Where Lab-Grown Diamonds Stand Today
2026

Diamond Industry Report Vol.1 ｜ The spread of lab-grown diamonds and the state and outlook of transparency in natural diamonds

Published by ANNA DIAMOND Editorial Team (Breval Inc.)
Published: April 2026 / Last updated: June 2026
Language: English (quotations and statistics also carry the original wording)

Executive Summary

The diamond industry has reached a historic inflection point in the middle of the 2020s. On one side, lab-grown diamonds (hereafter LGD, also called synthetic diamonds or lab diamonds) have spread far enough to hold more than half of the engagement ring market, above all in the United States, and are changing consumer values and buying behavior at their foundation. On the other side, the natural diamond industry is investing in blockchain and AI based supply chain transparency technology in an effort to rebuild its ethical and environmental credibility.

This report reaches two central conclusions.

① Lab-grown diamonds are rapidly gaining presence in the market on the strength of arguments about price, environment, and ethics. Acceptance is not uniform, however, and the debate over emotional value, resale value, and environmental performance is still under way.

② Securing transparency of origin and route for natural diamonds is making steady progress in technical terms. It is not complete, but the foundation that allows consumers to make a trustworthy choice is taking shape.

Contents

1. 01Introduction: Structural Change in the Diamond Industry
2. 02Market Trends in Lab-Grown Diamonds
3. 03The Shape of the Debate over Lab-Grown Diamonds
4. 04Transparency Technology for Natural Diamonds
5. 05Social Momentum: ESG, Regulation, Consumer Awareness
6. 06Discussion: A Polarizing Industry and Implications for Japan
7. 07Conclusion
8. 08References and Sources

1. Introduction: Structural Change in the Diamond Industry

Diamonds long reigned at the top of the jewelry market as the symbol of eternal love. The campaign De Beers launched in the 1940s, “A Diamond is Forever,” is still recalled as one of the most successful pieces of marketing of the twentieth century. Today, however, the industry faces two currents that unsettle that mythic foundation.

The first currentis the full scale market entry of lab-grown diamonds, made possible by the technical maturity of Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) and High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) growth. Lab-grown diamonds are identical to natural diamonds in their chemical, physical, and optical properties, and in some cases they are difficult to distinguish not only by eye but even by conventional gemological testing. Once a rare experimental product, lab-grown diamonds had grown to account for roughly 20% of world diamond demand as of 2024.

The second currentis the rising social demand for supply chain transparency. The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), established in response to the conflict diamond problem of the early 2000s, has continued to reveal its structural limits into the 2020s. At the same time, a new generation of provenance solutions using blockchain, AI, and spectroscopic analysis has reached practical use, and efforts to make the journey of a diamond visible from the source to the retail counter are accelerating.

This report analyzes these trends from multiple angles and on academic ground, with the aim of reading the present and the future of both lab-grown and natural diamonds.

2. Market Trends in Lab-Grown Diamonds

A lab-grown diamond (LGD) is a diamond grown artificially in a laboratory that is chemically, physically, and optically identical to a natural diamond.It is man made, but it is entirely different from a simulant such as cubic zirconia or moissanite. This chapter follows market size and the reality of adoption on three levels: global, regional, and Japan.

2.1 Global Market Size and Growth Path

The growth rate of the lab-grown market has no parallel in the jewelry market over the past several decades.

Allied Market Research puts the size of the overall lab-grown market, including jewelry and industrial use, at approximately 18.9 billion USD as of 2023, and Fortune Business Insights projects expansion to approximately 29.7 billion USD in 2025. One long term estimate places the market at 91.8 billion USD in 2034, a CAGR of approximately 19.4%.

Within the jewelry segment alone, sales approached approximately 9 billion USD in 2024 (GlobeNewswire, March 2025). The same study also notes that the market entered a slowdown after its explosive growth, so overheated optimism calls for caution.

