Lab-Grown Diamond Statistics 2026

Lab-grown diamonds have changed the diamond trade faster than any product in its history. This page gathers the latest public numbers on how much is made, who buys it, what it costs and where it is cut. Every figure links to its source. It was last checked on 11 November 2026; for the wider market, see our jewellery and diamond industry statistics.

Key takeaways

• 61% of US couples married in 2025 chose a lab-grown centre stone, up from just over 50% a year earlier. (The Knot, via Rapaport)
• Gem-quality lab-grown production reached a record 69.4 million carats in 2025, against 98.8 million carats of natural rough. (Edahn Golan)
• Consumers spent US$23.8 billion on lab-grown diamond jewellery in 2025, but the rough itself was worth only about US$1.13 billion. (Edahn Golan)
• Wholesale prices fell 26% in 2025 and are down 96% since 2018. (JCK)
• A 1 ct D VVS lab-grown round traded at about US$84 per carat wholesale in Q2 2026, down from about US$1,800 in mid-2018. (Edahn Golan)
• India now exports more lab-grown than natural polished diamonds by volume, but lab-grown is still under 9% of export value. (JCK)

Market share: how many buyers choose lab-grown

202450%+

202561%

The gap between units (53%) and value (27%) is the whole lab-grown story in one line: it wins most of the sales, but each sale is worth much less.

• The average US engagement ring spend fell from US$5,200 to US$4,600 between 2024 and 2025. Couples choosing lab-grown spent US$4,300 on average, against US$7,000 for natural. (The Knot, via Rapaport)
• Lab-grown centre stones were bigger: 2.0 carats on average, against 1.6 carats for natural. (The Knot, via Rapaport)
• The US accounted for an estimated 73% of global lab-grown jewellery sales between 2021 and 2024. (Edahn Golan)

Prices: the steepest fall in the diamond trade

Source: Edahn Golan, lab-grown diamond statistics.

Full year 2025−26%

Q1 2026−14%

Q2 2026−13%

• Golan's wholesale price index fell 26% in 2025, 14% year over year in Q1 2026 and 13% in Q2 2026. The index is down 96% since he began tracking it in 2018. (JCK)
• In retail, a popular 1 ct lab-grown stone fell more than 76% in price between early 2020 and mid-2025; a 2 ct stone fell 80%. (Edahn Golan)
• In 2025, a round 1 ct lab-grown stone sold for 82% less than a comparable natural stone; at 2 carats the discount was 89%. (Edahn Golan)
• De Beers says lab-grown jewellery prices have fallen 90% at wholesale since 2018, and expects both cost and price to keep falling. (Rapaport)

What it means for jewellers: a lab-grown stone bought at last quarter's price may already be worth less. Valuing lab-grown stock at today's replacement price, not its purchase price, is the only way to see your real margin.

Margins and retail

• Typical retail markups on lab-grown are 250% to 300%, an average gross margin of about 73%. (Edahn Golan)
• Retailer gross margin on loose lab-grown reached up to 70% in early 2025, against 40–50% five years earlier. (National Jeweler)
• The inventory-to-sales ratio of US jewellery retailers rose from the high single digits in 2020 to nearly 50% by spring 2026, per Tenoris. (JCK)
• Lab-grown category revenue at US jewellers fell 7% in 2024, after years of double-digit growth. (National Jeweler)
• De Beers launched its Lightbox lab-grown brand in 2018 at US$800 per carat, cut it to US$500, and announced its closure in May 2025. (Forbes, Rapaport)

Production and the value chain

Source: Edahn Golan, 2025 lab-grown value chain.

Rough (growing)1.13

Cutting and polishing1.23

Jewellery sold to consumers23.8

• Growing a lab-grown carat cost under US$11 in 2025. About 95% of the final value is created after the stone leaves the grower. (Edahn Golan)
• Production has grown about tenfold since 2020, when an estimated 6–7 million carats were made. (GIA)
• Most lab-grown diamonds seen at GIA are grown by CVD, and about 80% of the CVD stones submitted since 2020 had post-growth treatment. Most CVD stones it now sees are over 3 carats. (GIA)
• In Antwerp, lab-grown was just 0.37% of diamond trade value in 2025. (AWDC)

India: the lab-grown workshop of the world

India grows a large share of the world's lab-grown rough and polishes almost all of it. In 2025, India grew about 8% more gem-quality lab-grown carats than China. (Edahn Golan)

The shift inside India's exports is clear: loose lab-grown polished fell, while gold jewellery set with lab-grown grew 31%. Manufacturers are moving from selling cheap stones to selling finished jewellery, where the margin is.

What it means for manufacturers: when one factory handles both natural and lab-grown, keeping the two strictly separate in stock, on job bags and on invoices is essential. A disclosure mistake costs far more than the stone.

How we compiled these numbers

Each figure comes from the organisation or analyst that publishes it (The Knot, Edahn Golan and Tenoris, De Beers, GIA, AWDC, GJEPC and the Government of India), or from trade press quoting them directly, and links to its source. Lab-grown prices move every quarter, so check the date next to each figure. We update this page when new data comes out.

You are welcome to quote or chart these statistics. Please link to this page as the source.

Sources

1. Rapaport: Lab-grown 'taking over' engagement-ring spending (The Knot)
2. Edahn Golan: From reactor to retail, the 2025 lab-grown diamond value chain
3. Edahn Golan: Lab-grown diamond statistics
4. JCK: Lab-grown diamond wholesale prices are in freefall
5. JCK: India's lab-grown diamond exports surpass naturals by volume
6. National Jeweler: State of Diamonds, what's next for lab-grown
7. Rapaport: De Beers to close Lightbox lab-grown diamond brand
8. Forbes: De Beers to close Lightbox
9. GIA: Laboratory-grown diamond trends
10. AWDC: Antwerp diamond industry trade figures 2025
11. Diamond World: India's gem and jewellery exports reach US$27.72 billion in FY26
12. ThePrint: IIT Madras gets ₹242 crore from Budget for lab-grown diamonds