Diamond Price Index, May 2026
In May 2026, the median natural diamond listed at 2,261 USD per carat, up 0.1 percent on April 2026, across 736,254 observed listings. Lab-grown diamonds listed at a median of 548 USD per carat, up 1 percent, across 1,316,956 observed listings. Natural stones cost 4.1 times as much per carat as lab-grown, a premium of 313 percent. By shape, the largest natural moves on the month were emerald (up 5.1 percent) and radiant (down 10.5 percent). 5,257,610 certified stones were listed by two or more retailers; the same stone was priced 46 percent apart at the median for natural and 96 percent for lab-grown. Since the first release in December 2025, the natural median has moved up 5.3 percent and the lab-grown median down 27.7 percent. The figures come from a systematic 1 in 10 sample of live listings across 115+ retailers, in pinned-rate USD, and are licensed CC BY 4.0.
Full series data
| Month | Label | Median USD per carat | Q1 USD/ct | Q3 USD/ct | listings observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-12 | Natural | $2,149 | $1,593 | $3,408 | 359,213 |
| 2025-12 | Lab-grown | $758 | $519 | $1,200 | 510,127 |
| 2025-12 | Overall | $1,272 | $658 | $2,150 | 872,843 |
| 2026-01 | Natural | $2,175 | $1,646 | $3,471 | 253,311 |
| 2026-01 | Lab-grown | $697 | $488 | $1,105 | 529,810 |
| 2026-01 | Overall | $1,052 | $593 | $1,927 | 783,415 |
| 2026-02 | Natural | $2,326 | $1,657 | $3,848 | 664,892 |
| 2026-02 | Lab-grown | $658 | $441 | $979 | 1,082,282 |
| 2026-02 | Overall | $1,062 | $575 | $2,110 | 1,747,420 |
| 2026-03 | Natural | $2,218 | $1,590 | $3,598 | 757,496 |
| 2026-03 | Lab-grown | $558 | $365 | $843 | 1,442,389 |
| 2026-03 | Overall | $849 | $460 | $1,887 | 2,199,964 |
| 2026-04 | Natural | $2,258 | $1,585 | $3,661 | 778,526 |
| 2026-04 | Lab-grown | $542 | $380 | $857 | 1,371,167 |
| 2026-04 | Overall | $902 | $459 | $2,000 | 2,149,713 |
| 2026-05 | Natural | $2,261 | $1,574 | $3,669 | 736,254 |
| 2026-05 | Lab-grown | $548 | $401 | $842 | 1,316,956 |
| 2026-05 | Overall | $876 | $471 | $1,957 | 2,053,218 |
Cite as: Carat Hunter, Caratlytics Diamond Price Index, release May 2026, caratlytics.com. Data is licensed CC BY 4.0; attribution to Carat Hunter and Caratlytics is required.
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