Lab Diamond Price Trend 2026: Wholesale Turned Up, Retail Kept Falling
In the third quarter of 2026 traders paid a little more for lab grown stones, while shops kept cutting the price the public sees. Here is the trend from 2018, size by size.
The author is the founder of Draco Diamond. Wholesale figures are Edahn Golan Diamond Research's and retail averages are StoneAlgo's, in US dollars, checked October 13, 2026. Correction: the August edition labelled whole stone prices as per carat rates. This edition labels each figure.
The lab diamond price trend split in 2026
The lab diamond price trend in 2026 runs two ways at once. Wholesale prices rose about 2 percent in the third quarter, after years of quarterly declines. Retail asking prices kept falling, with the average one carat stone down about 19 percent in three months.
At wholesale, one carat rounds rose 1.3 percent on the quarter, two carat rounds 2.3 percent and three carat rounds 7.5 percent. One and a half carat stones were the exception, down 3 percent.1
At retail, StoneAlgo's average one carat asking price stood at $508 on October 13, 2026, down 19.4 percent in three months and 23.4 percent in six.4 Larger sizes fell too.
| Measure | Period | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Wholesale, one to three carat rounds | Q3 against Q2 2026 | Up about 2% |
| Wholesale price index | Year on year | Down 10% |
| Retail, one carat average asking price | Past three months | Down 19.4% |
| Retail, one carat average asking price | Past six months | Down 23.4% |
Both can be true at once. Wholesale is what traders pay each other for loose stones. Retail is what shops ask the public, and shops set it for their own reasons: stock, competition and margin.
How far have lab diamond prices fallen since 2018?
About 97 percent at wholesale. In mid 2018 a one carat lab grown diamond traded at $1,800 per carat and a two carat at over $3,000. By mid 2026 the same stones traded at about $80 and $85 per carat.
Wholesale price per carat, 2018 against 2026
US dollars per carat for one and two carat lab grown diamonds at wholesale.
Source: Edahn Golan Diamond Research, lab grown diamond statistics, updated August 2026.
| When | Measure | Figure |
|---|---|---|
| Mid 2018 | Wholesale, one carat, per carat | $1,800 |
| Mid 2018 | Wholesale, two carat, per carat | Over $3,000 |
| 2025 | Wholesale, full year change | Down 26% |
| Q4 2025 | Wholesale, quarterly change | Down 4.7% |
| Mid 2026 | Wholesale, one carat, per carat | About $80 |
| Q3 2026 | Wholesale, quarterly change | Up about 2% |
The fall slowed before it turned. Wholesale dropped 26 percent across 2025, but only 4.7 percent in the last quarter of that year, the smallest quarterly drop since lab grown diamonds reached the market.3
The wholesale index now sits 10 percent below a year ago and 92 percent below where tracking began in July 2018.1 Most of the decline is behind the market. What remains is a market priced close to the cost of making the stone.
Retail followed at a distance. Between early 2020 and mid 2025 a popular one carat stone lost more than three quarters of its retail price, and a two carat stone four fifths.2
Retail is falling from a much higher base
Retail asking prices sit far above wholesale, so they have further to fall. The average one carat lab grown diamond lists at $508, and the average across one to three carat stones runs about $508 to $542 per carat.
| Size | Average stone | Per carat | Past 3 months |
|---|---|---|---|
| One carat | $508 | $508 | Down 19.4% |
| Two carat | $1,041 | $520 | Down 19.4% |
| Three carat | $1,626 | $542 | Down 11.4% |
| Five carat | $2,153 | $431 | Down 15.1% |
Per carat figures are Draco Diamond's arithmetic on StoneAlgo's average stone prices.4 They show the same flattening as wholesale. A three carat stone costs barely more per carat than a one carat.
Grade matters more than size now. High grade loose stones list at $800 to $900 per carat, while lower grades sell for $200 to $250.2 The averages above mix every grade on the market.
Why did lab grown diamond prices fall so far?
Supply grew faster than demand, even though demand grew fast. Lab grown jewellery went from about 1 percent of all jewellery purchases in 2020 to 8 percent in 2025, and prices still fell 97 percent at wholesale.
The demand side is real. Lab grown set jewellery made up 16 percent of diamond jewellery purchases in 2025, against under 3 percent in 2020. Global lab grown jewellery sales passed $8 billion in 2024, about $5.5 billion of it in the United States.2
The supply side moved faster. Production capacity scaled for years, and prices followed it down. Where HPHT factories in China stopped cutting prices, once rough costs reached about $10 per carat, prices for those goods rose 10 to 20 percent in 2025.3
The third quarter adds two new forces. Growers are holding rough prices steady and in some cases raising them, and larger manufacturers now control more of the chain from growing to setting. US unit sales of lab grown set jewellery rose 25 percent in September.1
"Lab grown went from 1 percent to 8 percent of jewellery purchases in five years. Prices fell 97 percent anyway. That is what supply looks like when it outruns demand."
Garrett McMartin, Founder, Draco Diamond
Waiting for the bottom is now a coin toss
For years, waiting six months bought a cheaper stone. That rule broke in 2026. Wholesale turned up in the third quarter while retail kept falling, so the next quarter could go either way.
