Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) has partnered with Belgium’s HRD Antwerp to offer professional diamond grading, gemology and jewelry design courses in the UAE, the Dubai free zone said on Monday at its seventh Dubai Diamond Conference.
Under the agreement between HRD Antwerp and DMCC’s Dubai Design Academy, participants who complete the programs will receive diplomas issued by HRD Antwerp, DMCC said in a statement.
Dubai’s diamond trade reached a record $41.7 billion in 2025, with natural stones accounting for 95.8% of the value, said Ahmed bin Sulayem, executive chairman and chief executive officer of DMCC.
Bin Sulayem told delegates that global natural rough supply was “undergoing an irreversible contraction,” citing suspended or wound-down operations at mines in Canada, South Africa and Botswana, CNBC Africa reported.
He said lab-grown diamonds made up 61% of U.S. bridal purchases by units in 2025, compared with about 2% in 2017.
DMCC says it hosts almost 1,400 diamond and precious stones companies, part of a free zone community of about 27,000 firms.
Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, the UAE’s Minister of Economy and Tourism, delivered the keynote address at the conference.
The event also saw the first showing in Dubai of Infinity, an 888.88-carat fancy black natural diamond presented by Antwerp-based Diamond Trading NV. The stone, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was cut from a 1,138-carat rough acquired in 1975 on behalf of De Beers.
Organizers did not give a valuation for the diamond or say whether it was for sale, Gulf News reported.
DMCC and consultancy ORIGINALLUXURY also released a report, The Swiss Parallel, setting out seven strategic moves for the natural diamond industry based on how Swiss watchmakers repositioned their market.
