Second Headline: The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has notified IS 19469:2025, aligning India with ISO diamond disclosure norms; the change arrives as India’s diamond jewellery segment—an estimated $10 billion—prepares for rapid growth and stricter transparency expectations.

  • Price: Diamond jewellery segment ~ $10 billion (FY24)
  • Carat Weight: Not applicable (standard applies across natural, lab-grown, treated stones)
  • Origin: BIS notification issued in Mumbai; developed under BIS MTD 10 with GJEPC input
  • Date: Notified 01 January 2026 (IS 19469:2025)

What the standard does

IS 19469:2025 adopts a modified ISO 18323:2015 framework to standardise diamond terminology and disclosure in India. The standard confines the term “diamond” to natural stones and prescribes approved descriptors for laboratory products — notably “laboratory-grown diamond” and “laboratory-created diamond” — while disallowing pejorative labels such as “fake” or “artificial” and common abbreviations like “lab-grown”, “lab-created”, “lab diamond” and “LGD”. Full disclosure of treatments, composite constructions and imitations is mandated.

Context: 2025 trends and the marketplace

The move intersects three 2025 currents. First, sustainability narratives now require verifiable provenance and transparent claims; the standard supplies a common vocabulary that reduces greenwashing risk. Second, the maturing laboratory-grown segment needs definitional clarity to stabilise secondary-market pricing and investor expectations. Third, as sculptural jewellery and larger-stone presentations gain traction, precise disclosure becomes material to perceived value — the vitreous luster and substantial heft of a stone must be matched by equally tangible provenance statements.

Why it matters to US retailers and investors

For US buyers, importers and retail chains, IS 19469:2025 is consequential on three fronts.

  • Compliance and labeling: Imports from India will increasingly arrive with standardised disclosures. Retailers should audit incoming paperwork and adapt POS and marketing language to reflect the approved descriptors to avoid mislabelling risk.
  • Pricing and segmentation: Clear separation in terminology reduces information asymmetry between natural and laboratory-grown segments, which can compress speculative premiums and create clearer price bands—useful for assortment planning and margin forecasting.
  • Due diligence and sourcing: Laboratories, exporters and trade partners will reference IS 19469:2025 as a baseline. Investors performing chain-of-custody checks will find a more granular trail for sustainability claims and treatment histories, improving asset-level valuation accuracy.

GJEPC Chairman Kirit Bhansali said, “We thank BIS for launching the new standard aligned with a globally harmonised framework for diamonds. This standard will enhance consumer confidence and credibility in both natural and laboratory-grown diamond segments.” He noted the collaboration between BIS, GJEPC and industry stakeholders has produced uniform, internationally recognised definitions that protect consumers and trade alike.

Practical next steps

Merchants should update product descriptors, train sales staff on the new nomenclature and verify that lab reports and invoices mirror IS 19469:2025 language. Investors should re-examine valuation models for lab-grown versus natural inventory and factor improved disclosure into long-term demand forecasts — India’s jewellery market (estimated $80–85 billion in FY24) is projected to expand sharply by 2035, and diamond demand is expected to double by 2030, so early alignment can preserve margin and trust.

The notification will serve as a reference for jewellers, traders, laboratories, exporters, importers and consumer protection authorities across India, and will likely influence disclosure standards in export markets that source Indian-made diamond jewellery.

Image Referance: https://www.indianjeweller.in/Indian-Jewellery-News/15878/bis-notifies-diamond-disclosure-standard-is-194692025