What the data supports is narrower. The steep phase is over: a 97 percent fall cannot repeat from $80 a carat. Retail still varies widely by shop and grade. And the gap between a low grade and a high grade stone, about $600 per carat, is far larger than any quarterly move.
So price the stone, not the calendar. A fair quote names the grade, the carat weight, the metal and the per carat figure. A quote that will not, is the risk worth avoiding.
For the forecast in more depth, see will lab diamond prices keep falling. For the natural comparison, the lab grown vs natural price comparison.
Where Draco's prices sit in the 2026 trend
Draco's set prices run CAD 433 to CAD 844 per carat of diamond weight in 10K gold, about US$304 to US$593 at the Bank of Canada rate of October 13, 2026. That range sits between the all grade retail average and the high grade loose price, with the metal included.
The low end comes from pieces built on many small stones, such as stud ladders and tennis bracelets. The high end comes from solitaires, where one large stone carries the price.6 The full table is in the price per carat report.
Every Draco stone is IGI certified and each piece ships with its report, which can be provided on request before purchase and verified free at IGI.org. Nothing is held in finished inventory.
Browse tennis bracelets, stud earrings or engagement rings, or price a piece of your own at create your piece.
How to read a lab diamond price chart
Read any lab diamond price chart with five questions: wholesale or retail, per stone or per carat, which window, which grades and which currency. Most published charts fail at least one of them.
Wholesale is what traders pay each other. Retail is what shops ask the public. In autumn 2026 the two moved in opposite directions, so a chart that mixes them tells you nothing.
A two carat stone at $1,041 is about $520 per carat. Charts that label stone prices as per carat rates overstate large stones by the size of the stone.
Three months, six months and seven years tell different stories. The one carat retail average fell 19 percent in three months, while wholesale rose 2 percent in a quarter.
An average across all grades sits well below a high grade price. High grade loose stones list at $800 to $900 per carat, against an all grade one carat average near $500.
Compare like with like in one currency, then convert at a dated official rate. This report uses the Bank of Canada rate of October 13, 2026.
Every Draco piece carries 30 day returns, the Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee, free resizing, and free insured worldwide shipping to 25 markets, delivered duty paid with nothing collected at the door, and signature on delivery. Prices on this page were checked on October 13, 2026, and this report is updated each quarter when the wholesale price list is published.
Price trend, answered
What is the lab diamond price trend in 2026?
It split. Wholesale prices for one to three carat round lab grown diamonds rose about 2 percent in the third quarter of 2026, per Edahn Golan Diamond Research. Retail kept falling: StoneAlgo's average one carat asking price was $508 on October 13, 2026, down about 19 percent in three months.
How much did a 1 carat lab diamond cost in 2018 compared with 2026?
At wholesale, a one carat lab grown diamond traded at about $1,800 per carat in mid 2018 and about $80 per carat by mid 2026, a fall of more than 95 percent. At retail, the average one carat asking price was $508 in October 2026.
Are lab grown diamond prices still falling?
At retail, yes: the average one carat asking price fell about 19 percent in the three months to October 13, 2026. At wholesale, no: one to three carat rounds rose about 2 percent in the third quarter of 2026 after years of declines.
Why did lab grown diamond prices fall so much?
Supply grew faster than demand. Lab grown jewellery rose from about 1 percent to 8 percent of jewellery purchases between 2020 and 2025, but production capacity grew faster, and wholesale prices fell about 97 percent from 2018 to 2026.
Will lab diamond prices keep falling?
No one can promise the next quarter. Wholesale turned up in the third quarter of 2026 and fell only 4.7 percent in the last quarter of 2025, so the steep phase looks over. Retail may keep drifting down because it sits far above wholesale.
How much does a 1 carat lab grown diamond cost in 2026?
The average retail asking price for a one carat lab grown diamond was $508 on October 13, 2026, with a range of $248 to $1,288 depending on shape, colour and clarity. High grade loose stones list at $800 to $900 per carat.
Does a bigger lab grown diamond cost more per carat?
Barely. Average retail asking prices work out to about $508 per carat at one carat, $520 at two and $542 at three, by Draco Diamond's arithmetic on StoneAlgo data. At wholesale, two carat stones cost about 6 percent more per carat than one carat stones in 2026.
References
- Edahn Golan Diamond Research, Was the Bottom Reached? Lab-Grown Wholesale Prices Rise in Q3 2026, October 7, 2026.
- Edahn Golan Diamond Research, Lab-Grown Diamond Statistics: Background, Trends, Prices (updated August 2026), accessed October 13, 2026.
- Edahn Golan Diamond Research, Lab-Grown Diamond Wholesale Prices Down 26% in 2025, Signs of Stabilization Emerge, accessed October 13, 2026.
- StoneAlgo, Lab grown diamond price indexes, 1, 2, 3 and 5 carat, accessed October 13, 2026.
- Bank of Canada, Daily exchange rates, US dollar to Canadian dollar, October 13, 2026.
- Draco Diamond, Draco Diamond catalogue, live prices, October 13, 2026.
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