The natural diamond market in May 2025 revealed significant pricing trends across clarity and color categories, driven by evolving consumer preferences, intensified competition from lab-grown diamonds, and shifting market conditions. This month’s insights highlight a complex environment, presenting both opportunities and challenges across premium, mid-range, and budget-friendly diamond grades.
Premium Grades
Premium diamonds saw mixed results in May. D/FL clarity diamonds rose significantly from $12,353 in April to $13,218, signaling strong demand for flawless stones. D/IF clarity also improved slightly, moving to $12,964 from $12,472. However, E/FL clarity diamonds showed modest growth, increasing just $115 to $10,789. F/VVS1 diamonds rebounded from their previous dip, rising to $8,539 from $8,326. These trends suggest selective consumer interest, with flawless and near-flawless categories performing well.
Mid-Range Grades
The mid-range market showed steady performance. G/VVS2 diamonds increased slightly from $6,191 to $6,363, while H/VS1 clarity stones recovered to $4,755 from $4,509. F/VVS2 diamonds, however, dipped marginally to $7,349 from $7,153. Overall, this segment continues to attract value-focused buyers, with stable demand for popular clarity and color combinations.
Lower Grades
Lower-tier diamonds remain under pressure but showed slight recovery in some areas. J/SI1 diamonds rose to $2,333 from $2,233, and K/SI2 diamonds edged up to $1,897 from $1,888. However, I/SI1 diamonds declined slightly to $3,251, reflecting ongoing challenges in this segment, particularly from competition with lab-grown diamonds.
Market Implications
May’s trends highlight selective growth in premium categories and stability in mid-range grades, offering opportunities for retailers to focus on targeted marketing and inventory strategies. Lower-grade diamonds continue to face challenges, emphasizing the need to diversify offerings with lab-grown or value-focused options to meet shifting consumer preferences.
