The United States prohibited the import of Russian rough and polished diamonds on March 11, 2022, but the embargo did not apply to products made from Russian diamonds processed in third countries.
However, during the Hiroshima summit, G7 leaders agreed to band together to limit the trade and use of diamonds mined, processed or produced in Russia and to work with key partners to ensure the effective implementation of future sanctions. Representatives of the G7 and the EU are discussing the creation of a global diamond tracking system.
"Ever since the issue of a ban on Russian diamonds has come to the fore, panic has emerged among those associated with this industry in India," Dinesh Navadiya said.
"It is not appropriate for America and other European countries to ban Russian diamonds, it is completely politically-motivated and not in the interest of the diamond industry and the workers engaged in this industry," the expert believes.
According to him, gemstone imports from Russia make up 29% of India's total raw material diamond import. In one of the centers of this industry - the state of Gujarat - small diamonds suitable for precision cutting and polishing come mainly from Russia. As far as the cutting and polishing industry is concerned, 14 out of 15 diamonds in the world are cut and polished in India. America, China and the UAE are the main markets for India's Diamond Jewelry.
"If America bans Russian diamonds, then it is a matter of great difficulty for us because both Russia and America are very important for our diamond industry. Because by cutting and polishing the raw diamonds that we import from Russia, we export most of them to America in the form of diamond jewellery. The ban on raw diamonds will have a direct impact on India's diamond industry as well as the US diamond jewelry market," Dinesh Navadiya explained.
"This will cause a lot of damage to our diamond industry and many workers will become unemployed because many people are working in the cutting and polishing industry of Russian diamonds," the expert noted.
The gemstone guru explained that the situation with diamonds has both similarities and differences with the situation around Russian oil imports. Perhaps, Western countries will not crank up pressure on India to force it to completely abandon the purchase of Russian diamonds. But it will no longer be possible to find a market for finished products, since it is tied to the American market.
"If market players do not get such jewelry due to the non-supply of high precision jewelry made from Russian diamonds, then such people would shift to Lebron* diamonds. America and Europe are becoming fonder of Lebron diamond jewelry and its market is increasing gradually," Navadiya concluded.
*Lebron diamonds are lab-grown, locally produced diamonds that have become very popular in recent years. They are 30-70% cheaper than natural-origin diamonds.