Week 7, 2026

2.19 million new listings in a single week. That's not a typo. Week 7 saw new listings arrive at nearly four times the pace of week 6, the biggest single-week intake across the seven periods I've tracked so far in 2026. Active inventory hit a record 12.1 million stones, up 20% from last week and up 32% since the year opened. Total inventory value crossed $40.8 billion, also a record. What makes this genuinely significant isn't just the scale; it's the direction of the off-market flow running in exact opposition. Only 133,086 listings came off-market this week, the lowest figure in the seven-week window and down 84% from last week's 813,364. Stones are flooding in and almost nothing is leaving. That combination doesn't happen by accident.

The natural segment drove a disproportionate share of the action. New natural listings came in at 1,005,484, up 470% from the prior week's 176,264, while natural stones coming off-market fell 82% to 47,442. The median price for natural new listings landed at $1,560, up 28% week on week, with per-carat pricing at $2,695.64. Lab-grown new listings also surged, to 1,182,700, though their per-carat median told a different story: $654.55, down 27% from $898.36 the prior week. Lab-grown's share of active inventory slipped to 58.95%, a seven-week low, as the natural flood narrowed the gap. That shift is worth watching rather than declaring a trend, but the volume asymmetry between the two origins was striking.

The cross-retailer overlap figure climbed to 35.4%, the highest in the seven-week window, suggesting much of the new inventory is the same stones being listed more broadly rather than entirely fresh supply. A handful of names did most of the listing: the top five retailers accounted for 59.6% of all new additions. The median multi-retailer price spread sat at 63.5%, essentially flat relative to recent weeks, which tells you that even with the inventory surge, pricing discipline across the network hasn't blown out. The median stone on the market is 1.19 carats at $1,201 per stone and $1,492 per carat, with per-carat trending gently upward across the seven-week window even as the stone-level median has softened.

Shape moves this week had some noise in them. Princess cuts came in at a median of $1,131, up 36% from last week's $829, and rounds moved up 23% to $1,092. Trillion barely registered by volume (475 new listings) but the median collapsed to $268 from $1,279, which reads more like a composition shift in what was listed than a genuine price signal. Asscher came off 23% to $2,281 but remains the priciest mainstream shape by some margin. Heart cut, which had been elevated, pulled back 27% to $1,533. None of these shape moves feel like the market repricing so much as the mix of what was listed changing dramatically in a single week.

At the top end, the most expensive stone active this week is a GIA-certified 4.30ct D FL round at $37.6 million, followed by a 5.01ct H VS1 round at $22.5 million. Both natural, both rounds. On the size end, a 55.23ct lab-grown Asscher (I VS2, no cert noted) sits at $105,900, a fraction of what the 50.11ct natural fancy colour cushion beside it asks: $953,900 for the GIA stone. The price-per-carat gap between natural and lab-grown at the upper end of the market remains as wide as anywhere in the range.

The question going into week 8 is whether this listing surge represents genuine supply arriving into the market or a structural shift in how broadly retailers are syndicating their catalogues. Cross-retailer overlap at a seven-week high alongside a record new-listing count is at least consistent with the latter. If off-market activity stays this suppressed while new listings hold even half their week 7 pace, active inventory will keep climbing and downward pressure on the stone-level median, already at a seven-week low, will build further. Buyers who've been watching and waiting may find the selection argument getting stronger before the price argument gets louder.

Lucy Market Index

Ten numbers I record every snapshot.

Versus Week 6, 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.