Source: industry pricing and market-share data reported by Statista, BriteCo, and Finimize, 2026.
The numbers coming out of the diamond trade this year are hard to ignore. Lab-grown diamond prices have fallen sharply since 2020 — by some estimates more than 70%, with a one-carat stone that retailed for several thousand dollars in 2020 now available for a few hundred. At the same time, lab-grown diamonds have gone from a niche choice to the majority option in some markets: their share of U.S. engagement ring purchases reportedly climbed from around 5% in 2019 to roughly 45% by 2024.
Meanwhile, natural diamonds — particularly in the mid-tier, 20-points-to-2-carat range — remain under pressure, even as demand for larger, fancy-shaped natural stones has stayed resilient.
Murat Koç’s Take
“These numbers don’t mean one type of diamond has ‘won’ — they mean the diamond market has split into two genuinely different products, and clients deserve to understand which one they’re buying. A lab-grown stone is real diamond, chemically and optically, and at today’s prices it lets someone wear significant size and clarity without the price tag of a natural stone of the same look. That makes it a sensible choice for a great deal of fine jewelry.”
“But a natural diamond carries something a lab cannot manufacture: scarcity, and a literal billion-year history. For an heirloom piece, an engagement ring meant to be passed down, or a one-of-a-kind high jewelry commission, that history is part of what we’re selling. My advice to clients is simple — decide first what the piece is for. If it’s about wearing beautiful, well-made jewelry day to day, lab-grown deserves serious consideration. If it’s about permanence and story, choose natural, and choose it knowingly.”