Diamond Market, Week 32, 2026

Off-market departures tripled this week. 170,343 stones left the active pool, up from 54,673 in week 31, a surge of 211% in a single period. New listings came in at 1,885,574, down 8% from the prior week's 2.05 million. The net effect was a slight dip in active count to 32.4 million stones, but the churn underneath tells a more interesting story than the headline number.

Total inventory value reached a record high of $114.5 billion across the seven periods tracked, even as active stone count edged down. That's price mix doing the work. The median price per carat slipped to $930.58 from $952.07, a fall of 2.3%, while the median stone price came in at $1,130. Natural and lab-grown are moving in opposite directions. On the mined side, median price dropped 10.4% to $1,608.43 and new listings collapsed 32.8% to 570,658, while off-markets surged 315% to 55,048. Lab-grown, by contrast, saw new listings grow 9.3% to 1,314,916, and the median lab-grown stone price ticked up 2.3% to $1,028, though price per carat fell a sharper 15.2% to $550.97. The lab-grown share of active inventory sits at 64.7%, fractionally lower than last week and down nearly two percentage points over the seven-week window.

Shape pricing had some notable swings. Oval and cushion were the volume leaders taking price hits, with oval median down 13.1% to $1,201 and cushion down 11.4% to $1,639. Princess followed, off 11.4% to $1,139. Trillion cuts moved the other way, jumping 77% to a median of $765, though at only 358 new listings it's a thin market and probably reflects mix rather than a real demand shift. Round remained the dominant shape by volume at 38.7% of new listings, with a median of $972. Heart and asscher continue to hold premiums well above the market median, at $1,716 and $1,647 respectively.

Cross-retailer overlap nudged up to 49.7% from 48.2% last week, meaning roughly half of active stones appear across more than one retailer. The multi-retailer spread widened slightly to 78.8%, holding in the same range it's occupied since the sharp compression in week 28. When overlap rises while spread stays wide, it typically signals that retailers are sourcing from the same pool but not adjusting prices toward each other. Buyers shopping across multiple names will still find real differences.

The off-market spike is the thing to track going into week 33. Whether those more than 170,000 departures represent genuine sales or listings being pulled and relisted is something the next period will clarify. If new listings recover toward the 2 million mark and off-markets normalise, the week 32 churn reads as noise. If off-markets stay elevated and new supply softens further, the effective active pool is shrinking faster than the count suggests. Natural pricing pressure also bears watching: a 10% single-week move in median is worth taking seriously, even accounting for mix shifts.

Diamond Market Charts, Week 32, 2026 (3 to 10 August 2026)

The five charts below summarise what the diamond market did during 3 to 10 August 2026. Each is a static image you can save or share. Together they cover where prices sit today, how inventory is moving, the lab-grown versus natural mix, where retailers raised or cut prices, and how much the same stone can vary across competing sellers.

Lucy Market Index

Ten numbers I record every snapshot.

Versus Week 31, 2026

Biggest shape movers

Recent trends

How metrics are tracking across the recent window of snapshots.

How the Lucy Market Index has moved

By origin

Top shapes by new listings

Notable stones

Each stone links to its full Carat Hunter listing.