Natural Diamond Market in Flux: Rough Price Cuts, Site Holder Impact & What It Means for Buyers in 2026

The diamond market of the world is experiencing one of the most radical changes in decades, and that too. Natural diamonds, particularly rough stones sold in the old classic sales and distribution channels to the holders of the sites, have been experiencing quantifiable price corrections over the last couple of months and declining demand in the last 3-5 years as the structural market forces mount pressure.

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A % Price Change Comparison Between Lab-Grown Diamond and Natural Diamond

In very simple terms, the comparison is as follows:

Lab-Grown Diamonds (Left Chart):

• Prices are very low, particularly since 2022.

• Some sizes fell 50% to 80%+.

• Prices are currently at very low levels and stabilizing.

Natural Diamonds (Right Chart):

• Prices have been changing up and down, though changes are less in general.

• No massive crash like lab-grown.

• More stable over time.

Practical Answer:

Lab-grown diamonds today are a smarter financial option for most modern buyers who are concerned with cost and size.

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Knowing Rough Diamond Prices and Sights

It is worth knowing how rough diamonds are sold before we get into the pricing trends. Large producers such as De Beers dispose of some 90% of their rough diamonds to authorized purchasers referred to as site holders (or sightholders) at predetermined sales events (sights). These purchasers are willing to buy predetermined amounts at pre-determined prices, a model that has been used in the past to stabilize supply and price. 

Did you know?

Rough diamonds are natural diamonds in their natural, uncut form and unpolished form, just as they are mined out of the ground.

They:

• Have irregular shapes

• Appear murky or gray when compared to polished diamonds.

• Needs to be cut and polished to show brilliance.

The big mining corporations such as De Beers, ALROSA, and Rio Tinto do not sell the rough diamonds straight to the customers but sell them to particular buyers.

Why Do Rough Diamonds Matter?

• The supply chain of diamonds begins with rough diamonds. After being mined:

• They are sorted and graded.

• Sold to manufacturers.

• Cut and polished.

• Penetrate the retail jewelry business.

The price of roughly cut diamonds has a lot of influence on the ultimate price that the consumer will pay for the polished stones.

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1) De Beers Cuts Rough Diamond Prices in 2025-2026

In early 2026, De Beers Confirms 2026 Sight Dates and Cuts Rough Diamond Prices, De Beers, natural diamond miner, announced its 2026 sight calendar, but with this announcement were announced strategic price cuts on the rough diamond.

The January 2026 sight of the first official price reductions in more than two years is an indicator of low end-consumer demand and a rising competition of the lab-grown alternatives.

Although the company does not publicly release detailed pricing, it has been reported that approximate prices on larger stones were reduced to reflect more closely the realities of the market, after privately making discounts in late 2025. 

The industry analysis also demonstrates that the average rough price index declined significantly on a year-over-year basis, approximately 12 percent in 2025, and when rebalancing actions of stocks are considered, the effective prices declined up to 25 percent. 

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2) Natural Diamonds are Under Pressure by Market Conditions.

The producers of natural diamonds have had to make hard choices now that the larger market conditions are worsening:

Falling Realised Prices

The consolidated average realised price of all rough stones at De Beers dropped to approximately US$142 per carat in 2025, compared to approximately US$152 per carat in 2024 — a definite indication of price erosion. 

Production Adjustments

De Beers reduced production, by an estimated 12 percent, in 2025, and has updated 2026 guidance to match output to the prevailing market demand. 

Industry Losses

The drastic decline in the price of diamonds and demand has resulted in a severe financial burden: Anglo American De Beers, the parent company, has announced a loss of US 3.7 billion in 2025, much of which is associated with write-downs in the diamond business and valuation losses. 

3) Site Holders Are Finding the Squeezer

Sightholders, the companies that purchase the rough, cut, and package them, are caught in the middle:

• Producer rough pricing is lower towards them (it can squeeze margins).

