India's $18 billion-a-year gemstone and jewelry market is seeing growing demand for large diamonds, according to a report in the Times of India.

The Times quoted diamantaires who showed at the India International Jewellery Show (IIJS) saying that the country's up-and-coming wealthy were spending money on stones ranging from 5-100 carats in size.

Israel's Tzvi Pluczenik told the Times that while India was growing as a market for larger diamonds, local buyers tended to prefer diamonds of a lower color grade, which were less expensive. Director of Plucdiamond India Private Limited Shailesh Doshi backed up Pluczenik's observation, saying that Indian buyers opted for large-size but lower-quality stones.

An Antwerp-based diamond dealer told the Times that the demand for large diamonds in India was a new development, and that Indian diamond buyers were "very keen" to acquire large stones.