India's lab-grown diamond mkt dazzles with investor backing

India’s lab-grown diamond market is entering a high-growth phase as demand accelerates and funding surges amid the expansion.

- ANEEKA CHATTERJEE

Once niche, lab-grown diamonds are edging into mainstream retail — now further catalysed by the entry of Titan, the largest jewellery retailer of the country. Players in the category are also enthused as it will help drive growth.

“Titan’s entry through beYon is positive for the category. It will accelerate consumer awareness, validate lab-grown diamonds at scale, and ultimately benefit all serious players,” said Prajay Maganlal, chief executive officer (CEO), Elevé Lab Diamonds.

Tata-owned brand Titan has entered the lab-grown diamond market with “beYon’, opening its first exclusive store in Mumbai on December 29. The format will be scaled to Delhi next, functioning independently from its existing jewellery brands Tanishq, Mia and Zoya.

In June, one of the largest funding in the space came from GIVA, operating Heer — a lab-grown diamond brand, raised ₹530 crore in its Series C round. It was led by growth-stage investor Creaegis with participation from Premji Invest, Edelweiss Discovery Fund and others. The company looks to deploy the capital towards omnichannel expansion, retail footprint, and scale its lab-grown diamond jewellery portfolio, said Ishendra Agarwal, founder of GIVA.

Bengaluru-based GIVA currently operates 280 stores, and plans to touch over 340 outlets by March 2026, with nearly 45 per cent new additions coming in FY26. Over the next three years, the brand intends to expand to about 800-1,000 stores pan-Indian, across Tier-I, -II and -III cities. A new manufacturing facility in Jaipur is also underway to deepen supply chain control and support higher volumes.