The lab-grown share of total diamond demand expanded quickly from approximately 3.5% in 2018 to 18.5% in 2023, and is estimated to have passed 20% by the end of 2024 (Edahn Golan Diamond Research & Data).

“The lab-grown diamond market share of total diamond demand rose from 3.5% in 2018 to 18.5% in 2023.”
：Edahn Golan Diamond Research & Data

2.2 Do Regional and Generational Differences Shape Acceptance

The US market: the leading case

The United States sits at the front line of lab-grown adoption. A 2024 study by BriteCo, a jewelry insurance company, found that more than 45% of center stones in US engagement rings were lab-grown. The Knot, the largest wedding platform in the United States, goes further in its “2025 Real Weddings Study,” reporting that as of 2025 more than half of couples choose a lab-grown engagement ring (Fortune, November 2025). The range between more than 45% on a center stone basis and more than half reflects differences in who ran each study, the year covered, and the measurement basis.

McKinsey & Company states the following in its 2024 analysis.

“Nearly half of all engagement-ring stones sold in the US were lab-grown, compared with only 12% in 2019.”
：McKinsey & Company, “The Diamond Industry is at an Inflection Point” (2024)

Generational trends

Millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, and Generation Z, born between 1997 and 2012, are the main drivers of lab-grown adoption. In a 2025 survey by Varniya, an Indian fine jewelry retailer, more than 70% of millennial buyers said they prefer lab-grown. Another survey finds that two thirds of Gen Z engagement ring buyers choose lab-grown.

CaratX (2025) adds an important qualification. Responses that actively prefer lab-grown fell 20% against 2023, which suggests that wider acceptance does not necessarily mean a settled, strong preference.

Complex trends in the Chinese market

Diamond demand in China fell by approximately 50% between 2023 and 2024. This was not caused by a shift to lab-grown. It is attributed mainly to a return to gold, macroeconomic weakness, and the dependence on Russian diamonds discussed below. Some Chinese jewelry chains have introduced buyback schemes in an attempt to recover demand.

2.3 The Japanese Market Today

Market size and growth forecast

The Japanese lab-grown market is still developing by international comparison, but its growth potential is high. Report Ocean estimates the Japanese lab-grown market at approximately 511 million USD as of 2024 and projects approximately 2.24 billion USD in 2033, a CAGR of 16.77%. That growth rate is among the highest in major Asian markets and reflects the size of the catch up room created by Japan lagging behind Europe and the United States.

Why awareness and acceptance diverge in Japan

The most important finding for understanding the Japanese market is the marked gap between awareness and potential acceptance. A nationwide survey (N=1,000) conducted by NEXER and DIAMOND DOT LAB between January and February 2026 found the following.

• Respondents who knew the term lab-grown diamond:only 7.0%
• Respondents who did not know it:93.0%

When the concept of a lab-grown diamond was explained and respondents were asked how they viewed it for an engagement or wedding ring, the answers were as follows.

• Think it is very good:14.3%
• Think it is fairly good:51.4%
• Total favorable response:65.7%

A separate survey of 2,302 women conducted by MediaSeek in January 2026 found that 31.4% would accept or somewhat accept a lab-grown engagement ring, while 47.7%, the largest group, answered neither yes nor no.

These figures suggest that substantial latent demand exists in Japan once the wall of awareness is crossed. When the state of not choosing because one does not know is resolved, the structure of the market could change considerably.

Brands entering the Japanese market

Brands and product lines built around lab-grown diamonds have appeared one after another in Japan.

2.4 Are Major Brands Returning to Natural or Staying with Lab-Grown

De Beers: withdrawal from lab-grown and a full return to natural diamonds

As the largest diamond major in the world, De Beers acts as a mirror of sentiment across the industry. The company launched its own lab-grown brand, Lightbox, in 2018, but in mid 2024 it sharply reduced investment in that brand and effectively withdrew from the lab-grown jewelry market. What it put forward instead was a rebranding of natural diamonds.

