De Beers bets of millenials to drive up diamond consumption

The world's leading diamond miner is placing a billion-dollar bet on its new mine in Canada — surprising, given the global slump in the diamond market. But De Beers says it is banking on millenials to bring the sparkle back to the business, reports CNBC-TV18's Priya Sheth.

It's a historic moment for De Beers as it marks the grand opening of this mine nearly 20 years after it was first discovered. This is estimated to give a USD 6.7 billion boost to Canada’s northwest territories economy. But it's not just the Canadian northwest that's bound to benefit. This 1,200-hectare Gahcho Kue diamond mine located in the Canadian Tundra will be a crown jewel for De Beers when it ramps up to full capacity in the first quarter of 2017. Estimates say this joint venture operation between De Beers group, which holds 51 percent, and Mountain Province Diamonds which holds 49 percent, will produce 54 million carats of diamonds during its 12-year lifespan. That's a Rs 6.5 lakh crore revenue opportunity, if one carat is priced at Rs 1.2 lakh rupees. India, De Beers says, will be an important part of this journey. Bruce Cleaver, CEO, De Beers group said: “Indian consumers are big consumers of small diamonds. Indian weddings as you know have elaborate jewellery with many small diamonds. So there is a great opportunity in India as the middle class gets bigger and requires retailers to become more innovative. India is a big part of the future.”

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