Diamond World (DW) July - August 2020

Special Feature
Rings courtesy: Bella Ponte collection, Ben Bridge Jeweler
not moving during the last six months
are suddenly moving. Diamonds over 3
carats are definitely seeing an uptick in
demand,” says Priyal Shankar, Shivam
Jewels, a Mumbai-based exporter of cut
and polished diamonds.
Couples have been remotely working.
All the big travel plans or spending on
concert tickets, etc have been shelved.
Women want diamonds that are larger
than usual and their partners are
indulging them. In a sense, the diamond
business is poised to be placed better
compared to other forms of luxury as
love does not cease to exist, couples
still want to get engaged, they still want
to get married. “We’ve been getting a
steady demand for larger size diamonds
from several countries especially
the U.S. and China. There are many
reasons for this – people are not able to
travel and spend on luxury vacations or
even have large scale weddings, money
is being spent on diamonds that are
bigger. At this point of time the U.S.
online sales for fancy shapes are doing
very well, especially for Ovals and
Emerald Cuts ranging from .15 points
to .70 points,” says Ashish Doshi of
Mumbai based Oopal Diamond.
For India, when the lockdown
began and in the month of May,
demand was only seen from Hong
Kong. But as countries started easing
their lockdowns, the largest chunk
of demand has been coming from the
U.S., especially in the months of July
and August. “65 per cent of our goods
comprise of rounds and the remaining
is pear and oval. Goods between 1
ct – 1.20 ct as well as 2 ct to 2.50 ct
are moving very well and there are
enquiries for 5 ct as well,” adds Priyal.
For India that has been grappling
with the effects of Coronavirus, this is
definitely light at the end of the tunnel.
We have seen an increase
in diamond engagement
ring sales lately and I
believe COVID has been
directly responsible
for the increase. After
being locked down for
an extended period of
time, people are feeling
more comfortable getting
out. I also feel as couples
have spent more time
together, the ones that
were waiting for the right
time have now decided to
go ahead and make that
commitment
craig underwood,
President,
Underwoods Fine Jewelers
Items that were not moving during the last six months are
suddenly moving. Diamonds over 3 carats are definitely
seeing an uptick in demand. 65 per cent of our goods
comprise of rounds and the remaining is pear and oval.
Goods between 1 ct – 1.20 ct as well as 2 ct to 2.50 ct are
moving very well and there are enquiries for 5 ct as well.
priyal Shankar, Shivam Jewels
DiamonD WorlD | july-august 2020 | 51