• Launch of DiamondProof™: a countertop device that distinguishes lab-grown from natural diamonds. Its purpose is to resolve consumer doubt at the retail counter.
• “Worth the Wait” campaign(October 2024, jointly with Signet Jewelers): a large scale marketing program presenting the emotional value of natural diamonds to the Zillennials in their twenties and thirties.
• De Beers Tracr(covered in detail in Chapter 4): continued investment in blockchain based provenance infrastructure.

This change of direction at De Beers can be read as a differentiation strategy built on emotional value, rarity, and authenticity for natural diamonds, responding to the way lab-grown diamonds are moving themselves into a low price, mass produced fashion jewelry category.

Pandora: continuing and growing its lab-grown line

Pandora of Denmark, by contrast, maintains an active position on lab-grown. Its Pandora Brilliance line, introduced in 2021, recorded an 87% increase in like for like sales in the first quarter of 2024, although the line accounts for only 0.9% of group sales. Pandora commits to covering 100% of its electricity with renewable energy and places lab-grown within a brand narrative of democratized luxury.

3. The Shape of the Debate over Lab-Grown Diamonds

3.1 Why Prices Collapsed and What Follows

One of the most serious structural problems in the lab-grown market is the steep fall in prices. According to analysis by Edahn Golan Diamond Research & Data, one carat lab-grown wholesale prices ran as follows.

• January 2020: approx. 3,410 USD/ct
• December 2024: approx. 892 USD/ct
• Rate of decline: approx. 74%(over the four years from 2020 to 2024)

The third quarter of 2025 continued the downward trend, down 9% quarter on quarter and 37% year on year. Even after a temporary rebound of +3.3% in the second half of 2025, the level remains around 747 USD on a one carat basis. For reference, the retail price of a comparable one carat natural diamond is still approximately 4,200 USD, a gap that reaches more than 90%.

This collapse in price makes an affordable luxury argument possible, but it also creates serious problems.

Loss of resale value:One reported case involves a 1.5 carat lab-grown diamond bought for 10,300 USD in 2016 that was appraised at 3,975 USD in 2021. At present the reality is that a resale market for lab-grown diamonds barely exists (National Jeweler).

Distance from emotional value:In a 2024 consumer survey, 78% of respondents accepted that lab-grown and natural diamonds are visually equivalent, but only 23% granted emotional value to lab-grown. Emotional value was attributed to natural diamonds by 89% of respondents.

McKinsey sets out three scenarios for the years ahead.

1. Lab-grown diamonds dominate the engagement ring market
2. Lab-grown diamonds move into a category of disposable fashion accessories and leave direct competition with natural diamonds
3. Consumers stop distinguishing lab-grown from natural diamonds, and desire for diamonds as a whole declines

“The narrative about lab-grown diamonds is changing.”
：Paul Zimnisky, Diamond Industry Analyst (JCK, January 2025)

3.2 Are Lab-Grown Diamonds Really Kinder to the Environment: Claims and Counterarguments

One important driver of lab-grown adoption is the narrative that claims environmental and ethical superiority. That claim carries several qualifications that deserve scrutiny.

The main claims made for lab-grown

The most widely cited figures are as follows.

Pandora reports the carbon footprint of its own lab-grown production process at approximately 9.17 kg CO₂/ct when 100% renewable energy is used, which it states is a reduction of approximately 95% against mining (Pandora, August 2023).

Counterarguments and qualifications

Where production takes place:Lab-grown production is concentrated in China and India, where the electricity grid still depends heavily on coal. A lab-grown diamond made with fossil fuel electricity can emit more CO₂ than a natural diamond from responsible mining.

The position of the US FTC:The FTC, the US Federal Trade Commission, has described unqualified advertising language such as eco friendly or sustainable used by lab-grown producers as highly unlikely to be substantiated, and has issued warnings to several companies.

