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After the world's largest jewellery consumer markets - United States - reported a slowdown in demand during the January - March 2017 quarter with slower growth in the gross domestic products (GDP), De Beers pins hope on India and China for jewellery sector growth this year.In an annual study - Diamond Insight, the London - based diamond miner said, "While US demand drove global growth in 2016, it is increasing demand from emerging markets that is behind the last five years being the strongest on record. Despite some markets facing challenging conditions last year, we see this trend continuing, with improvements in demand from China and India, in particular, emerging in 2017."The study said that the US contributed around 50 per cent of the world diamond jewellery consumption to the tune of $80 billion in 2016. The US recorded 4.4 per cent growth in jewellery consumption in 2016."American consumers continue to express strong desire for diamonds, but their purchasing habits are changing .