AHMEDABAD: Indian consumers can now get international diamond prices in Indian rupee and verify them with those offered by jewellers. Diamond buyers can access a retail rate list and use it as a reference.

Unlike gold and silver, there are no price standards available for diamond, which is less volatile compared with the noble metals.

The All-India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF) has launched Diamond Retail Benchmark (DRB) along with Israel-based IDEX Online to increase awareness about diamond prices in India. The move will help bring in transparency and get more diamond buyers.

"From next week, consumers can ask jewellers to show the DRB chart before buying diamond jewellery. We aim to include around 40,000 jewellers in the system within six months," a GJF official said.

DRB is a scientifically researched and analysed data bank and is applicable for diamonds of all sizes, qualities and grades. DRB will be published every quarter, circulated to jewellers and made available online for consumers to verify diamond rates offered by retailers across India.

India is the world's largest diamond cutting-polishing hub with Surat processing nine out of 11 diamonds in the world. Traditionally, India is not a big retail market. But, post-recession, the country is showing potential at par with Middle East and China.

"India is an emerging diamond market and most consumers do not have any knowledge regarding prices. DRB will increase awareness and confidence among buyers and help the industry grow faster in India," Gitanjali Gems CMD Mehul Choksi told ET.

"DRB will address the needs of both the jewellers and consumers. Indian diamond jewellery market is around 75,000 crore and is growing at 20%. DRB will make pricing of diamonds easy to understand. It can be documented by a transparent and accurate process applicable to all retailers and consumers," said Bachhraj Bamalwa, chairman of GJF, a national federation which consists of manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and exporters in the country.

GJF believes that lack of transparency in pricing is a big hurdle and the DRB will address it in the coming years. "India was very small market for diamonds a decade ago, but diamond certification increased their confidence. We believe that DRB will be an important step towards faster growth," he said.

Gems & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) vice-chairman Sanjay Kothari said that the benchmark will increase transparency in the market. "India is a growing market for polished diamonds. The benchmark will increase consumers' confidence which is good for the business," he told ET.