The figure, revealed by the Dubai Customs, surpassed the previous record of USD 40.9 billion, set in 2011. The 2025 total was also accompanied by a record 359.5 million carats traded, up 42.5% year-on-year, marking the first such occasion, in which Dubai posted a record in both diamond trade value and physical volume in the same year.

“Total diamond trade value across all categories rose 16.2% year-on-year, from USD 35.8 billion in 2024, adding USD 5.8 billion in a single year. Records were broken in other categories, with trade in coloured gemstones reaching USD 1.1 billion in 2025, up 48% year-on-year,” Dubai Customs data noted.

Dubai’s diamond sector has seen a steady growth momentum in the last few years. Since 2020, total trade through the Emirati city has increased 139% in value and 100% in volume, reflecting its growing role as the preferred gateway connecting producing countries, manufacturing centres and consumer markets across the global diamond industry.

Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, DMCC, said, “Dubai’s latest diamond trade figures demonstrate the success of a long-term strategy to build the world’s most connected, transparent, and efficient precious stones ecosystem. Since the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, we have seen trade through Dubai double in physical volume and grow by almost 140% in value. For natural polished diamonds alone, value has grown by 246%. We are the partner of choice for producers, manufacturers, traders, and retailers across the global industry. Through world-class infrastructure, regulatory certainty, access to finance, and one of the world’s most sophisticated ecosystems for precious stones, we will continue to provide the platform the industry needs to grow.”

“The record was driven primarily by continued strength in natural diamonds, which generated USD 39.9 billion in trade during 2025 and accounted for 95.8% of total diamond trade value. Rough diamonds delivered particularly strong momentum,” the official added further.

In 2025, Dubai traded 205.2 million carats of natural rough diamonds, representing the second-highest volume on record and an increase of approximately 34% compared to 2024.

In the natural polished category, trade value reached USD 18.7 billion during the year, a rise of nearly 25% year-on-year. Since 2020, total natural polished trade through Dubai has increased by 246% in value, with the average value per carat increasing approximately eight- to ninefold.

Natural diamonds have become one of the economic foundations of Dubai’s commodity marketplace, despite the recent expansion of gemstone trade and other diamond categories.

The latest figures further reinforce a longer-term shift in the global diamond trade, with Dubai’s diamond trade increasing 63% by value and 44% by volume over the past decade.

Dubai’s wider diamond and precious stones ecosystem is witnessing rapid growth as well, with coloured gemstone trade achieving an all-time high, as imports rose 68.8% and re-exports increased 33.5%, demonstrating growth across both sourcing and distribution verticals.

On the other hand, synthetic and industrial diamonds together now account for approximately 39% of total diamond carat volume.

To build upon the momentum further, Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE) has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the London Diamond Bourse (LDB), with the goal of bolstering the international diamond and gemstone trade.

As per the DMCC, the agreement advances closer collaboration by focusing on promoting responsible trade, facilitating commercial opportunities, encouraging knowledge exchange and increasing cooperation among members.

The partnership will also strengthen dialogue on issues affecting the international diamond industry, enabling both bourses to respond better to changes in the global marketplace.

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“The rise of AI and big data started in the early 2000s. When Google and Baidu, the emerging search engines at the time, used AI-powered recommendation systems for advertising, they found that the results were much better than expected. The more data they collected, the better the results would be. But at the time, no one realised that this would be the case in other fields as well,” stated Yang Qiang, an international expert in AI and data mining, back in 2018.

However, despite the 21st century being the “Century of AI,” the term “Fourth Industrial Revolution” has remained somewhat unheard of among the tech-savvy population.

Also known as Industry 4.0, the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” is a way of describing how connecting different advanced technologies could transform the way we manufacture things. A good example is the increasing usage of AI-powered factory robots, which, as per Forbes, “will help manufacturing by better understanding of demand for products and supply of inputs, with lesser impacts on what happens inside the plant.”

As per McKinsey, At the same time, advanced manufacturing (powered by AI) is now “flourishing in markets where stagnation had seemed intractable.”

The manufacturing sector in the United States, which had been languishing at 1.4% over the past two decades, saw boosts from AI, digital technologies, sustainable features, and higher skill, which has helped it to return to the growth path. The result here is evident, with industrialists in the world’s largest economy generating total shareholder returns of about 400 basis points higher than in the previous 15 years.

Industry 4.0 is all about intelligent machines, connected devices, and informed, data-driven decisions dominating the roost in 21st century global economic order. The phenomenon is revolutionising traditional business models, transforming supply chain management, and redefining stakeholder interactions, noted IMD, adding, “This revolution is reshaping industries and blurring the lines between our digital, physical, and biological realities.”

