Natural diamonds gain ground beyond bridal as gifting demand rises

The most revealing split in diamonds is now price, not romance: Edahn Golan said in Las Vegas on May 29 that lab-grown stones dominate sales below $2,500, while natural diamonds are winning above that level. That matters for Valentine’s gifting because the category is increasingly being bought for emotion, identity and self-purchase, not only for proposals.

Golan told JCK attendees that the post-pandemic shift toward lab-grown diamonds in engagement rings has not reversed, with lab-grown’s share of engagement-ring sales rising from about 10% in 2020 to 58% in 2025. Yet his data also showed natural diamonds holding firm where it counts most for luxury gifting. The average purchase price of natural diamond jewelry has climbed more than 20% since 2020, natural-diamond product sales are up 4% year over year, and the average price paid for a diamond jewelry item rose 17% in the week before Mother’s Day.

That pattern points to a market that is no longer tethered to bridal alone. Golan said the growth in natural-diamond bridal sales is coming from second marriages and from buyers who once worried that a larger natural stone would look too extravagant. For Valentine’s buyers who want meaning without a proposal, that is the opening: a diamond can signal seriousness, not just intent to marry. It can also feel like a considered personal purchase, especially when the price and scale reflect the moment rather than a status race.

De Beers has been making the same case in broader terms. Its Diamond Report says non-bridal occasions, including gifting and self-purchase, now account for 75% of demand, and Millennials and Gen Z make up more than three-quarters of overall sales. The company’s own framing traces that evolution from wartime devotion jewelry in the 1940s to female self-purchase in the 1970s. In June 2025, De Beers launched Ombré Desert Diamonds at JCK Las Vegas as its first new beacon product in more than a decade and introduced ORIGIN - De Beers Group to help retailers tell the individual story of each natural diamond.

The Natural Diamond Council’s February 2026 Trends report reinforces the shift. Using more than four million jewelry transactions from 2,500 U.S. specialty jewelers, it found natural-diamond demand stayed resilient in 2025 despite tariffs, inflation and higher gold prices. Holiday specialty-jeweler sales rose more than 6%, and 46% of natural-diamond jewelry sales in the sample landed in November, December, Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. Non-bridal accounted for 85% of pieces sold and 67% of sales value in 2024. The message for Valentine’s is clear: diamonds still sell best when they are framed as a personal keepsake, not a bridal default.