How Much Does a Diamond Cost in 2024?

If you’ve been keeping track of the price of your dream engagement ring for the last year or two, you might have noticed some dramatic fluctuations in the cost. Diamonds, which typically appreciate in value at a steady rate, have had a more dynamic cost profile in the months and years since 2020, experiencing a sharp drop—and then a sudden jump—in pricing. That's not surprising, however, given that a variety of factors can influence diamond pricing, most notably the economy, demand, and the 4Cs.

Luckily, for current shoppers, prices are normalizing closer to their 2019 rates than to the higher ranges of the last few years—which means you can get more bling for your buck than you would have in 2021 or 2022. But exactly how much does the average diamond cost in 2024? Keep reading for everything you need to know.

How Experts Determine the Price of Diamonds

Before diving into the exact cost of a diamond, it's important to understand how these prices are derived. Natural diamonds, in particular, are priced based on a simple quality: How rare they are, in accordance with 4Cs (carat, cut, color, and clarity). “All of the 4Cs affect the price of a natural diamond because all of the characteristics combined tell a story of how rare it is to find in nature,” says Grant Mobley of the Natural Diamond Council. “The larger and more a diamond weighs, the rarer it is to find and thus more valuable. The same is true for its clarity: The closer the diamond is to flawless, the rarer it is in nature and thus the more valuable. The closer a natural diamond is to 'D', which is completely colorless, the rarer it is in nature, and the more valuable it will be.” 

As for lab-grown diamonds, while the 4Cs impact the price, the average market rate is generally based on inventory. “These are diamonds produced in factories where you can produce the highest quality, with an unlimited supply,” explains Olivia Landau, founder and CEO of The Clear Cut. “You don’t have that factor of scarcity or rarity—that does not come into the pricing.”

The Cost of a Natural Diamond

Paul Zimnisky, an independent diamond industry analyst, puts the current price of a “better-than-average quality, unbranded, one-carat natural diamond” at $4,000 to $5,000; Mobley says “the average cost of a one-carat, natural diamond is about $5,300, and for two carats, the average is about $9,000.” It's also crucial to note that as diamonds increase in size, their prices increase exponentially. “It isn’t a linear scale: The price-per-carat for a 10-carat diamond is not 10 times the price of a one-carat diamond,” explains Kyle Simon, founder and COO of The Clear Cut. “It could be 100 times the price. Diamonds are inherently rare, and the larger they get, the more rare it is for them to have certain attributes.”

After carats, Mobley notes that clarity is often the most influential price factor. While a one-carat diamond with a mid-range color and lowest clarity might cost $4,000 today, a diamond of the same weight and color with a Flawless clarity rating could cost double, says Simon. “These changes in value can be more dramatic for larger sizes and when combining different characteristics,” he adds. For example, choose a super-rare, fancy-colored stone and expect even more of a rise: “A one-carat pink diamond can be well over $100,000, depending on its specific characteristics,” notes Mobley.

The Cost of a Lab-Grown Diamond

The current average cost of a one-carat, lab-grown diamond is a fraction of the cost of a natural diamond—about $500 to $1,000 per carat, says Zimnisky, or $1,000 for a one-carat and $1,200 for a two-carat, says Mobley. “Natural diamonds are a rare, non-renewable natural resource, whereas lab-grown diamonds are a manufactured product,” explains Zimnisky. “Thus, as the size and quality improve, natural diamonds increase in price exponentially, whereas the price of lab-grown diamonds tends to be more linear. For example, a three-carat, natural diamond of the above quality runs $60,000, but a three-carat, lab-grown diamond can be found for under $3,000.”

In fact, the ability to create diamonds in a lab also allows makers to produce pink, blue, yellow, or other colored stones for the same price as their colorless counterparts. “Colored lab-grown diamonds’ prices are no different than colorless lab-grown because they are not rare and their cost to manufacture is the same,” says Mobley.

How Diamond Prices Have Changed Over Time

Here, the experts provide a brief breakdown of how diamond prices have changed over the last three to four years.

Natural Diamonds

Natural diamonds are generally a safe investment, appreciating three to five percent annually over the last three decades or more, says Simon. (Especially rare diamonds see an even higher value increase, says Mobley.) But the price of natural stones took a sharp fall at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic when demand bottomed out as consumers put big purchases on hold, which was followed by a dramatic jump. “Within COVID, initially there was a sudden drop, and then immediately a massive, massive rise to all-time heights,” says Simon. “Between 2021 and 2022 prices jumped significantly, over 40 to 50 percent in some categories.” With no opportunity to splurge on travel or other big-ticket items—and lockdowns that accelerated relationships and engagements, points out Landau—customers turned to diamonds. 

“The natural diamond market was in what I would essentially call a bubble in 2022, driven in part by the massive government pandemic-era stimulus,” says Zimnisky. “However, prices have since come down from the highs. Over the last year, using the example of a one-carat diamond, the natural stone’s price is down about 5 percent.” Mobley adds that the marker is now "currently settling closer to pre-COVID levels. This price settling has made now a great time for couples to buy natural diamonds, similar to buying a stock at a dip in the market.” 

Lab-Grown Diamonds

As for lab-grown diamonds, the improvements in technology have allowed the cost of these stones to drastically drop over the years: 25 to 30 percent in the last year, says Zimnisky, “with improvements in production technology and massive expansion in production capacity.” Expand the timeframe and you’ll see a price fall of more than 70 percent over the last few years, says Mobley. This means that if you see an advertised price that seems too good to be true, it’s likely to be for a lab-grown stone instead of a natural one, says Simon; check the paperwork and certification to confirm.