Findings from peer reviewed research:A peer reviewed paper published in 2024 in the Nature portfolio journal Humanities and Social Sciences Communications examined the environmental burden of the diamond industry from several angles and showed that complex pathways exist that a simple comparison cannot capture.

“It is highly unlikely that they can substantiate all reasonable interpretations of broad sustainability claims.”
：U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), regarding LGD eco-claims

The accurate assessment, then, is that the environmental advantage of lab-grown diamonds can hold in theory but varies widely with actual production conditions and energy sources.

3.3 Emotional Value and the Resale Market

In considering the social and psychological function of jewelry, and of the engagement ring in particular, the question of emotional value cannot be avoided.

A natural diamond carries the narrative of a singular object formed over billions of years deep within the earth. That narrative holds rarity, irreversibility, and time within it, and it has given weight of meaning to the acts of giving, promising, and commemorating. Lab-grown diamonds share these attributes as a matter of chemistry, but they differ in the story of how they came to be.

This appears as an asymmetry of emotional value. The question is not simply a marketing problem. It reaches into consumer psychology, souvenir theory, and the sociology of authenticity. As noted above, the resale market barely functions, which places lab-grown diamonds below natural diamonds when a stone is considered as a store of value. That becomes an important consideration for buyers weighing a high value purchase.

3.4 How Grading Has Changed at GIA and IGI

A diamond grading report is a document in which a third party institution assesses and certifies quality by the 4Cs, meaning carat, color, clarity, and cut, among other criteria.That system itself is being forced to reorganize by the rise of lab-grown diamonds.

The change of policy at GIA, the Gemological Institute of America

GIA, the global authority in gem grading, announced that as of October 1, 2025 it would discontinue full 4C grading for lab-grown diamonds and move to a two tier description of Premium or Standard based on an overall assessment of color, clarity, and polish quality (GIA, 2025). The decision has been widely read within the industry as a strategic retreat by GIA. The following circumstances are cited in analysis of the background.

• The steep fall in lab-grown prices made grading fees at natural diamond levels hard to justify
• GIA holds only 5% of the lab-grown grading market, against 65% for IGI, which leaves little commercial rationale
• Pressure from the natural diamond industry, De Beers foremost among them

GIA continues to offer full 4C grading for natural diamonds, and the change can also be read as industry signaling that sets lab-grown apart as a lower category.

The rise of IGI, the International Gemological Institute

IGI, the International Gemological Institute, holds a 65% world share of the lab-grown grading market and, unlike GIA, maintains full 4C grading. Revenue related to lab-grown grading reports came to approximately 107 million EUR in 2024, with net profit above 48 million USD, according to materials for its 2024 IPO in India. IGI has its main bases in India and Belgium and has grown quickly alongside the lab-grown industry. The divergence between GIA and IGI shows an industry reorganizing around two axes of value: authoritative certification for natural diamonds and volume processing capacity for lab-grown.

4. Transparency Technology for Natural Diamonds

4.1 How Far Can Blockchain Trace Origin

Diamond traceability is a mechanism for tracking and certifying the distribution history of an individual stone from mining through retail.In securing supply chain transparency, blockchain is the approach receiving the most attention.

De Beers Tracr

Tracr is the first large scale blockchain platform for diamonds, developed by De Beers together with Accenture. Commercial operation began around 2018 to 2019, and as of 2024 the following results have been made public.

• Diamonds registered since 2022: approximately 3 million
• Coverage extends to more than two thirds of De Beers own production, worth approximately 3.6 billion USD
• Participating producer partners: ODC (Okavango Diamond Company), Mountain Province Diamonds and others

In 2024 the ORIGIN program was launched, extending traceability to the retail counter. Working with Sarine Technologies, it is building infrastructure that allows data from every stage, from mining through cutting and retail, to be read as a single record. One limitation at present is that participation in Tracr is voluntary, so adoption across the industry is only partly complete. De Beers accounts for approximately 25% to 30% of world production, and only two thirds of its own production is covered.

