De Beers launches diamond grading facility in Surat

Diamond giant De Beers plans to expand its retail presence in India through its diamond grading and marking business.

The world's top diamond producer on Tuesday launched its Forevermark diamond grading and inscription facility, the new International Institute of Diamond Grading and Research (IIDGR) at Surat. This is only the second facility of the De Beers Group outside Antewerp, Belgium.

The company has invested about $10 million (Rs60 crore) in the facility, which will process $500 million worth of diamonds annually.

De Beers sells Forevermark diamonds through about 160 jewellers associated with Forevermark in 23 markets in India. "We plan to increase our presence in the Indian market. By the end of this year, we will expand our market to four new states and increase the number of jewellers associate to 200," Stephen Lussier, chief executive officer, Forevermark said.

"The Surat facility is about 20-25 per cent larger in capacity than the one we have in Antewerp. We have superior technology for inscription and grading here. Our presence in Surat, a world-class diamond cutting and polishing centre makes more sense," said Lussier to the Hindu by phone.

The company operates business-to-business and sources diamonds from dealers. After scrutiny, it rejects the unfit ones, and selects the rest for grading and inscription.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Philippe Mellier, chief executive, De Beers Group, said, "This investment will be an important resource for the Indian diamond trade and will cement Surat's position at the heart of our industry. While the facility will initially focus on Forevermark grading, we will also look into the potential to widen the service in the future as another way of supporting the surrounding diamond community."

The company has a strong presence in the southern market; its top market is Bangalore followed by Mumbai and New Delhi.

"We are seeing a growing interest from the retail consumers in India about certified diamonds. Also, there is a growing awareness about the marking and grading of the diamonds. The demand for diamond as luxury product is growing and certification and marking adds confidence to it," he said during the launch.