Factories where machines talk to each other, robots work alongside humans, and systems adapt and optimise themselves, are the prime examples of Industry 4.0 in the play. Technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), cyber-physical systems, cloud computing, and cognitive computing will become integral to the way we do business.

It will not only revolutionise supply chain management but also open new doors to innovative business models, transforming how we interact with stakeholders along the way.

Meet the key pillars

Internet of Things (IoT) and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) are the things we are talking about here. IoT is a network where devices are constantly exchanging information. The same concept, applied in the manufacturing landscape, becomes IIoT. Sensors and other devices gather and analyse data from machinery, leading to increased operational efficiency and more informed decision-making.

“Adopting IoT and IIoT is a strategic move to automate data collection, empowering teams to make informed decisions and optimise operations,” IMD states.
In addition to IoT and IIoT, we also incorporate machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI). They bring to the table the element called predictive analytics (the process of using data to forecast future outcomes). Machine learning and AI enable businesses to anticipate market shifts and adapt quickly, while turning data into a strategic tool for agile decision-making.

Then comes robotics and automation. “It’s not enough to implement automation; the real advantage comes in understanding the symbiotic relationship between humans and machines. Integrating cobots into your workforce can elevate productivity and free human capital to focus on more strategic tasks,” IMD noted.

Another crucial pillar of Industry 4.0 is cyber-physical systems (CPS), which is a collection of physical and computer components that are integrated with each other to operate a process safely and efficiently. Examples of this concept include industrial control systems, water systems, robotics systems and smart grids.
“Successfully integrating CPS means mastering both the digital and physical aspects of the business’ operations. This is crucial for creating a seamless and efficient system that responds dynamically to operational demands,” IMD remarked.

Let’s also talk about 3D printing and additive manufacturing, which enables a venture to reimagine its production lines and supply chains entirely, apart from arming the business with the strategic advantage of speeding up its production cycles and customising products at scale.

Also, concepts like Digital Twin Technology, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, come with transformative opportunities for businesses, in terms of overhauling their training, operations, and stakeholder interactions. These technologies not only enhance the customer experience but also create immersive environments for skill-building and remote operations.

Case studies

Any “smart” or “cyber-physical” technology blurs the lines between the digital and physical worlds. Some companies have succeeded in implementing the concept into reality.

Siemens, with its advanced MindSphere system, is showcasing a prime example of “Industry 4.0.” MindSphere’s key component is known as “Insights Hub,” which drives smart manufacturing through the IIoT. Using this digital industry software, companies are gaining actionable insights with asset and operational data, while improving their manufacturing processes.

“Deliver business value with industrial IoT data by implementing reliable asset monitoring, enhancing manufacturing performance and efficiency and enabling quality prediction and much more. Make improved operational and business decisions with data-driven insights,” Siemens stated on its website, while explaining the solution.

“Insights Hub” helps its users connect their assets to the cloud, collect and explore their data, and strategically develop their IoT capabilities. Using intelligent analytic tools, the client ventures can transform their business, processes and products at scale, also creating a competitive advantage, reducing costs and improving quality across the entire product lifecycle and supply chain.

In what seems to be another brilliant application of “Industry 4.0,” global diamond mining firm De Beers in 2022 launched a proprietary blockchain-powered platform, known as Tracr, to manage its diamond production and distribution.

The platform was first piloted and tested back in 2018, with the aim of serving the wider diamond mining industry. De Beers has now incorporated the system into its global operations. The platform will give diamond industry producers and retailers access to tamper-proof records of a diamond’s provenance.

“Authorised bulk purchasers of rough diamonds will benefit from the immutable record of diamond credentials, which will, in turn, provide retailers with the added assurance of a diamond’s pedigree and origin,” reported Cointelegraph on the product back in 2022.

“De Beers has touted the performance of the platform to be able to scale to meet periods of high production. Tracr will be able to register one million diamonds per week on the platform, which is a major upgrade to centralised platforms that have been criticised for struggling with large volumes of data that historically cause bottlenecks in this process,” it added further.

Tracr allows companies and users to control the permission, use and access to diamond data. This goes down to an individual level, with each user given their own distributed version of the platform, much like a traditional node operator in other blockchain networks.

If Siemens’ MindSphere helps companies to optimise their manufacturing activities through real-time tech-assisted monitoring and predictive maintenance, Tracr is all about IoT and blockchain ensuring transparency in the supply chain.

Has Industry 4.0 reached its full potential?

No, as propagated by supply chain researcher Richard Markoff and Ralf Seifert, Professor of Operations Management, International Institute for Management Development.

In an article titled “Why the promised fourth industrial revolution hasn’t happened yet,” published on The Conversation, the two experts had a detailed view of the impact Industry 4.0 technologies have had on the supply and manufacturing chains.

As part of their assignment, Seifert undertook a survey of several hundred senior executives conducted, with the topic being managing supply chains.