Everledger

Everledger is a London based startup founded in 2015 that combines blockchain, AI, machine learning, IoT, and nanotechnology to build a digital twin of each individual diamond. It holds ISO27001 certification and, unlike Tracr, covers diamonds of every size. It has completed a 20 million USD Series A round with participants including Tencent, which confirms its commercial credibility from the standpoint of private investment.

Comparison of the two systems

4.2 Identification and Tracking with AI and Optical Technology

The work of Sarine Technologies

Sarine Technologies, based in Israel, is a leading force in technical innovation for diamond analysis and tracking.

Sarine Diamond Journey™ is a system that tracks and records provenance across six or more stages, from mining through cutting and retail, using computerized AI based cross checks, and stores that record in a secure cloud. It is described as the only commercial solution that provides technically verified and consistent traceability, and it has been integrated with Tracr.

Sarine Clarity-II™ is an automated clarity grading system driven by AI. Compared with conventional assessment that relies on human graders, it shows less variation and is said to hold to a consistent standard. Sarine also offers solutions dedicated to lab-grown diamonds, and its technical neutrality across both natural and lab-grown stones is notable.

4.3 The Limits of the Kimberley Process and the Reform Debate

Structural defects in the Kimberley Process

The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) was established in 2003 and now covers 85 participating countries and territories. Its purpose is to prevent conflict diamonds, meaning diamonds that fund anti government armed groups, from entering the international market. Structural defects in how it operates have been pointed out continuously.

• A narrow definition:The definition of a conflict diamond is limited to funding for rebel forces opposing a legitimate government, so human rights violations by government forces themselves, including forced labor and the displacement of residents, fall outside its scope.
• Absence of independent monitoring:Verification of compliance is left to peer review among member states, and independent third party verification is not guaranteed within the system.
• Exclusion of civil society:NGOs and civil society organizations have limited voice within the Kimberley Process.

The failed reform at the 2025 Dubai plenary

At the 2025 Kimberley Process plenary in Dubai, a reform proposal to widen the definition of a conflict diamond to cover human rights violations in general was tabled but rejected by a bloc of six: the EU, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Switzerland, and Ukraine. The six voted against out of concern over politicization around application to state actors, Russia above all. The KP Civil Society Coalition framed the outcome as a question of True Reform or Irrelevance, and the legitimacy of the scheme itself is now in question. In June 2025 investigative reporting was published stating that trade in so called blood diamonds continues in the Central African Republic (CAR), which exposed the gaps in the system once again.

4.4 The Effect of G7 Sanctions on Russian Diamonds

In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the G7 countries introduced staged direct sanctions on Russian diamonds from 2024.

• January 1, 2024:Import ban on jewelry and rough diamonds of Russian origin
• March 1, 2024:Extension of the ban to Russian origin diamonds cut and processed in third countries, mainly India

The sanctions became a powerful external pressure forcing the industry to invest in traceability. Excluding Russian diamonds polished by way of a third country requires a mechanism that tracks the origin of each stone individually, which has made practical use of Tracr, Everledger, Sarine, and similar systems a real requirement. Japan participates in the sanctions as a G7 member, so the domestic jewelry industry is also being pushed to review its supply chain management.

4.5 New Certification Schemes and Industry Self Regulation

The Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC)

The Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) is an international body that certifies ethical, environmental, and social standards across the jewelry supply chain. Its Code of Practices 2024 (Version 1.1, published February 2025) strengthened compliance requirements for commercial members handling diamonds, gold, silver, platinum group metals, and colored stones.

Proposals from the DMCC, the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre

At the Kimberley Process intersessional meeting in May 2024, DMCC held a Provenance, Transparency and Technology Forum and proposed a task force to set Minimum Viable Levels of Traceability and Transparency, with a target date of March 2025.

CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation

In January 2024 CIBJO published its Laboratory-Grown Diamond Guidelines 2024, giving the international jewelry industry a framework for consistent terminology and disclosure obligations.

