Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever opens expanded HRD Antwerp laboratory in Mumbai

In the presence of Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, HRD Antwerp, Europe’s leading authority in diamond and jewellery grading and a subsidiary of the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), today officially opened its renewed and significantly expanded laboratory in the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai, India. The expansion increases HRD Antwerp’s research capacity in Mumbai by 30%. The official opening, which takes place as part of a two-day visit by Prime Minister Bart De Wever to India, marks an important next step in HRD Antwerp’s growth in India, one of the world’s leading centres for the trade and cutting of natural diamonds.

For HRD Antwerp, a grading report is not an administrative document, but a guarantee of trust, transparency and authenticity. As an independent, neutral party between science, industry and consumer, HRD Antwerp stands worldwide for objective and reliable diamond and jewellery grading, a principle the organisation has upheld since its founding. HRD Antwerp was established in 1973 and has been active in India since 2012. Today it serves around 1,500 clients there, including jewellery manufacturers and retailers, as well as companies that produce and trade polished diamonds.

The Indian branch now accounts for 59% of HRD Antwerp’s total group revenue and is expected to grow by 15.4% this year, compared with projected growth of 12.6% for the group as a whole. Jewellery grading is a key growth driver in this respect: as much as 47% of HRD Antwerp’s total revenue increase comes from that segment.

“As an authority in grading reports for natural diamonds and diamond jewellery, and in research into natural diamonds, we are already strongly established in India today,” says Paul De Wachter, CEO of HRD Antwerp. “India remains the world’s leading centre for diamond cutting. For a diamond laboratory like HRD Antwerp, which provides an independent and objective grading report for polished natural diamonds, it is therefore essential to keep investing in this market.”

Thanks to the expansion, HRD Antwerp can now examine and grade up to 2,000 diamonds a day in Mumbai, a 30% increase in capacity. To support this additional capacity, HRD Antwerp is recruiting 40 additional full-time employees. The investment underscores HRD Antwerp’s confidence in the Indian market and strengthens the long-standing collaboration between Belgium and India within the international diamond and jewellery sector.

During the opening, Prime Minister Bart De Wever toured the renewed office. He was given an insight into the diamond grading process and was able to examine a diamond up close himself, using a microscope. The demonstration was led by HRD Antwerp’s Indian experts.

Alongside the Prime Minister, also present were Paul De Wachter, CEO of HRD Antwerp, Ramakant Mitkar, Managing Director of HRD Antwerp India, Chirag Shah, Vice Chairman of AWDC, Didier Vanderhasselt, Belgian Ambassador to India, and Frank Geerkens, Belgian Consul-General in Mumbai.

Paul De Wachter, CEO of HRD Antwerp: “The visit by our Prime Minister underlines the importance of Belgian-Indian collaboration within the global diamond sector. India and Antwerp together form two indispensable links in the international diamond chain. With this expansion, we are investing not only in additional capacity, but above all in the future of our collaboration with the Indian diamond and jewellery sector.”

Ramakant Mitkar, Managing Director of HRD Antwerp India: “India’s rapid growth is creating strong demand for reliable, high-precision grading. That is why HRD Antwerp is continuing its growth path undiminished, expanding our capacity in Mumbai to meet sharply rising domestic and international demand. Thanks to our established regional presence in Surat, Jaipur, Kolkata, New Delhi, Hyderabad and the Mega CFC of SEEPZ, every location operates from more than fifty years of HRD Antwerp gemmological expertise, so that we can guarantee full transparency in the leading trading centres.”

Bart De Wever, Prime Minister of Belgium, wrote the following message in HRD Antwerp’s guestbook during his visit: “”Sicut adamas fulget, ita fiducia inter gentes monet. As a diamond shines, so trust endures between nations “