Diamonds Lose Their Sparkle As Prices Come Crashing Down



The idea that diamonds might somehow lose their value seems unnatural, but now prices are falling fast and showing no signs of stopping. Natural diamonds cost 26% less in shops than they did two years ago, dwarfed by the poor fortune of their identical twins — lab-grown diamonds — which are now 74% cheaper than in 2020. De Beers — the biggest name in diamonds — has cut production in its mines by 20%, and its owner, Anglo American, has put it up for sale. There are several reasons behind the dramatic falls. The biggest change is the emergence of lab-grown diamonds, created in plasma reactors. They used to take weeks to make but can now be grown in just a few hours, compared to billions of years for natural stones. Synthetic diamonds now account for 45% of the bridal jewelry market. The average price of a one-carat natural diamond peaked at $6,819 in May 2022, and by December 2024 had fallen to $4,997. The equivalent lab-grown diamond price is down from $3,410 in 2020 to just $892 in December 2024. In practical terms, this mostly affects someone looking for a statement sparkler, who can now afford to go bigger than ever before. “It makes the stone that much cheaper, and people have the illusion that being big is something special. It’s not. It’s quality that you want,” said Geoffrey Farrow of Raphael Jewelers.