How much is a 1 carat lab-grown diamond in 2026?
A loose 1 carat lab-grown diamond costs a few hundred dollars. On 16 October 2026 CaratRadar put the median asking price of a round 1.00 to 1.24 ct lab-grown diamond at $623 (average $659), across 18 online retailers. That is about a sixth of the $3,725 median for a mined round of the same size. Wholesale prices are still falling overall, and a lab diamond has almost no resale value.
How much does a 1 carat lab-grown diamond cost right now?
Price trackers that refresh online retailers’ listings every day put a typical loose 1 carat lab-grown diamond at about $500 to $660 in October 2026. CaratRadar, which matches stones across retailers by grading laboratory and certificate number, gave a median asking price of $623 (average $659) for 1.00 to 1.24 ct rounds on 16 October 2026, from 69,145 listings at 18 retailers, with a full range of $146 to $3,940. StoneAlgo’s daily index, read on 17 October 2026, gave an average of $505 for 1 carat lab diamonds in ten shapes, D to K colour and flawless to SI2 clarity, and said they can cost anywhere from $247 to $1,279. The two trackers cover different shops, shapes and weight bands, and one reports a median while the other reports an average, so read the gap between them as a sign of how rough any single figure is. Both are listed prices for loose stones, not what buyers actually paid. We recheck these figures monthly.
How do lab-grown, mined and Amazon prices compare?
| What | Source and measure | Figure | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lab-grown, round, 1.00 to 1.24 ct | CaratRadar, median asking price (average) | $623 ($659) | 16 Oct 2026 |
| Lab-grown, 1 ct, ten shapes | StoneAlgo, average price (stated range) | $505 ($247 to $1,279) | 17 Oct 2026 |
| Mined, round, 1.00 to 1.24 ct | CaratRadar, median asking price (average) | $3,725 ($4,133) | 16 Oct 2026 |
| Lab-grown wholesale, overall | Edahn Golan’s wholesale index, reported by JCK | Down 26% in 2025; down 13% year on year in Q2 2026; down 96% since 2018 | 10 Aug 2026 |
| Lab-grown wholesale, 1 ct rounds | Edahn Golan, reported by JCK | Up 1% in Q2 2026 | 8 Jul 2026 |
| Amazon, loose stones and set rings | Seller asking prices | Vary by seller and by day; our picks show an approximate Amazon price from a daily update | Updated daily |
Why do lab-grown diamond prices keep falling?
Wholesale prices have fallen steeply for years. Analyst Edahn Golan’s wholesale index for lab-grown diamonds fell 26% in 2025, prices fell an average of 13% year on year in the second quarter of 2026, and the index is down 96% since he began tracking it in 2018, JCK reported on 10 August 2026. The fall has slowed (the first quarter’s drop was 14%) and it is uneven, with the steepest drops in bigger sizes. In the second quarter Golan found 1 ct rounds up 1% at wholesale while 2 ct stones fell 20% year on year, and some Chinese growers raised their prices for rough by at least 30% (JCK, 8 July 2026). Retail margins have held up: analyst Paul Zimnisky’s data shows retailers taking a markup of more than 80% over wholesale, almost unchanged from 2025, a level he still thinks is too high (JCK, 10 August 2026).
What makes one 1 carat lab diamond cost more than another?
Mostly the same things that price a mined diamond. GIA notes that two diamonds of the same clarity, weight and cut can differ in value on colour alone, and that price per carat rises with clarity when everything else is equal. IGI says the same of lab-grown stones: two of identical weight can receive different colour, clarity and cut grades. Shape moves the average less than you might expect: in StoneAlgo’s index, read on 17 October 2026, the 1 carat averages for the ten shapes ran only from $471 for hearts to $541 for radiants, with rounds at $491. The report matters too. An IGI report gives a colour grade on the D to Z scale and a clarity grade, while since 1 October 2025 GIA gives lab-grown stones a Premium or Standard description instead, and no assessment at all below Standard (see IGI vs GIA). A stone with no independent report is the riskiest buy at any price, so look the report number up before you pay.
How much is a 1 carat lab-grown diamond worth if you sell it?
Very little. A jeweller quoted by JCK in August 2026 described a client who had paid $25,000 for a 5 carat lab-grown diamond ring in the early 2020s; all he could explain was that “the resale value only exists for the mounting”, meaning the setting, not the stone. A new stone of the same grade keeps getting cheaper, and a used one has to compete with it. Buy a 1 carat lab diamond for how it looks and what it lets you afford, not as a store of value. More in do lab-grown diamonds have resale value?
How much is a 1 carat lab-grown diamond ring?
More than the loose stone, because the setting adds metal and work on top. Amazon prices for 1 carat lab-grown rings vary widely by seller, metal and size option, and change from day to day, so we do not quote them here. The rings in our lab diamond engagement ring guide show an approximate Amazon price from our daily update, or a link to the price on Amazon, with the checks to make before you buy: the laboratory and report number in the listing, and the metal stated as solid 14K or 18K gold or platinum rather than plated.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the price per carat of a lab-grown diamond?
For a stone of exactly 1.00 ct the price and the price per carat are the same number, so about $500 to $660 a carat in the October 2026 tracker figures (stones up to 1.24 ct in CaratRadar’s band work out a little lower per carat). Price per carat also depends on size, and bigger stones have fallen fastest at wholesale: Edahn Golan found 2 ct stones down 20% year on year in the second quarter of 2026, while 1 ct rounds rose 1% (JCK, 8 July 2026).
Is a 1 carat lab-grown diamond cheaper than a mined one?
Yes, by a wide margin. On 16 October 2026 CaratRadar’s median asking price for a 1.00 to 1.24 ct round was $623 lab-grown against $3,725 mined, about a sixth. Both are diamond under the US Federal Trade Commission’s definition (a mineral of essentially pure carbon crystallised in the isometric system); a lab-grown one must be clearly described as laboratory-grown, laboratory-created or similar.
Will lab-grown diamond prices keep falling?
Nobody can say for certain. Wholesale prices fell 26% in 2025 and 13% year on year in the second quarter of 2026, but the fall has slowed, 1 ct rounds rose 1% that quarter and some growers have raised rough prices (JCK, July and August 2026). Buy when you need the stone rather than trying to time the market.
Is a cheap 1 carat lab diamond on Amazon real?
It can be, but a low price proves nothing either way. Look for an IGI or GIA report number in the listing, look it up on the laboratory’s own site, check that the report’s weight and measurements match the listing, and have a jeweller read the girdle inscription when the stone arrives.
Sources
- CaratRadar, 1 carat round lab-grown diamond prices (updated 16 October 2026)
- CaratRadar, 1 carat round natural diamond prices (updated 16 October 2026)
- StoneAlgo, 1 carat lab-grown diamond price index (read 17 October 2026)
- JCK, Lab-Grown Diamond Wholesale Prices Are in Freefall; Retail Margins May Be Next (10 August 2026)
- JCK, Lab-Grown Diamond Prices Show Signs of Stabilizing (8 July 2026)
- GIA, Diamond quality factors
- GIA, Updated laboratory-grown diamond services to launch October 1 (26 August 2025)
- IGI, Lab grown diamond report
- US FTC Jewelry Guides, 16 CFR 23.12 (definition of diamond)
- US FTC Jewelry Guides, 16 CFR 23.25 (laboratory-grown stones must be qualified)
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