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Lab-Grown vs Natural Diamonds in 2026: Price, Resale and Which to Buy
By Thomas Lovas Lokoy | Last updated: October 23, 2026Researched and drafted with AI from published sources; edited and published by NorwegianSpark SA. Editorial policy.
The short answer
Buy a lab-grown diamond if you want the most size and visual quality for your money and you will wear the ring rather than resell it. Buy a natural diamond if its geological origin matters to you, or if you care about the stone holding some value — but go in knowing that natural diamond prices have been falling too, and that no retail diamond is a reliable investment. Lab-grown and natural diamonds are now priced as two different products, and the gap between them has widened every year.
The price gap in 2026
The numbers below come from a round-up published by TheStreet on Yahoo Finance on 2 April 2026, which cites several industry sources:
- A 1-carat lab-grown diamond cost about $3,410 in 2020 and about $750 to $1,000 now, according to Draco Diamond. Draco puts the fall from 2020 to 2024 at 74%.
- A 1-carat natural diamond averaged about $4,200 in 2025, down from about $6,000 in 2021, according to the jewellery insurer BriteCo.
- BriteCo puts lab-grown stones at 73% to 83% cheaper than comparable natural ones.
- Lab-grown diamonds accounted for more than 45% of US engagement ring purchases in 2024 (BriteCo), against a 5.2% share of diamond jewellery sales in 2019.
Treat these as broad market figures, not quotes. Prices for a specific stone depend on its cut, colour, clarity, carat weight and certification, and on the retailer.
Why lab-grown prices keep falling
A lab-grown diamond is made in a reactor in weeks, and production capacity keeps growing. The same TheStreet piece cites a rise of more than 300% in lab-grown capacity. When supply can expand like that, price moves towards the cost of making the stone.
The clearest signal came from De Beers itself. When it launched its lab-grown jewellery brand Lightbox in 2018, it priced stones at a flat $800 per carat. In May 2025, as reported by the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, De Beers said it would close Lightbox, by which point wholesale prices for lab-grown jewellery diamonds had fallen about 90% since its launch. The report describes lab-grown pricing moving "closer to a cost-plus model". The world's best-known natural diamond company decided it did not want to be in that business.
Why natural prices have fallen too
Natural diamonds have not been immune. TheStreet reports that De Beers' effective rough price index fell 25% year on year, that Anglo American — which owns 85% of De Beers — took a $2.3 billion pre-tax impairment on the business in its 2025 results, and that De Beers itself cited "greater shifting of customer preference between natural diamonds and laboratory-grown diamonds" as a reason for lower price forecasts.
In other words, the arrival of cheap lab-grown stones has pulled demand away from the lower and middle end of the natural market. Our longer piece on investment-grade diamonds explains why only a narrow slice of the natural market — rare sizes, colours and provenance — has ever behaved like a store of value.
Lab-grown vs natural at a glance
| Lab-grown diamond | Natural diamond | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Real diamond, made in a laboratory | Real diamond, mined |
| Typical 1 ct price (2025–26 estimates) | About $750–$1,000 (Draco Diamond) | About $4,200 average in 2025 (BriteCo) |
| Price trend | Falling steeply as capacity grows | Falling, more slowly |
| Resale | Little to no established resale market | Resale possible, usually well below retail |
| Grading | IGI reports with 4Cs; GIA "Premium" or "Standard" assessment | Full 4Cs reports from GIA, IGI and others |
| Best for | Maximum size and appearance for the budget | Buyers who value natural origin, or rare stones |
How grading differs now
If you are comparing certificates, note a change that catches buyers out. From 1 October 2025, according to a summary by the jeweller Whiteflash, GIA stopped using its traditional colour and clarity grades for lab-grown diamonds. It now issues a "Quality Assessment" that places a stone in one of two tiers, Premium or Standard, and gives no assessment to stones below the Standard minimums. GIA's president and CEO, Pritesh Patel, explained the change by saying that most lab-grown stones "fall into a very narrow range of color and clarity". IGI has not followed and still grades lab-grown stones on the 4Cs.
The practical point: a GIA lab-grown document and an IGI lab-grown report are not directly comparable, and neither is directly comparable with a natural diamond's grading report. Compare like with like.
Labelling: what sellers must tell you
In the US, the Federal Trade Commission's guidance for jewellery advertisers, In the Loupe, says a seller of a lab-made diamond should disclose that it is not mined, using a term such as "laboratory-grown", "laboratory-created" or "[manufacturer name]-created", placed "immediately preceding the word 'diamond' and equally conspicuously". The word "cultured" may only be used together with a clear and conspicuous disclosure that the stone is not mined. If a listing is vague about origin, ask in writing and keep the answer with your receipt. Our jewellery authentication guide covers the paperwork worth keeping.
A buyer's checklist
- Decide what you are paying for. Size and sparkle for the budget points to lab-grown; origin and rarity points to natural.
- Get the report, and read which lab issued it. For lab-grown, know whether it is a GIA assessment or an IGI 4Cs report.
- Ask about an inscription. Ask whether the stone carries a laser inscription matching the report number, and ask the retailer to show it to you.
- Ask about the return and upgrade policy in writing. Some retailers offer trade-in credit; the terms decide what the stone is worth to you later.
- Do not pay a natural-diamond price for resale value you will not get. Even natural stones usually resell well below retail.
- Insure on agreed value, not on a vague replacement promise. Our guide to insuring valuables explains the clause that most often reduces a claim.
Christmas and Black Friday buyers
Q4 is the busiest season for engagement rings and diamond gifts, and it is when discount banners are loudest. With lab-grown prices still falling, a "percentage off" figure is only meaningful against a price you have already checked on the same stone, or on comparable stones from two or three other retailers. For a natural diamond, the grading report is what lets you compare like with like across shops; a sale price without the report number is not a comparison.
Frequently asked questions
Are lab-grown diamonds real diamonds? Yes. The FTC's guidance treats them as diamonds that must be clearly labelled as not mined.
Will a lab-grown diamond hold its value? On the evidence so far, no. Prices fell by around three quarters between 2020 and 2024 according to Draco Diamond, and there is little established resale market.
Are natural diamond prices falling too? Yes. BriteCo's estimate for an average 1-carat natural stone fell from about $6,000 in 2021 to about $4,200 in 2025, and De Beers' rough price index fell 25% year on year.
How do I know which one I am buying? Rely on the seller's written disclosure and the grading report from an independent laboratory, not on how the stone looks. Under the FTC guidance above, a lab-made stone must be described as such.
Is a lab-grown diamond a good engagement ring choice? For many buyers, yes — more than 45% of US engagement ring purchases in 2024 were lab-grown, according to BriteCo. Buy it as jewellery, not as an asset.
Which is better as an investment? Neither, for most buyers. If you want a store of value, compare the options in our investment jewellery guide.
Prices quoted are estimates from the sources named, as of the dates stated, and change frequently. Nothing here is financial advice. See our disclosure for affiliate relationships.
Sources
- Yahoo Finance (finance.yahoo.com)
- Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (iom3.org)
- Whiteflash (whiteflash.com)
- In the Loupe (ftc.gov)
Thomas Lovas Lokoy is the founder of NorwegianSpark SA, the Norwegian company (org. 834 984 172) that runs Aureum & Co. He oversees the business. Articles are researched and drafted with AI assistance; Thomas is responsible for what goes live. Corrections: thomaslien@norwegianspark.com.
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