Editor’s Note
De Beers has cut prices for rough diamonds larger than 0.75 carats, citing a cooling luxury market and rising competition from lab-grown gems. This marks the first major price adjustment by the industry giant in over a year.
According to CCTV Finance, influenced by factors such as the cooling global luxury goods consumption market and the increasing popularity of lab-grown diamonds, the international diamond giant De Beers Group has once again lowered the price of rough diamonds after more than a year.
It is reported that at a diamond auction held that day, De Beers Group significantly reduced the price of rough diamonds larger than 0.75 carats, though the specific reduction is not yet clear. Rough diamonds, also known as diamond rough, refer to raw diamonds that have not undergone processing such as cutting, polishing, or finishing.
Analysts stated that this move is mainly due to the cooling global luxury goods market, the growing popularity of lab-grown diamonds, and factors such as the US imposing additional tariffs on India, a major rough diamond processing country.
In fact, the trend of significant declines in both diamond sales volume and price has persisted for several years.
As early as September 2023, CCTV Finance reported that in the previous year, the price of certified diamonds had fallen by 35% to 40%. Diamonds ranging from 0.5 to 3 carats were the hardest hit, with sales volume also dropping by 30% to 35% during the same period.
A woman from Anhui who spent 18,000 yuan on a diamond ring ten years ago shared on social media that she can now only get a recycling price of 180 yuan, a depreciation of 99%. This is not an isolated case.
Furthermore, increasingly affordable lab-grown diamonds are severely squeezing the market space for natural diamonds.
According to CCTV Finance, in 2025, lab-grown diamonds accounted for over 40% of the global diamond jewelry market, an increase of more than eight times compared to 2019.
Meanwhile, in recent years, the retail price of lab-grown diamonds has fallen by over 50% from its peak. The price of a 1-carat lab-grown diamond has now dropped from 8,000 yuan to 3,500 yuan, less than one-tenth the price of a natural diamond of comparable quality.
China’s lab-grown diamond industry leads the world in scale, with increasingly diverse downstream products. According to the “2024 China Jewelry Industry Development Report,” China’s lab-grown diamond output in 2024 was approximately 22 million carats, a year-on-year increase of 144.44%, accounting for 63% of global production.
At a store specializing in lab-grown diamonds in Nanyang, Henan, the person in charge stated that young people make up about 70% of the customers, and sales in 2025 doubled year-on-year.