• They also have to struggle with weak final-customer demand, that is, a refined inventory of diamonds is more difficult to sell at good prices.

• The buyers have been said to have been given the chance to defer purchases at the sight instead of taking chances by holding back moving stock that is slower in moving, which highlights the pressure in the midstream trade. 

• This has actual economic implications: sightholders need to balance between liquidity and stock commitments, and a rough price fall can run throughout the supply chain.

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4) The Shifts in Demand - Lab-Grown Diamonds Are an Up-and-Coming Force

The industry observers, including diamond expert Edahn Golan, point out that lab-grown diamonds are gaining more and more market share - lab-grown offerings take up an ever-growing portion of the global diamond sales and are affecting pricing psychology. 

Lab-grown diamonds do not possess the same geological background as natural stones; however, they have the same basic chemical and physical characteristics. Most importantly, and most importantly to consumers, they are much cheaper since the cost of production and supply chains is reduced.

Also, lab-grown diamonds are considered to be a better option since it is a much more ethical and eco-friendly way as compared to mining. Lab-grown diamonds, in contrast to natural diamonds, do not require any massive excavation to uncover resources and thus do not interfere with ecosystems, disturbing soil, and consuming a lot of energy and water resources. 

The carbon footprint on the environment is also significantly smaller as it is often stated that the impact of open-pit mining is much more harmful to the land than that of underground mining. 

Going forward, we forecast the future of the industry to be fully based on the seeds of lab-grown diamonds, which will completely exclude fresh mining entirely. This change would help sever the mining cycle and would transform the diamond industry to almost 100% sustainability, with beauty no longer being a prerequisite for the planet.

Did you know?

The wastage of diamonds can also be reused as a seed for new stones in numerous instances, thus savingthe  wastage of materials. 

According to this chart (by Edahn Golan Diamond Research & Data Ltd), the wholesale prices of the lab-grown diamonds have advanced dramatically between 2018 and 2025.

In simple terms:

• 2018-2020: Prices were high and rather stable.

• 2021-2022: Pricing surged slightly based on high COVID demand.

• After mid-2022, Prices began to fall very rapidly.

• 2023-2025: The prices continued to decrease and leveled off at extremely low prices.

• By 2025, thousands of lab-grown diamonds will be retailing at more than 100 per carat or even less wholesale.

What it means:

The cost of lab-grown diamonds has significantly decreased over the years, and with the higher output and competition, the price is now at a much lower level than previously.

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5) The Reason Why Natural Rough Prices Have Fallen

There are a few convergent trends that can account for the fact that rough diamond prices have decreased over the past few months:

• Weakening world demand, especially in major marketplaces like China and among younger consumers who are more value and ethics conscious. 

• Large stocks and the reluctance of midstream companies to replenish stocks, which suppresses bidding at sites and auctions. 

• Threat of substitutes The threat of substitutes refers to the availability of alternative products that can be purchased by consumers at low prices. Competition with lab-grown diamonds, which are sold at low prices and are affordable to consumers. 

• Trade imbalances and tariffs which have complicated the traditional polish and distribution channels, and the demand elasticity. 

This has all worked together to make pricing power stifled in the natural rough market, to an extent never experienced in many years.

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Summary: Why Lab-Grown Diamonds Are a Good Idea Now

Having considered pricing patterns, industry performance, and general consumer behaviour, here is the moderated view:

Lab-grown diamonds have obvious benefits in terms of value

They are much cheaper, typically 6080 of the natural counterparts at retail, and offer comparable visual and wearable properties as daily wear or a present. They offer more current value to most purchasers, particularly those who are more price-conscious, trendy or those with larger carat sizes.

Market reality is in favor of transparency and choice

Considering the structural forces of natural pricing and demand, today buyers are advantaged to look at alternatives of lab-grown stones before making the commitment to expensive mined stones. In the dynamic world of 2026, the lab-grown diamonds will be not only cheaper but also more reasonable to conscious and value-oriented consumers.