5. Social Momentum: ESG, Regulation, Consumer Awareness

5.1 Pressure from ESG Investors

Diamond mining companies face routine pressure from institutional investors over ESG assessment. Risk scores from sustainability rating agencies such as Sustainalytics feed directly into financing terms, share prices, and social license to operate.

Rio Tinto:Rio Tinto sold the Diavik diamond mine in Canada in 2024 and exited diamond mining. The company cut Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 14% against 2018, to 30.7 million tons CO₂e, meeting its 2025 target ahead of schedule. At the same time, shareholder proposals calling for further disclosure on water resources and biodiversity have come repeatedly at its AGM.

Alrosa:Alrosa is a Russian state linked company and a target of the G7 sanctions. Isolation under sanctions is constraining how it allocates resources to capital investment and ESG measures, and its dependence on non Western buyers is rising.

“Impeccable ESG performance is vital for long-term survival in diamond mining beyond 2026.”
：Farmonaut Industry Analysis, 2026

5.2 Regulatory Trends in the US, the EU, and Japan

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

The FTC revised its guidance on the definition of a diamond and removed the word natural from that definition. A lab-grown diamond is therefore legally a diamond, but the terms laboratory-grown, laboratory-created, or [manufacturer name]-created must be stated. Warnings have been issued against unqualified claims that lab-grown diamonds are environmentally friendly, and only specific claims with a basis are permitted, for example a statement that a company runs its production facility on 100% renewable energy.

The European Union

The EU does not currently include diamonds in its conflict minerals regulation, which covers 3TG, but it carried out a first review of that regulation in September 2024, and discussion including a wider scope continues. In October 2025 it formally recognized the Responsible Minerals Assurance Process (RMAP) as the first due diligence scheme under the regulation.

Japan

From December 2024, import declarations from India have required separate disclosure of natural and lab-grown stones, under rules from the CBIC of the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry. This has indirect effects on the supply chain on the Japanese side as well. In Japan, explicit domestic rules on disclosure obligations for lab-grown stones in jewelry are still being developed, and voluntary guidelines from industry bodies such as the JJA, the Japan Jewellery Association, are now called for.

5.3 The Influence of Media and Social Media

The shift in media tone

Around 2022 and 2023 the dominant line was that the future of ethical consumption lies with lab-grown diamonds. Through 2024 and 2025 media coverage has become more complex.

• Fortune (December 2024):Gen Z and millennials choose lab-grown not for ethical reasons but mainly for price and stone size
• JCK (January 2025):The narrative around lab-grown diamonds is changing, toward a position as a commoditized fashion accessory rather than traditional fine jewelry
• GlobeNewswire (March 2025):After explosive growth, the lab-grown jewelry market has entered a slowdown

This shift in tone shows the lab-grown industry moving from a narrative of growth into a phase of maturity and redefinition.

The role of social media

Instagram and TikTok carry particular influence in shaping engagement ring trends. VRAI, a lab-grown brand, attributes a considerable share of its sales growth to awareness built through social media, and the ecosystem of hashtags around #labgrowndiamond has expanded quickly since 2022. In Japan as well, unboxing videos of lab-grown engagement rings and custom designs shared by influencers have begun to contribute to awareness, which confirms that social platforms can work as a channel for crossing the wall of awareness.

6. Discussion: A Polarizing Industry and Implications for Japan

6.1 A Polarizing Market Structure

The first pole: the fashion and democratization market for lab-grown diamonds.Lab-grown diamonds sweep the engagement ring and fashion jewelry markets on price competitiveness and are establishing a position as the rational choice, particularly among younger and price sensitive buyers. The US market is the model, and Asian markets including Japan are likely to follow it with a lag of several years to more than a decade.

