DMCC has established a standalone vertical for lab-grown diamonds, separating the sector formally from its natural diamond and coloured stone activities for the first time. The announcement comes as the UAE records its highest-ever lab-grown diamond trade volumes.
A total of 76.9 million carats were traded through the UAE in 2025, up 91.5% year-on-year, with trade value rising 7.5 per cent to $1.3 billion.
Volumes have more than doubled since 2022, when 36.8 million carats were recorded, with imports and re-exports growing at broadly equal rates – a signal, DMCC says, of sustained expansion across the UAE’s trade flows rather than a sectoral rebalancing.
“Lab-grown diamonds have reached the point where they need dedicated market infrastructure and a distinct economic case of their own, developed alongside the natural diamond trade rather than in place of it. For decades, China, India and the United States have driven the scientific, technological and industrial development that turned an experimental breakthrough into a global industry now estimated at close to $30 billion. The most significant opportunity ahead may lie beyond jewellery, in semiconductors, diamond wafers, quantum technologies, medical devices, aerospace and other advanced applications where the material’s thermal, optical and mechanical properties become commercially important.
“With 76.9 million carats of lab-grown diamonds traded through the United Arab Emirates in 2025, more than double the 2022 figure, Dubai already has the scale to help shape the sector’s next phase. DMCC’s Lab-Grown Diamond Vertical gives the industry a dedicated global platform to expand international trade flows, bring producers, technology companies and buyers closer together, and build the transparent market infrastructure the sector needs for its continued development,” Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, DMCC said in a statement.
The vertical is designed to bring together producers, technology companies, manufacturers, traders, investors and industrial users on a single platform.
Its creation formalises activity DMCC has been building since 2020, when Diamond Foundry established its international sales operations at the free zone.
DMCC has since launched a dedicated digital platform, expanded its research agenda, and hosted two Lab-Grown Diamond Symposiums, with a third scheduled for 2027.
The global lab-grown diamond industry has been shaped by three dominant markets: China as the centre for industrial-scale production and R&D; India as the leading hub for CVD growth and processing; and the United States as the technology pioneer and largest consumer market. Japan, Israel and the UK are also established presences in research, industrial applications and trade.
The UAE’s total diamond trade reached a record $41.7 billion in 2025, alongside sharp growth in synthetic and industrial diamond volumes.
