No shine in Surat diamond industry this Christmas, thanks to bad US economy

Festive orders, sales in December down by 15-20% over last year

Layoffs by tech majors and rising interest rates in the United States have taken a toll on Christmas season exports by India’s cut & polished diamond industry this year.

Led by the country’s largest cut-&-polished diamond cluster in Surat, Gujarat, where roughly nine out of 10 of the world's diamonds are polished, the industry has been hot by a 15-20 per cent dip in post-thanksgiving orders and sales from the US.

The numbers for premium diamonds weighing one carat and upwards are worse, with orders and sales down by at least 25 per cent.

Having just returned from a business trip