India Processes 92% of the World's Diamonds and Just Posted a 26% Export Surge. Here Is What UAE and UK Jewellers Need to Understand About Sourcing From India in 2026.
The number that came out of India's gem and jewellery export data for June 2026 is worth paying attention to: a 26.51% year-on-year surge, with gold jewellery exports alone reaching $2.21 billion in that single month.
For any jewellery business in the UAE or UK that sources from India — or has been thinking about it — this number is not just a headline. It reflects something structural that is happening to India's jewellery manufacturing ecosystem, accelerated by two trade agreements that have significantly changed the economics of sourcing from India in the past eighteen months.
Understanding what has changed, and what it means practically, is worth the time it takes to read this.
Why India Is the World's Jewellery Kitchen
The phrase is not hyperbole. India processes more than one billion diamonds annually — 92% of global volume, 65% of global value. Surat alone is responsible for the vast majority of the world's cut and polished diamonds. Jaipur is the global centre for coloured gemstones. Mumbai's Zaveri Bazaar is Asia's largest gold market. And the craftsmanship traditions — Kundan, Meenakari, filigree, temple jewellery — represent design vocabularies that simply do not exist elsewhere at the same scale or price point.
This concentration of capability in one country — diamonds, gemstones, gold, silver, platinum, and increasingly lab-grown diamonds — gives India a sourcing position that no other jewellery manufacturing hub replicates. Not Thailand. Not Italy. Not China, despite its manufacturing scale.
The question for a jewellery business in Dubai or London is not whether India is a relevant sourcing market. It is whether they have the right relationships and systems to access it efficiently.
What the Trade Agreements Have Actually Changed
Two agreements have materially altered the sourcing equation for UAE and UK jewellers in the past two years.
What This Means for a Jeweller Sourcing From India
| Factor | Before (Pre-2024) | Now (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| UK import duty on gold jewellery | 2.5–4% on every shipment | Zero — FTA benefit active |
| UAE sourcing economics | Standard import terms | CEPA preferential rates — deeper price advantage |
| Lab-grown diamond availability | Limited, premium pricing | 52.25% export growth in June 2026 — abundant supply |
| Minimum order access | Large buyers dominated direct relationships | Digital tools and platforms reducing access threshold |
| Price transparency | Relationship-dependent, opaque for new buyers | More accessible — though relationships still matter |
The Part That Still Requires Human Work
Trade agreements change the economics. They do not change the reality that sourcing from India's wholesale markets — Zaveri Bazaar, Johari Bazaar, Mahidharpura — still depends significantly on relationships, market knowledge, and the ability to verify quality in a supply chain that is rich in variety but variable in consistency.
The fundamental dynamics of India's jewellery wholesale markets have not changed with the FTAs. A new buyer arriving at Zaveri Bazaar without a reference or an established relationship still pays a newcomer's premium. A buyer who cannot verify purity independently still relies entirely on supplier representation. A buyer who does not understand the terminology — Tola, making charges, wastage, HUID — still negotiates from a position of disadvantage.
What has changed is the opportunity size and the cost of access once those relationships are established. The premium for getting the relationship right has increased, because the reward for being inside the market properly has increased.
Lab-Grown Diamonds — The Fastest-Moving Category
Polished lab-grown diamond exports from India recorded a robust 52.25% growth in June 2026, driven by demand from the UAE, Hong Kong, and Canada. For jewellers building out a lab-grown offering — or responding to customer demand for it — India is increasingly the most competitive source globally, with Surat's cutting and polishing infrastructure applied to lab-grown material at scale.
The positioning question for UAE and UK retailers is separate from the sourcing question. Whether to offer lab-grown alongside natural, how to communicate the difference, and how to price the two categories relative to each other — these are retail strategy decisions that the sourcing economics do not answer. But on the supply side, India's advantage in lab-grown production is now significant and growing.