Signet's management said both natural and lab-grown diamonds have room to grow. Their fiscal 2026 update: roughly $6.8 billion in full-year sales, same-store sales up 1.2% to 1.3%, higher average unit retail. Natural stronger at the higher end. Lab-grown stabilizing on cost and pricing.

Lab-Grown Diamond Market Share Hits 52%

Lab-grown accounted for 52% of center stones sold in 2024, up from 12% in 2019. A one-carat lab-grown averages roughly $1,000 vs $4,200 for natural. Prices fell 74% since 2020. But lab-grown recently ticked up 3.32% — approaching the production cost floor.

De Beers Writedown and Rough Diamond Pipeline Stress

Anglo American took another $2.3 billion writedown on De Beers. De Beers accumulated $2 billion in unsold stones in 2025 and cut over 1,000 jobs. Production fell to multi-decade lows of roughly 100 million carats.

Mid-tier natural (0.20-2ct) remains stressed. Where natural holds: 3ct+ shows relative strength, driven by high-net-worth buyers and collectors.

Diamond Dealer Strategy: Two Lanes, Two Playbooks

Natural lane: Rarity storytelling, higher tickets, emotional value. The Luanda Accord and CIBJO's push to reintroduce "synthetics" build industry support.

Lab-grown lane: Size, accessibility, fashion positioning, faster sell-through. Margins still unusually high but will compress.

U.S. Jewelry Retail Consolidation Creates Opportunity

The U.S. jewelry sector contracts ~3% annually. That creates opportunity for wholesale dealers who partner with surviving higher-end operations. Signet shows consumers will spend. The question is which lane you're building for.

The Numbers Behind the Split

Lab-grown diamonds now account for 42% of all diamond jewelry sold in the United States and 48% of engagement rings sold, according to industry data. Average lab-grown 1-carat pricing has settled around $1,000, compared with roughly $4,200 for a comparable natural stone. That price gap — more than 4x — is not closing. It is widening as lab-grown production costs continue to fall while natural supply tightens under De Beers' restructuring.

Signet Jewelers, the largest specialty jewelry retailer in the United States, has publicly stated that both natural and lab-grown can grow simultaneously. Their bridal business proves it: natural diamond engagement rings command a premium that customers willingly pay for the emotional narrative, while lab-grown fashion jewelry opens a price tier that keeps younger consumers in the diamond category rather than losing them to colored gemstones or alternative materials entirely.

Building Two Lanes in One Store

The dealers who are succeeding in this environment are not choosing sides — they are building two separate businesses under one roof. The natural side emphasizes rarity, provenance, and long-term value. The lab-grown side emphasizes design freedom, size-for-price, and guilt-free purchasing. The merchandising, the pricing strategy, and the sales conversation are different for each. Trying to sell both with the same pitch confuses the customer and undercuts the natural premium.

De Beers' $2.3 billion impairment and Anglo American's advanced sale process underscore the structural nature of this shift. The natural diamond industry is consolidating around fewer, larger players. Independent dealers who want to stay in natural diamonds need to understand that their competitive advantage is curation and trust — not volume and price.