Kolkata: Russian state-backed diamond miner Alrosa would enter India by setting up a polishing plant, either in Surat or Jaipur, CEO-chairman Pavel Maryinchev told ET. India would be the first overseas expansion for Alrosa, considered the biggest in its business supplying nearly a third of all the stones mined to global polishing hubs.
The India foray by Alrosa comes just days after Russian president Vladimir Putin’s visit to New Delhi. Alrosa would roll out co-branded luxury jewellery lines and use blockchain-based supply chain platforms for Indian diamond cutters, indicating an aggressive entry strategy for the world’s biggest diamond hub for manufacturing and luxury retail.
India cuts and polishes nine out of ten diamonds sold globally.
“India’s robust economic backdrop underscores the opportunity for collaboration,” Maryinchev told ET. Alrosa accounts for 30-35% of global diamond supplies and is considered one of the world’s largest.
Alrosa’s India investment strategy includes a $50 million initial commitment from Russia’s $57 billion trade surplus to establish a world-class diamond polishing facility in Surat or Jaipur to enhance India’s position as a global manufacturing hub, Maryinchev said.
“We will also launch co-branded luxury collections in partnership with Indian jewellery houses, develop traceable bridal and high-jewellery retail formats in Delhi and Mumbai, implement blockchain-enabled supply chain platforms for B2B diamond cutters,” he said.
India has been the world leader in diamond jewellery sales in recent years. Last year, the growth was 15%. India is already moving into second place after the United States in terms of diamond jewellery consumption, Maryinchev said.
“In our opinion, it is the countries of Southeast Asia with their rapidly growing middle and wealthy class that will eventually become the main consumers of diamond jewellery. This is largely due to the efforts of the Indian industry to stimulate demand and the regulatory and legal separation of the markets for natural diamonds and synthetics as two completely different products,” Maryinchev said.
However, the Alrosa chief executive declined to comment on the impact of US tariffs on the miner’s sales figures. The US has burdened India with a 50% tariff which has impacted diamond exports, a major buyer of rough diamonds, to the US as the rock has become costlier for the US retailers and consumers.
“What we are seeing is that the companies need time to adapt to the changing market conditions. According to the data from Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council, the volume of diamonds purchased by the Indian diamond cutting and polishing businesses surged in August and September, and fell in October. Our expectations are that the high import tariffs will not have a long-lasting impact, and businesses will be able to adapt and minimise the effect,” Maryinchev said.
There are views in the market that lab-grown diamond (LGD) or synthetic diamonds will replace the natural diamond at the retail level. In the third quarter of calendar 2025, wholesale prices dropped by almost 40% year-on-year and the price difference between LGD and natural diamonds already exceeds 95%, Maryinchev said.
