The price of one-carat diamonds crashes, and a ten-thousand-yuan diamond ring from ten years ago is now only worth a hundred yuan.

Ten years ago, I spent 18,000 yuan on a diamond ring. Now, it can only be sold for 180 yuan—this is not a joke, but a harsh reality. When this number appears before consumers, who once believed in the promise of “diamonds last forever,” they finally realize: what they bought was not an investment, but a disposable consumer product.

In this market reshuffle, the plummet in the price of one-carat diamonds is especially dramatic. Industry data shows that in 2025, the global diamond market remains sluggish, with common consumer-grade diamonds like 0.5 carats dropping more than 20%. Since 2023, the prices of certified diamonds have fallen by a total of 35%-40%. In contrast, gold prices have risen over 400% during the same period, marking a complete divergence in the fates of these two precious metals.

Consumers Suffer Massive Losses: An Invisible Wealth Drain

Reports from Cover News have resonated with many consumers—those once enthusiastically recommended by jewelers or lovingly gifted by loved ones now feel the weight of their fingertips.

In Xichang, Sichuan, a 34-year-old woman found that the two wedding rings she bought ten years ago for 14,000 yuan now sell for less than 200 yuan combined. A consumer from Anhui bluntly states: a diamond ring worth 18,000 yuan ten years ago has depreciated by 99%, and can only fetch 180 yuan in cash. Similarly, Ms. Li from Chengdu bought a one-carat diamond ring for 100,000 yuan; after consulting multiple buyers, the highest appraisal was only 30,000 yuan. These cases are not isolated but reflect the true state of the entire market.

Industry insiders involved in jewelry trading reveal that only large diamonds (over one carat) of natural origin are generally eligible for formal resale. Even these “quality” diamonds are typically bought back at only 40-60% of their original price, with final prices fluctuating based on quality, brand, and other factors. As for fragmented or small diamonds, almost no one is willing to buy them back—unless at extremely low prices.

This wave of consumer losses vividly illustrates the industry’s current predicament.

Global Diamond Giants Frequently Concede, Market Demand Continues to Shrink

De Beers, which holds dominant control over the rough diamond market, often signals the industry’s direction with its moves. Founded in London in 1888, this giant diamond company once influenced generations with its classic slogan “A diamond is forever,” and at its peak, accounted for 90% of the global diamond supply. Today, it still controls about 60% of the world’s rough diamond trade.

Yet even such an industry leader has been forced to repeatedly bow to market pressures.

In just the past two years, De Beers has implemented multiple price cuts: in 2023, reducing the prices of mainstream 2- to 4-carat natural diamonds by 40%; in January 2024, another roughly 10% reduction; and in December of the same year, lowering the secondary market rough diamond prices by 10%-15%. By January 2026, De Beers again significantly adjusted the prices of rough diamonds over 0.75 carats at its first auction of the year.

This time, the price reduction was more discreet—no longer pricing each box of diamonds separately but issuing combined invoices, making the exact discount difficult to measure. Industry insiders generally estimate the bargaining space at around 10%-15%.

De Beers’ logic is clear: on one hand, to boost sales performance; on the other, to give midstream processors greater profit margins, thereby stimulating overall market demand. But the reality is, the company has accumulated over $2 billion in inventory, and its diamond auction success rate continues to decline—indicating that even with price cuts, market enthusiasm remains limited.

Behind the Decline in One-Carat Diamond Prices: Demand Collapsing Across the Board

The fundamental support for diamond prices is demand. When this foundation begins to weaken, no amount of price cuts can help.

According to the RapNet Diamond Price Index (RAPI), in 2025, larger diamonds saw relatively mild declines—diamonds over 3 carats fell only 0.4%. However, the consumer-grade market represented by one-carat diamonds faces enormous pressure. This reflects a deeper trend: high-end diamond markets are still supported by wealthy buyers, while the mid-tier mass consumer market is rapidly shrinking.

In 2025, U.S. imports of finished diamonds dropped 48% year-over-year, illustrating how cold the market is in the world’s largest luxury goods consumer country. Consumer confidence is waning across multiple dimensions: cooling luxury spending, high gold prices prompting consumers to shift toward lighter jewelry, and doubts among younger generations about the promises associated with diamonds.

Additionally, tariffs imposed by the U.S. on India, the world’s largest diamond exporter, have further worsened the industry’s already fragile situation.

Rise of Cultivated Diamonds: Price Wars for One-Carat Diamonds Everywhere

If shrinking demand is an external blow, then the rise of cultivated diamonds is an internal disruptive threat.

According to CCTV Finance, by 2025, cultivated diamonds account for over 40% of the global diamond jewelry market, growing more than eightfold since 2019. This growth far exceeds expectations for natural diamonds. Meanwhile, retail prices of cultivated diamonds continue to decline, dropping over 50% from their peak. Today, a one-carat cultivated diamond costs about 3,500 yuan, down from 8,000 yuan, making it only a tenth of the price of an equivalent-quality natural diamond.

In Nanyang, Henan, retail stores selling cultivated diamonds are bustling with inquiries and purchases, with young people making up about 70% of customers. The store manager reports that sales doubled year-over-year in 2025, with strong growth momentum.

Staff explain that these cultivated diamonds match natural diamonds in clarity, color, and other indicators, and are nearly indistinguishable to the naked eye. Yet, their prices are only a fifth or less of natural diamonds. This stark contrast is highly attractive to consumers—why pay five times more for a natural diamond when a one-carat cultivated diamond of similar quality can be bought for just a few thousand yuan?

China’s synthetic diamond industry has become a global leader. According to the 2024 China Jewelry Industry Development Report, China produced approximately 22 million carats of cultivated diamonds in 2024, a 144.44% increase year-over-year, accounting for 63% of the global total. This means most cultivated diamonds purchased worldwide are made in China.

Diamonds Are No Longer Investment Assets; Gold Is the True Wealth Protector

Compared to the decline in one-carat diamond prices, gold’s performance is striking. Over the past decade, gold prices have risen over 400%, shattering the myth of “diamonds last forever.”

This also explains why more consumers regret their purchases after witnessing diamond depreciation: “I should have bought gold.” Gold not only preserves value but also appreciates; diamonds have become a typical consumer product—buying them means starting to lose value immediately.

Industry analysts point out that De Beers, through decades of marketing, has established the cultural perception of diamonds as symbols of love and eternity. But when market realities sharply diverge from this promise, brand credibility collapses. Consumers finally realize a simple truth: emotional value cannot be equated with actual value. The price of a one-carat diamond is determined by supply and demand, not advertising slogans.

This crisis in the diamond market may become a watershed for the entire industry. Leading companies forced to cut prices, middlemen squeezed out, and consumers who have been “harvested” are all voting with their actions—this once carefully maintained market bubble is rapidly shrinking.