The second pole: emphasis on rarity, authenticity, and transparency for natural diamonds.The natural diamond industry, De Beers foremost among them, is shifting to a strategy that reinforces the narrative of a singular object born over hundreds of millions of years with scientific and technical proof of provenance on blockchain. The axis of differentiation here is not an unreachable price but trustworthy origin, ethical sourcing, and verifiable authenticity.

6.2 The Competitive Advantage Transparency Brings

The dysfunction of the KPCS, the demand for proof of origin created by the G7 sanctions, and pressure from ESG investors. With these factors converging, transparency can become one of the strongest competitive advantages available to natural diamonds. As Tracr, Everledger, and Sarine Diamond Journey™ show, consistent traceability from mine to ring is technically achievable today. The open questions are the speed of adoption across the industry and how it is communicated to consumers. If a jewelry brand can show a consumer, through a single QR code, where a natural diamond was mined, who cut it, and how it reached the store, that establishes an advantage in information capable of answering the lab-grown advantage in price.

6.3 Implications for the Japanese Market

In the Japanese market, the first task is to fill the gap in awareness. A lab-grown awareness rate of 7% is an opportunity for new entrants and at the same time means that raising literacy across the industry is urgent. The potential acceptance rate of 65.7% after explanation shows that a very large group might choose lab-grown once they know about it. Careful customer education can therefore move the market considerably. In the context of transparency technology for natural diamonds, if Japanese jewelry brands actively connect to global provenance platforms and deliver diamonds with proof of origin to consumers through a Japanese language interface, that should build high brand trust.

7. Conclusion

Conclusion ①: Lab-grown diamonds are gradually being accepted, and the debate continues

Lab-grown diamonds are rapidly gaining presence in the market on the strength of chemical equivalence, price advantage, and an environmental narrative. In the United States more than half of engagement rings are lab-grown, and in Japan acceptance is beginning to widen as awareness grows. That acceptance is by no means uniform. The loss of resale value caused by the price collapse, the asymmetry of emotional value, uncertainty about environmental performance, and the downgrade of lab-grown grading by GIA are questions the industry must resolve as it matures, and they also refute the simple future in which lab-grown diamonds fully replace natural ones. Lab-grown and natural diamonds are likely to compete while coexisting in different segments.

Conclusion ②: Transparency for natural diamonds is advancing steadily, though it remains incomplete

The structural limits of the Kimberley Process have still not been closed. Private technical solutions represented by Tracr, Everledger, and Sarine Diamond Journey™ are nonetheless turning infrastructure that tracks individual stones from mine to counter into a reality. The G7 sanctions on Russian diamonds act as an external pressure that accelerates this further, and together with deeper self regulation by industry bodies such as RJC, CIBJO, and DMCC, the idea of a transparent natural diamond has reached a technically achievable stage. Full adoption will take time, but the direction is clear. Allowing consumers to confirm where a diamond came from may prove one of the strongest means of rebuilding trust in natural diamonds.

Editor's note
This report follows the many sided changes surrounding the diamond industry and will be updated and published periodically so that businesses, consumers, and policymakers can make informed choices. It draws on multiple primary sources and peer reviewed papers in English and Japanese, and some market data includes estimates. Please check the original sources when citing.

8. References and Sources

At publication, please add an external link to the primary source for each reference wherever possible, since this improves credibility for AI engines and readers alike.

Market research and industry reports

1. Allied Market Research, Lab-Grown Diamond Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, 2023–2024.
2. Fortune Business Insights, Lab-Grown Diamond Market, 2024.
3. Precedence Research, Lab-Grown Diamonds Market, 2025.
4. GlobeNewswire, “Lab-Grown Diamonds Market Report 2025…,” March 3, 2025.
5. McKinsey & Company, The Diamond Industry is at an Inflection Point, 2024.
6. Edahn Golan Diamond Research & Data, Lab Diamond Wholesale Prices Sink 9% QoQ, 2025.
7. BriteCo, Lab-Grown vs Natural Diamond Report, 2024.
8. CaratX, “Lab-Grown Diamonds in 2025…,” 2025.
9. Report Ocean, Japan Lab-Grown Diamonds Market, 2024.
10. Draco Diamond, Lab Diamond Price Trend Report 2020–2026, 2024.

