MUMBAI, 9th AUGUST, 2022 (GPN):The 2nd edition of the Lab-Grown Diamonds and Jewellery Exhibition (LDJS 2022)  was organised by Lab-Grown Diamond and Jewellery Promotion Council (LGDJPC) — which saw participation of 78 exhibitors from Surat— generated a business of Rs 5,000 crore, with buyers placing orders to the tune of Rs 700 crore,The exhibition was organised at the Jio world Convention Centre in Mumbai from August 5- 8. in an area of 45,000 square meters, with over 100 exhibitors. A varied range of diamonds and jewellery were put on display.

The four-day event recorded 25,000 footfalls from with buyers coming from different parts of the country and from Middle East, Singapore, Hong Kong and London.The demand for lab-grown diamond (LGD) is growing considering the affordability factor in the post pandemic time the organisers said.

Shashikanth Dalichand Shah,Chairperson LGDJPC, confirmed the sales deals, and said that the LGD market in India was estimated at ₹2,200 crore in 2021.

The LGDJPC said that the first exhibition organized in 2021 in Mumbai generated business to the tune of Rs 200 crore.
As per Gems and Jewellery Export Council (GJPEC) figures, the provisional gross exports of lab-grown diamonds from April 2021 to March 2022 was Rs. 9,764.53 crore with a growth of 108.27 per cent against last year exports of Rs. 4,688.31 crore.

Apart from this, the gross exports from April 2022 to June 2022 was Rs 3,669.09 crore, with growth of 91.24 percent against last year exports of Rs1918.59 crore, during same time period.

Rajesh Bajaj Convenor of LGDJPC told GPN, “This year the sales figures had gone up to around Rs.5000 crore and the buyers had already placed orders to the tune of Rs. 700 crore. We see great potential in the Lab Grown Diamond industry. Even buyers from Hong Kong, Singapore and the Middle East have place huge orders.”

He added, “We are planning to carry out the exhibition at the international stage in Thailand in January 2023 and later in the same year we will organize another exhibition in Mumbai.”

Babubhai Vaghani, Surat Lab Grown Diamonds Association president, said, “Like natural diamonds, Surat has taken lead in the lab-grown diamond (LGD) industry. Out of 10 polished LGD, eight are grown, cut and polished in Surat. Presently, Surat has over 200 LGD units in Surat which is highest in the country.”

There is a growing market for lab-grown diamond studded jewellery across the globe as there is a major difference in the prices of lab-grown diamonds and natural diamonds — one carat of natural diamond cost Rs 2 lakh, while price of one carat of LDG is Rs 35,000, Vaghani said.

“Surat is turning to become hub of the growing of Lab grown diamonds and its cutting and polishing. The loose polished LGD are exported from India to Hong Kong and Singapore, where they are studded into jewellery and later exported to USA for sale,” he added.

With the shortage in supply for natural rough diamonds due to various reasons including the ban on the sales of diamonds sourced from the mines of Russia, the industry players have diverted to LDG,In India, the LGDs business has the potential to grow to ₹40,000 crore from the current levels in the next 5 years, industry officials said adding since mined diamonds are expensive [1 carat of mined diamond costs around ₹6. 5 lakh, while the same size of a LGD costs ₹1.25 lakh] the demand for LGDs is growing fast. According to the LGDJPC, India contributes to over 15 per cent of lab grown diamonds in the world.Ends