“None of the top priorities listed by the executives relate to Industry 4.0. Headline-grabbing technologies strongly associated with the fourth industrial revolution, such as AI and machine learning, the internet of things, robotics and 3D printing are in the bottom third of priorities,” the article stated further.
“Before 2020, digitalisation in the supply chain rapidly gained in importance, while traditional topics, such as integrating supply chain and business strategy, supply chain segmentation and systematically applying sales operations and planning (SO&P) processes were still on top of the agenda in most organisations,” Seifert noted in his survey.

By 2022, the global economy and supply chains, which were in their recovery phases post a tumultuous COVID period, faced threats like geopolitics (Ukraine war) and inflation. Around the same point of time, new topics like supply chain resilience, cybersecurity, and maintaining the talent pool emerged as additional top-priority topics for supply chain executives.

Coming back to Seifert’s survey, done in collaboration with independent research associate Katrin Siebenburger Hacki, it found out most of the respondents continue to report massive gaps between the relative importance of the above-mentioned “Top Priority Topics” and the implementation progress achieved.
“Supply chain executives are busier than ever before and are being asked to keep ever more balls in the air, while dealing with topics where making tangible change is slow,” the survey noted.

Around 350 experts from leading international companies, across a range of industries, participated in a November 2022 edition of IMD’s Global Supply Chain Survey (the one conducted by the Seifert and Hacki). The survey found a prolonged decrease in the relative importance of blockchain for supply chains.

“The weight of AI, as well as of last-mile delivery and micro-fulfilment solutions, also decreased, but they remained more important overall compared to other topics. Meanwhile, maintaining the talent pool in the supply chain organisation, compliance and governance, as well as supply chain sustainability, have steadily risen in importance, the goalposts seem to be moving. Indeed, globalisation of supply chain footprints is the only topic where progress achieved now beats its relative importance,” the study noted further.

According to survey respondents, during 2017-2022, implementation gaps remained in basic competencies such as integration of the supply chain with business strategy and applying a S&OP (Sales and Operations Planning) throughout the entire supply chain. While progress was seen on fronts like digitalisation, big data and real-time data use, and AI, the gap between importance and degree of implementation remained high.

“Certain topics at the forefront of digitalisation and innovation do not yet seem to have reached critical implementation mass in global supply chains – most notably digital twins and control supply towers, as well as autonomous vehicles. We will make sure their importance is tracked over the next few years when technologies and implementation are likely to mature. Furthermore, we are taking a closer look at the gaps between top and bottom quartile companies in all of those areas,” the study said.

As per a 2020 study by accounting giant KPMG, among all Industry 4.0 technologies, only cloud computing had reached an advanced level of implementation. The report also found that less than half of business leaders had a good understanding of the term “Fourth Industrial Revolution”.

The above studies point out two things: a lack of awareness of the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies and the need to build a business case for expenditure on new technological solutions.

“The more ambitious the technology, the higher the risk and scrutiny is. Not every company has leaders ready to champion and sponsor innovation in the face of uncertain or less tangible outcomes. Industry 4.0 initiatives can also lead to resistance to change among workers. IT departments, trained for years to seek out large enterprise solution providers, hesitate to recommend niche solutions from small companies, especially for technologies they’re not familiar with,” Markoff and Seifert mentioned.

To address this, there is a requirement for committing resources to build separate teams tasked with identifying and prioritising Industry 4.0 capabilities. However, to make this work, Markoff and Seifert bat for “an alignment with the broader business strategies of a company.”

The unprecedented supply chain disruptions since 2020 have pushed executives to consider reconfiguring their supply chains. They are opting for conventional options like “Reshoring” (returning manufacturing to the company’s original country) and “Nearshoring” (transferring manufacturing to a closer-by, rather than more distant, country), as they look to restore the pre-COVID resilience in their supply chains.

Talking about “Reshoring,” we have a June 2023 report from Investment Monitor report, which back then claimed, “Many industries are still feeling the pain of major overseas supply chain disruptions and international trade challenges. Meanwhile, the climate crisis and geopolitical instability demand more robust and future-proofed supply chains. According to an Everstream Analytics survey of more than 10,000 supply chain professionals, 98% of global supply chains have been affected negatively over the past three years.”

Forward-thinking business executives are weighing “Reshoring” as the better choice against the higher costs that may come with another globally disruptive event (chances of which can’t be ruled out).

The 2021 Kearney Reshoring Index saw 92% of executives surveyed had positive feelings toward reshoring and 79% who had operations in China have either started or will be moving at least part of their manufacturing back to the United States over the next three years.

Markoff and Seifert see “Industry 4.0” playing a role in this scenario. Driverless forklifts, or automated guided vehicles (AGVs) can be the best case studies of robotics mitigating rising labour costs. Additive manufacturing (the industrial name for 3D printing) can simplify and reduce the cost of production processes that involve two or more costly steps.

