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Diamond's Sparkle Fades: Understanding Price Drops and the Rise of Lab-Grown Gems.
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News18•24-09-2026, 13:40
Diamond's Sparkle Fades: Understanding Price Drops and the Rise of Lab-Grown Gems.
- •Unlike gold, diamond prices are not determined by a global market rate but by four factors: carat, cut, color, and clarity (the '4Cs').
- •Wholesale diamond prices have fallen by up to 40% in the last 5 years, primarily due to the emergence of lab-grown diamonds.
- •Lab-grown diamonds are real diamonds with identical chemical and physical properties to natural diamonds, but are created in a lab and are 70-85% cheaper.
- •India has become a major exporter of lab-grown diamonds, surpassing natural diamond exports in volume in 2025-26.
- •Diamonds are increasingly being used as everyday jewelry, driven by young buyers, but despite cheaper stones, overall jewelry prices remain high due to metal costs, design, and jeweler margins.
Key Questions Answered
Gold prices are determined globally in the international market and influenced by daily rates and purity. Conversely, the price of a diamond is determined by four key factors known as the 4 Cs: carat, cut, color, and clarity.
The primary reason for the sharp decline in natural diamond prices is the rise of lab-grown diamonds, which are created quickly in laboratories and sell for 70 to 85 percent less than natural stones.
Even though individual diamonds have become cheaper, the overall cost of jewelry remains high because it includes the price of gold, design, craftsmanship, certification, logistics, and jeweler profit margins.
