Diamond Market, Week 23, 2026

Only 80,863 diamonds left the market in week 23. That's down 84% from the prior week's 504,593 and the lowest figure I've tracked over the past seven periods. Stock is accumulating fast: active inventory climbed to a record 30.09 million stones, carrying a total value north of $99 billion for the first time. New listings pulled back 21% to roughly 1.5 million, so the buildup isn't from a supply flood. Stones simply aren't moving.

Natural diamonds had a solid week on price. Median listing price rose nearly 9% to $1,369.60, and price per carat firmed to $2,252.80, up 7.15%. New natural supply dipped about 7% to 366,183 stones, and removals fell 35%, which tells me fewer naturals are trading but sellers aren't cutting prices to chase buyers. Lab-grown told the opposite story. Median price dropped 13.4% to $985.60, and per carat fell even harder, down over 17% to $526.21. That gap between natural and lab-grown pricing keeps widening; a natural stone's median per carat cost is now more than four times its lab-grown equivalent.

Lab-grown share held essentially flat at 65%, bobbing within its usual band of roughly 64.8% to 66%. The composition of what's hitting the market hasn't changed much in weeks, even as the price dynamics underneath shift considerably. Rounds still dominate new supply at 39% of volume (585,507 stones), with a median price of just $824, the cheapest shape on offer. Ovals came in a distant second at 240,000 new listings.

Shape movements were unusually wide this week. Cushion cuts jumped 10.9% to a median of $1,755, and radiants climbed 7.5% to $1,517. On the other side, marquise fell 15.4% to $1,054 and ovals dropped nearly the same to $1,104. Princess cuts mirrored that decline at 14.6%. That kind of divergence across shapes often reflects shifting retailer mix rather than a broad demand signal, but it's worth watching whether cushion holds its gains into next week.

The cross-retailer spread widened slightly to 86.2%, up from 84.8%. For the same stone listed at multiple retailers, the gap between cheapest and most expensive remains enormous. A buyer who doesn't compare is likely overpaying by a significant margin. Overlap itself held steady near 50%, meaning roughly half the diamonds I track appear at more than one retailer. Concentration at the top hasn't changed much either; the five most active retailers accounted for 46.3% of new listings.

Median carat weight drifted down to 1.31ct from 1.34ct, continuing a gentle slide from recent weeks. The market is skewing marginally smaller, possibly reflecting the lab-grown price compression making mid-size stones easier to list at accessible price points. For buyers, the read is straightforward: naturals are holding firm, lab-grown keeps getting cheaper, and there's more stock sitting on shelves than at any point in the window I cover. Patience has value right now, particularly for anyone shopping lab-grown, where that 17% per carat drop in a single week suggests sellers still have room to move.

Diamond Market Charts, Week 23, 2026 (1 to 8 June 2026)

The five charts below summarise what the diamond market did during 1 to 8 June 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 22, 2026

Biggest shape movers

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.