India and @debeersgroup : A Missed Opportunity or a Strategic Pass? The natural-diamond industry is undergoing its most profound structural shift in a generation. With @DeBeers approaching a potential change of ownership and Anglo American having written down its carrying value to USD 2.3 billion, the apparent absence of the world’s dominant diamond-processing nation from the process deserves closer examination. India’s midstream dominance, combined with its leadership roles across the @BricsIndia2026 , @KimberleyProces , the @WFDBTweets - The World Federation of Diamond Bourses, @CIBJO_ and the World Diamond Council (WDC), gives it unprecedented influence over the global diamond industry. Yet, when it comes to acquiring upstream mining assets, India remains noticeably absent. Whether this reflects prudent risk management around the long-term liabilities associated with kimberlite mining, or the strategic flexibility offered by India’s parallel laboratory-grown diamond sector, its apparent reluctance to enter upstream ownership may signal a broader evolution in the industry. It may also represent a calculated decision to capture value without assuming the financial and operational risks of the mine. Nevertheless, whoever acquires @DeBeers will still depend heavily on Surat to transform rough diamonds into polished stones and, ultimately, revenue. At the same time, as African producer nations such as Botswana, Angola, and Namibia seek to capture a greater share of downstream value, relying exclusively on midstream leverage carries long-term risks of its own. Read my Guest Column on @JOutlook examining India’s strategic positioning and what it could mean for the future of the wider diamond industry: jewelleryoutlook.com/guest-c… @naturaldiamonds @RJCJewellery @KPCivilSociety1 @duma_boko @BWPresidency @BWGovernment @IDEXOnline @MartinRapaport @JCKMagazine @NationalJeweler @Rapaport @AWDC @USUAEBizCouncil @AmChamDubai @smashibusiness @lovindubai @IndembAbuDhabi @investopia_ae @Economyae @GJEPC

It was a pleasure to welcome Dr. Sultan Al-Ahbabi, Independent Non-Executive Director and Chair of @Worldpay_Global’s UAE Board, and Tausif Ahmed, Country Leader for the Middle East and Africa, to @DMCCAuthority . As one of our valued member companies, @Worldpay_Global represents the calibre of global enterprise strengthening Dubai’s position as a leading hub for commerce, innovation, and digital trade. Since receiving its UAE domestic acquiring licence in 2023, it has combined a growing local presence with the global capabilities needed to support UAE businesses expanding internationally and global companies entering the market. Following @Worldpay_Global’s combination with @GlobalPayInc , the group now serves more than six million merchant locations and processes approximately 94 billion transactions, representing US$3.7 trillion in annual payment volume, across more than 175 countries. Our discussion identified practical opportunities across DMCC’s ecosystem. Through @dmccfinx , WorldPay can engage with banks, fintech firms, and trading companies to explore cross-border payments, merchant acquiring, and embedded finance. DMCC Tradeflow offers scope to connect secure payment and payout infrastructure with commodity registration, collateralisation, and trade-finance workflows. Within @dmcccrypto, @Worldpay_Global’s experience in card-to-crypto payments, global payouts, and stablecoin settlement can inform compliant solutions connecting traditional and digital finance. Through @DGCX , there is potential to combine World Pay’s global payment reach and transaction insights with currency and commodity risk-management capabilities, helping cross-border businesses identify and manage exposures arising from international payment flows. We are proud to have WorldPay within the @DMCCAuthority community and look forward to translating these opportunities into practical partnerships supporting Dubai and the UAE’s leadership in commerce, technology, and financial innovation.

Gareth Penny, Chairman of @ninetyone_sa and former Group CEO of @debeersgroup , delivered a clear and timely assessment of the natural diamond industry at the @CIBJO_ Centenary Congress in Vicenza. At the centre of his address was a simple point: natural diamonds have never derived their value from chemical composition alone. Their appeal comes from what they represent in people's lives, relationships, achievements and most significant moments. His message to the industry was direct. To rebuild demand, the trade must sell meaning, not materials. That requires more than marketing spend. It means demonstrating the tangible contribution responsible mining makes in producer nations such as Botswana and Namibia, making sustainability visible rather than assumed and communicating the journey from mine to market with far greater clarity. It also means innovating in jewellery design as the industry evolves, and ensuring the value chain works together rather than in silos, since confidence lost at one stage is felt by every stage after it. His reflections on the continued leadership role of De Beers were equally pointed, a reminder that category-wide coordination still matters at a moment of real change for the industry. A speech worth watching in full: piped.video/cl8uXbdqrnM

Addressing the opening session of the @CIBJO_ Centenary Congress in Vicenza was a pivotal moment to reflect on where the diamond trade stands, and where it must go next. Reaching a century of leadership is a remarkable milestone for CIBJO and Dr Gaetano Cavalieri. Yet, as I highlighted in the address, the real test for any industry body is not longevity but how effectively it responds when markets come under pressure. One instinct in the natural diamond trade has been to attack the lab-grown segment outright. History suggests this backfires. When parts of the gold industry attacked Bitcoin in 2013, the attention it generated only legitimised crypto faster as an asset class. Dismissing lab-grown diamonds as merely "synthetic" risks the same outcome, particularly given that regulators such as the Federal Trade Commission @FTC have already accepted "laboratory-grown" as an accurate, non-deceptive term. The more durable path is disclosure rather than dismissal, allowing both natural and lab-grown categories to compete on fair, transparent commercial terms while consumers make informed choices. This conversation continues in Dubai from 26 to 29 October at Dubai Diamond Week and the 7th Dubai Diamond Conference, under the theme "Diamond 2.0: A Strategic Reset," where we will look at how the Swiss watch industry recovered from the quartz disruption for lessons that apply directly here. diamondconference.ae The full address to the congress can be viewed here: piped.video/watch?v=zfY-ACM3… @YDiamantaires @GJEPC @dmccaicentre @RJCJewellery