A historic milestone for the diamond industry: in FY2025-26 (April 2025 to March 2026), India exported more carats of polished laboratory-grown diamonds than natural diamonds for the first time.
The numbers
- Laboratory-grown diamond exports: about 18.84 million carats, up almost 31%
- Natural diamond exports: about 16.00 million carats
- Monthly shipments of lab-grown also passed natural in March and April 2026
For perspective, industry reports note that India exported only around 10,000 carats of polished laboratory-grown diamonds in 2015-16. The growth in a decade has been extraordinary.
Value vs volume
By value, natural diamonds still lead, because a natural carat costs far more than a lab-grown carat. Lab-grown export value was about US$1.13 billion in FY2025-26, as lower prices per carat meant more stones for the same money. That's exactly why so many more people can now afford diamond jewellery.
Why it matters
- Demand is broadening. More carats shipped means more diamond jewellery reaching more customers worldwide.
- India's craft is scaling. Surat's cutters and polishers are handling record volumes of laboratory-grown stones.
- Jobs and investment. Growing volumes support employment across growing, cutting, polishing and jewellery manufacturing.
Our view from Surat
This milestone reflects what we see every day: steady orders for melee, certified stones and jewellery from buyers around the world. See our export data overview or our current price list.
Sources: IDEX Online, JCK, GJEPC
