India’s diamond market is witnessing a clear shift in buying behaviour, driven by younger consumers and a rise in self-purchase by women. Diamonds are no longer limited to weddings and gifting occasions, with more buyers viewing them as part of everyday personal expression.Toranj Mehta, Vice President – Marketing at De Beers India, said women are increasingly making their own choices when it comes to diamond jewellery, reflecting a move towards purchases based on individual style rather than traditional milestones.
She said 64% of women in India now buy diamonds for themselves, marking a shift away from gold-led buying, which is often linked to inheritance. “The choice of jewellery is always hers,” she said, adding that diamonds are increasingly seen as personal rather than transactional.
Millennials and Gen Z are central to this shift, she said. A De Beers study showed that Gen Z accounted for 51% of natural diamond jewellery purchases in 2024, driven by interest in meaning, sustainability, and impact. “For Gen Z, they are far more involved in what that product is doing,” Mehta said.Also Read | What the sleep economy and hybrid work say about India’s next growth phase
To align with this trend, De Beers has moved its marketing focus away from weddings to what it calls modern-day rituals, such as celebrating independence, friendships, and personal milestones. The company is also pushing its Building Forever programme, which includes a target to become carbon neutral by 2030 and focuses on community outcomes after mining.India’s diamond penetration currently stands at about 11%, and De Beers aims to raise this to 15% over the next three years, supported by greater consumer education around natural diamonds.Digital disruption and AI threaten to upend advertising modelMarketing leader and columnist Shubhranshu Singh warned that digital disruption and the rise of agentic artificial intelligence (AI) could permanently alter the advertising ecosystem if agencies fail to adapt their business models. Singh said advertising remains “the language of capitalism” and a critical link between buyers and sellers, but stressed that the holding company structure is a relatively recent construct that is now under strain.Also Read | Microdramas explode into a $500 million market as Tier 2, Tier 3 India drives the next content boomDrawing on his experience since joining Hindustan Lever in 1999, Singh said the long-standing relationship between marketers and agencies is at risk. Without corrective action, he warned, “the equation between agencies, advertisers and consumers will get changed forever.”For more, watch the accompanying video.
