Rapaport Auctions Brings America's Pre-Owned Diamonds to Mumbai for India's First Rapaport Viewing Event

Four-day showcase at SEEPZ's Bharat Ratnam–GJEPC Mega CFC, developed with GJEPC, puts pre-owned diamonds directly in front of India's trade and draws praise from the country's Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal

MUMBAI, India--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rapaport Auctions, the auction house division of Rapaport, this week opened its first-ever diamond viewing event on Indian soil. The Rapaport Pre-Auction Diamond Viewing Event runs July 13–16, 2026, at the Bharat Ratnam–GJEPC Mega Common Facilitation Centre (CFC) in Mumbai's SEEPZ Special Economic Zone, staged in partnership with the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) and made possible through India's Free Trade Warehousing Zone (FTWZ) framework.

“Bringing our pre-owned diamonds to Mumbai puts these stones in front of the people who read them best,” said Dan Mano, Chief Executive Officer of Rapaport. “India's trading community has an eye for value that's been sharpened over generations, and this event gives them direct access to American goods on their own ground. None of this happens without real cooperation, with GJEPC, with Rapaport India, and with a government that has built the infrastructure to make it possible.”

For the first time, a curated selection of pre-owned diamonds sourced from the United States is being placed directly in front of Indian buyers for in-person viewing ahead of auction, bringing the goods to one of the world's largest and most sophisticated communities of diamond traders, cutters and valuers. Pricing a pre-owned diamond is widely regarded as one of the trade's hardest skills: it takes an eye built over years to assess a stone that has already lived a life and to judge what it is worth to its next owner. Mumbai's trading community, with its deep bench of sourcing and valuation expertise, is uniquely positioned to do exactly that.

The event has already drawn recognition from India's government. In a letter marking the occasion, Piyush Goyal, India's Minister of Commerce and Industry, called Rapaport's decision to hold the event in India “a strong endorsement of the global diamond industry's confidence in India's transparent policy environment, modern infrastructure, skilled workforce and leadership across the entire diamond value chain.” Minister Goyal linked the event to the government's broader push to position India as a global hub for diamond trading, auctions and other high-value commercial activity, citing reforms including the FTWZ framework supported by facilitative measures at SEEPZ-SEZ.

“We are proud that Bharat Ratnam–GJEPC Mega CFC has become the venue for India's first Rapaport Pre-Auction Viewing Event, demonstrating the strength of India's world-class infrastructure and the Free Trade Warehousing Zone (FTWZ) ecosystem. This initiative brings global diamond trading closer to Indian buyers and reinforces Mumbai's position as a premier international hub for the gems and jewelry industry. We look forward to many more such collaborations that create greater value for the global trade,” said Ravi Menon, Chief Executive Officer of Bharat Ratnam–GJEPC Mega CFC.

“The inaugural Rapaport Melee Auction at the Bharat Ratnam Mega CFC marks a new chapter for India's gem and jewelry industry. We sincerely thank the Government of India for responding with remarkable alacrity to Rapaport's proposal by introducing the necessary FTWZ policy changes and the Development Commissioner, SEEPZ to come out with a robust SoP, reinforcing its commitment to ease of doing business. We also thank Mr. Dan Mano and the Rapaport team for his confidence in doing business in India. Bringing these auctions to India will make global trading opportunities more accessible to our industry. The overwhelming response from both Rapaport and Indian trade to the 13–16 July inaugural auction gives us confidence that this will become a recurring platform, and we look forward to Rapaport's announcement for the dates of the next auction in India soon,” said Sabyasachi Ray, Executive Director of the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).

The viewing event brings together Rapaport, Rapaport India and GJEPC India, with support from the Indian government, and follows months of coordination to clear the way for American pre-owned diamonds to be viewed and traded through the FTWZ framework at SEEPZ. Rapaport also thanked the wider GJEPC and SEEPZ-SEZ teams for their partnership in bringing the event to Mumbai.

About Rapaport

Rapaport's mission is to safeguard the prosperity of the natural diamond economy. Founded by Martin Rapaport, the company today operates across five divisions: Rapaport Price List, the diamond industry's benchmark pricing reference; Rapaport Trade, its global trading platform; Rapaport News, its independent industry news service; Rapaport Intelligence, its research and data arm; and Rapaport Auctions, its diamond auction house. Together, these divisions serve diamond and jewelry professionals worldwide.