“For supply chains that cross international borders, there will be an added incentive to use digital platforms for improving the ability to track inventory, a term covering everything from raw materials to finished products, and to help transport goods. This will help companies identify unplanned disruptions more quickly and react to them appropriately,” the experts stated further, while concluding, “the very supply chain dysfunctions that made headlines and arguably slowed the short-term progress of Industry 4.0 may yet prove to be the engine that finally delivers its promise.”

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According to the most recent information from the World Gold Council, customers purchased 46.9 metric tonnes of gold jewellery in the UAE from January to December 2022, an increase of 38% from the same time in 2021 (WGC).

The UAE used the most gold in the Middle East in 2022, surpassing Saudi Arabia’s demand, which totalled 37.9 metric tonnes, Egypt’s (33.6 metric tonnes), and Kuwait’s (14.7 tonnes).

The UAE’s demand for jewellery exceeded that of other Middle Eastern nations, with 27.5 tonnes in the overall market.

A Regional Need
Higher than in the Americas (187.8 tonnes), Europe (70.6 tonnes), and other Asian nations, except significant markets like China, which recorded 598.3 tonnes, and India, the demand for gold increased by 15% year over year in the Middle East, reaching 190.4 tonnes (600.4 tonnes).

“Significant advances in the UAE and Saudi Arabia were major factors in the area’s performance. However, growth slowed in the fourth quarter, primarily due to the high and growing gold price,” said the World Gold Council.

One of the largest gold consumers in the world, India has a sizable ex-pat community in the United Arab Emirates. Additionally, foreign buyers of gold make it their preferred location.

Global Trends In Demand
While global jewellery consumption decreased slightly by 3% to 2,086 metric tonnes, primarily due to price hikes in the fourth quarter of 2022, it remained popular in the UAE.

Without over-the-counter sales, total annual gold demand increased by 18% to 4,741 metric tonnes in 2022, matching 2011. Demand for gold bars and coins increased by 2% to 1,217 tonnes, while investment demand increased by 10% to 1,107 tonnes.

Purchases by central banks last year totalled 1,126 metric tonnes, which was the most significant amount in 55 years.

Gold prices rose, reaching USD 2,000 per ounce in February 2022 as Russia started a war with Ukraine. A few months later, prices fell by more than 20% as a result of the aggressive monetary policy of the US Federal Reserve and the strong US currency.

However, prices have been rising since October 31, 2022, from about USD 1,639 an ounce about three months earlier to over USD 1,924 an ounce at the end of January.

Demand For Diamond Jewellery Increases
As per a recent Khaleej Times report, while the demand for traditional jewellery still holds good, gold jewellers in Dubai are seeing a demand increase for diamond jewellery and alternative metals such as platinum, silver, rose gold, and white gold among young consumers.

Gold jewellers in Dubai said that personalised designs were also becoming a vogue among shoppers in the post-COVID period.

Kalyan Jewellers Executive Director Ramesh Kalyanaraman stated that the younger consumers’ jewellery preferences are consistently evolving, influenced by affordability, minimalism, cultural trends and the growing popularity of all-season jewellery.

“This has led to a notable shift in consumer preferences towards alternative metals such as platinum, silver, rose gold and white gold as well as luxury products such as diamonds studded with emerald, sapphire or ruby,” Ramesh Kalyanaraman said.

Bafleh Jewellers Director Chirag Vora stated that the year 2022 saw a lot of demand for smaller jewellery with different colours of gold such as rose, yellow and white.

“Tricolor or multicolour gold jewellery is in trend now. People also like a dash of Minakari work,” he remarked.

Jewellery sales picked up in 2022 on the back of the recovery in the economy and the massive increase of tourist inflows, as many retailers reported double-digit growth in numbers. They also confirmed that gold jewellery sales reached the pre-pandemic level in 2021.

John Paul Alukkas, managing director, international operations, Joyalukkas Group, said that while the demand for traditional jewellery still holds good, there was a shift in preference for bold patterns, especially from the younger customers.

“There is also a preference for diamond jewellery in addition to jewellery with precious stones. Personalised designs are also becoming a vogue. Fine jewellery and fashion jewellery will be the preference in the coming years,” John Paul Alukkas added.

Shamlal Ahamed, Managing Director-International Operations, Malabar Gold & Diamonds, remarked that customers preferring diamond jewellery over gold jewellery is one of the most significant trends emerging in the market.

“There has been a steady increase of millennials amongst our customer base, preferring to buy trendy and lightweight jewellery in the lifestyle category as opposed to heavy pieces. Investment in gold has also shot up amongst both young and old investors due to gold continuing its position as a safe-haven investment,” he said.

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