Saumen Bhaumik, MD, Caratlane
At a time when gold prices have remained volatile, the appetite for diamond jewellery among Indians is rising rapidly, according to Saumen Bhaumik, MD, CaratLane. In an interview with businessline, Bhaumik suggests that India already processes nearly 90 per cent of the world’s diamonds, but it has only recently emerged as a major consumer market. He added that despite diamond consumption increasing, the penetration remains fairly low with significant growth opportunity for organised retailers in the segment. “India is now the second largest consumer of diamond in the world. But only 10-12 per cent is the penetration of diamond jewellery in India. So there is room to grow” Bhaumik said. Majority SalesThe buoyancy comes at a time when India has overtaken China to emerge as the second largest diamond market in the world with a 12 per cent market share. It now trails only the United States with a 53 per cent share, ahead of China and Japan with 5 per cent each. As per industry estimates, the domestic natural diamonds market in India is about $8 billion, nearly a tenth of the $80-$90 billion jewellery market. For Caratlane, natural diamond studded jewellery contributes over 90 per cent of the brand’s sales. Bhaumik added that changing consumer preferences, particularly among the younger generations is also contributing to the increase in demand for the king of gems. “Twenty or thirty years ago, you probably would not have seen a diamond in too many households. Today, people are willing to indulge in buying jewellery they can wear to make themselves look beautiful and feel good, rather than just investing for value,” he said.Increased DemandMeanwhile, as gold prices continue to remain volatile Carattlane is seeing strong demand for lower-carat light weight jewellery. Bhaumik mentioned that the brand, which a year ago launched its 9-carat jewellery range, has seen the segment grow rapidly while also seeing increased demand for other offerings like Shaya, the company’s natural diamond-in-silver brand.Caratlane closed FY26 with a revenue of ₹4,690 crore up nearly 18 per cent from FY25. Bhaumik expects strong growth for this fiscal without sharing exact figures, given the silent period for the Titan group on stock exchanges.As for the channel mix, the company’s online sales account for ‘high single digit’ of its total revenue while the remaining comes from retail stores. It operates 381 stores in over 160 cities and towns. Caratlane also recently revamped its manufacturing facility in Chennai, which has bolstered its production capacity. “We had a small factory in Chennai but now have built it into a proper state of the art unit. Our capacity has gone up by almost 3x,” he said. Published on July 29, 2026