Brands and industry trends

11. De Beers Group, Tracr Case Study 2024, 2024.
12. De Beers Group, “Signet and De Beers Launch ‘Worth the Wait’ Campaign,” October 2024.
13. Mining Review Africa, “De Beers Tracks 3M Diamonds on Blockchain,” 2024.
14. Pandora Group, Lab-Grown Diamonds Carbon Footprint Report, August 2023.
15. Varniya, “What Percent of Millennials Are Buying Lab-Grown Diamond Rings?” 2025.

Regulation and policy

16. U.S. Federal Trade Commission, Loupe: Advertising Diamond, Gemstones and Pearls, updated guidance.
17. European Commission, Conflict Minerals Regulation, September 2024 review.
18. European Commission, “First Supply Chain Due Diligence Scheme Recognised…,” October 17, 2025.
19. Lewis Brisbois, G7 Diamond Ban Initiative Legal Alert, 2024.
20. CIBJO, Laboratory-Grown Diamond Guidelines 2024, January 2024.
21. Responsible Jewellery Council, Code of Practices 2024 (Version 1.1), February 2025.

Certification and grading

22. GIA, “New Descriptive Terminology for Laboratory-Grown Diamonds,” 2025.
23. GIA, Gems & Gemology, Summer 2024.
24. JCK, “GIA Updates Lab-Grown Diamond Grading Services,” 2025.
25. Rapaport, “Lab-Grown Diamond Market Buoys IGI,” 2025.

Traceability technology

26. Accenture, Tracr Diamond Traceability Case Study, 2024.
27. Everledger, “Making the Commercial Case for Blockchain Diamond Tracking,” 2024.
28. Sarine Technologies, Diamond Journey Traceability Whitepaper, 2024–2025.
29. Sarine Blog, “True Traceability is Here,” 2024.
30. Rapaport, “The Top Diamond-Tracking Programs and How They Work,” 2024.
31. Minespider, “History of Diamond Traceability,” 2024.

Kimberley Process and conflict diamonds

32. AIDI, “Kimberley Process Reform Frustration: 2025 Dubai Plenary,” 2025.
33. KP Civil Society Coalition, “The Kimberley Process 2025 Plenary: True Reform or Irrelevance?” 2025.
34. Ecofin Agency, “Blood Diamond Trade Still Ongoing in CAR…,” June 2025.
35. CNN, “EU Sanctions on Russian Diamonds,” January 2024.
36. OECD, “Advancing Diamond Governance and Provenance Initiatives,” 2024.

Academic papers

37. Solitaire / GJEPC, “Diamond Supply Chain Transparency,” 2024.
38. MDPI Sustainability, “Navigating the High Jewelry Industry’s Future,” 2024.
39. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (Nature portfolio), “Environmental Impacts of the Global Diamond Industry,” 2024.
40. Springer, Journal of Business Ethics, “Understanding Ethical Luxury Consumption,” 2015.

Japanese language sources

41. NEXER and DIAMOND DOT LAB, Lab-Grown Diamond Awareness Survey (N=1,000), January to February 2026.
42. MediaSeek, Survey on acceptance of lab-grown engagement rings among 2,302 women, January 2026.
43. PR TIMES, various press releases (EF Diamond, DIAMOND DOT LAB and others), 2025 to 2026.
44. Report Ocean Japan, Japan Lab-Grown Diamond Market Report, 2024.
45. Livedoor News, citing a US bridal survey, 2026.

This report is issued periodically. The next edition will focus on detailed analysis of the Indian, Chinese, and Middle Eastern markets, along with cases of adoption of new provenance solutions for natural diamonds.

© 2026 ANNA DIAMOND / Diamond Industry Report：All rights reserved.