India, one of the major hubs of polished diamonds, along with gems and jewellery has not really had an exclusive show for polished diamonds until Bharat Diamond Week (BDW) was conceptualised by Bharat Daimond Bourse. Considering every other rough gets cut and polished in India, it only made sense to have a show that gave exposure to the manufacturers present in the premises of BDB. Today, as the industry is witnessing a flurry of problems in the form of an economic crisis, lack of demand, inflation and a general apathy towards diamonds in the minds of consumers, shows like BDW is set to promote polished diamonds and bring in more optimism in the industry, The industry was wont to do something new and proactive as always and after two successful editions, ahead of Diwali, the third edition of BDW commenced yesterday.

 The show was dignified by the presence of Evgeny Agureev, CEO, United Selling Organisation, ALROSA and Nanhai Yan, Vice President, Shanghai Diamond Exchange. Anoop Mehta, President, BDB, spoke of the importance of hosting such shows in the prevailing crisis. “There are many exhibitors across the world and our members are participants in all of these. When business is going through a hard time, organizations such as ours is supposed to do something more and that is how BDW was conceptualised. We communicated to all the retailers in the country. We wanted to enable some exposure for the smaller manufacturers and get them to meet the biggest buyers in the world. 92 per cent of diamonds in the world is exported from here. This is the best place for anyone who wants to source diamonds whether smaller size or in bulk or round cuts or even tailor made,” he said.

 Speaking on the ties the industry has shared with ALROSA, he commented, “ALROSA and Mr. Agureev have always been supportive of Bharat diamond Bourse. We want ALROSA to interact more with our members so that more business happens between Russia and India.” The market currently has an oversupply of diamonds, but the demand is meek amidst consumers. “We may have all the diamonds in the world but if we don’t have end consumers, then we will be going through a lull like we have been over the last three years.” China is one of the biggest consumers of diamonds and bringing in Chinese delegates to attend the show is a strategic move and will definitely be beneficial for the industry. “Shanghai diamond exchange will majorly help in this as a major part of consumers come from China. The industry is going through a tough time, with lab grown diamonds coming in, this a great time to get together to not just buy and sell but exchange views,” he added.

 As President of China Xi Jinping and PM of India Narendra Modi discuss on how to tackle trade deficit in Chennai, Nanhai Yan, VP, Shanghai Diamond Exhchange threw light on the importance of the coming together of both the industries. “In the past few days PM Modi and President of China Xo Jinping are hoping that people of China and India will engage in cooperation. Both the countries are the 2 largest emerging economies. When the global diamond industry is facing many challenges, it is important that India and China cooperate and work together. I am very happy to lead a delegation of Shanghai Diamond Exchange and create more business opportunities for members of both bourses,” said Yan.

 Focusing on the looming crisis and the ongoing trade war between U.S. and China, which is affecting the trade, Evgeny Agureev said, “Today, when the whole industry is facing such problems it is important to have events like BDW. Over production of diamonds, retail change, industry participants facing financial problems and also politics and trade relationship between U.S. and China are having a significant impact on our industry and consumer behaviour. However, this is not the first crisis we have faced. ALROSA is always ready to support the industry in whatever way possible.” He also said that next year; ALROSA would start its marketing initiatives for diamonds first in U.S. and then in India.

 Mehul Shah, Convenor, BDW and VP, BDB said, “ALROSA has always been supportive of all our endeavours. We look forward to building stronger ties with ALROSA. We have oldest ties with China – the silk route, now we have a diamond route with China. We need to create stronger ties with China as well. We are privileged to welcome the delegation of Shanghai Diamond Exchange under the leadership of Nanhai Yan.”

 BDW is scheduled to take place between 14 – 16 October with approximately eighty cut and polished diamond exhibitors and will host delegates from 40 countries like China, Thailand, Korea, Greece and more.