The Antwerp diamond industry is participating at the International Jewellery Show (IIJS) this coming August, with 14 representative companies at the Antwerp Diamond Pavilion to be set up at the ‘Loose Stones Section’ of the show. This will be the 27th edition of the event and is slated in Mumbai, between August 19-23.

This is also the third consecutive year for the Antwerp Diamond Pavilion to participate at IIJS, which reiterates the growth observed in the Indian gem and jewellery industry into becoming one of the leading gem and jewellery centres and one of the fastest developing jewellery consumer markets in the world today.

During the first six months of 2010, Antwerp exported $362.1 million worth of polished diamonds to India, a growth of 42.6 percent, the world’s largest producer of polished goods. Antwerp exports about 60 percent of its rough diamonds to India. Data released by the Reserve Bank of India states that India’s economy is set to grow by 8.4 percent over the current fiscal year, which is higher than the rate forecast just several months earlier.