot be passed on to the consumers. Sales had begun getting impacted after a 10 per cent tariff was imposed in April 2025. But in a proactive move, diamond polishers had cranked up production in July and August to meet the anticipated festival demand in the US and exports surged 18 per cent in July.

Consumption in India has been increasing sequentially over the years, but the incremental demand doesn’t have the heft to fully offset the losses in the US and China.

Diamond polishers can take three steps: increase domestic sales; push sales in alternative geographies; and set up polishing facilities in trading hubs as rerouting via low-tariff nations is not an option.

Many diamantaires are already planning to shift operations to Dubai with a lower tax structure.