Not hoping that the market will soon recover naturally, the authorities of India’s largest diamond cutting and selling center invited a priest to revive trade, writes Bloomberg.
A priest to help
The crisis is clearly evident in India’s Surat, a key center of the world’s diamond cutting, where nine out of ten diamonds are processed before being shipped to markets from Dubai to Manhattan. Built as a symbol of the industry’s future, the $350 million diamond bourse, larger than the Pentagon, is now virtually empty.
Only about 250 of the 4,700 offices have been open since it opened in 2023, a site spokesman said. The central corridor for transactions is empty, doors are closed and cafes remain unfinished. Some owners are already trying to sell the spaces.
According to Bloomberg, in an effort to revitalize commerce, authorities have even invited a priest to bless the complex. Entrepreneur Thakarshi Bhai Lodalia, who built the business for 25 years and previously employed 35 staff, was forced to shut down after orders fell. “I had invested all my savings and one day there was simply no money left to continue,” he said.
Reasons for the drop
Among the key factors, the agency highlights a sharp drop in demand, primarily in China, which had previously been one of the main drivers of the luxury market. The fall has been so severe that unsold stones worth hundreds of millions of of dollars are returning to India.
Additional pressure is exerted by the growth of the synthetic diamond segment: they are visually and chemically identical to natural diamonds, but much cheaper. According to BriteCo, in the U.S., from January to August 2025, such stones were used in almost half of the engagement rings sold. Against this background, De Beers was losing almost $1.5 million a day last year.
The situation is aggravated by geopolitical factors. Sanctions against Russia, which accounts for a significant share of global supplies, have complicated chains and increased costs. The pressure is intensified by US trade tariffs and the conflict in the Middle East. At the same time, record gold prices are diverting demand away from jewelry in favor of bullion and coins. As a result, prices for raw materials have fallen by more than 40% from their peak values, and processed stones are also getting cheaper.
Dinesh Bhai D. Patel, a Surat-based diamond broker with nearly half a century of experience, said that earlier the market used to recover within months after crises. “This time it is different. I have never seen anything like this,” Patel said.
De Beers, the industry’s biggest player, is losing control of the market and incurring losses, while its parent company Anglo American is considering going out of business. Attempts by De Beers and ALROSA to support prices by limiting supply were offset by rising production in Angola, which began selling diamonds at lower market prices.
The crisis affects not only companies, but entire economies. In Botswana, heavily dependent on diamonds, budget revenues are falling. In Antwerp, trade has fallen sharply. In India, businesses are closing, employees are losing their jobs, and businesses are shifting to an as-needed purchasing model to minimize losses in a falling market.
What’s next
Industry participants do not expect a quick recovery. Jewelers who used to buy stones in bulk are now buying them only for specific orders, avoiding stockpiling. “They don’t want to keep stocks. Otherwise they will suffer losses,” said entrepreneur Manoj Borda, a second-generation diamond business owner.
Many factories in Surat are switching to synthetic stones. While the value of diamonds used to be based on their rarity, laboratories from Surat to Shenzhen are now able to reproduce similar stones in about six weeks, transforming an industry that employs about a million people in India.
