Rapaport says diamond prices rebound in May as larger stones stay firm

Smaller diamonds finally showed some life in May, but the recovery was narrow and the market still looked split down the middle. The 0.30-carat Rapaport Trade Diamond Index, which tracks asking prices for round, D-H, IF-VS2 goods, rose 2.1% for the month, even though it remained down 27.6% from a year earlier.

That rebound mattered because it came after a long stretch of inventory pressure in the smallest commercial sizes. Rapaport said the lift followed declining stock levels and buyers moving when valuations looked unusually low. The 0.50-carat RAPI also rose, up 0.9% in May, while the 1-carat index fell 0.3%, a sign that the main bridal size was still softer than the smallest goods and that the recovery was not moving evenly through the market.

Larger diamonds, by contrast, held firmer. In Rapaport’s May 7 market commentary, large wholesalers were seeing steady demand for 2-carat-and-larger, F-I, VS-SI diamonds, with elongated ovals and cushions described as hot. Melee was slow, which underlines how uneven demand has become: buyers wanted scarce, better-looking stones at the top end, while the tiniest parcels still moved cautiously.

By May 21, the tone had improved but not cleaned up the market’s structural problems. Rapaport said trading was mixed, sentiment was positive, and U.S. independent jewelers were placing steady orders. India was also showing strong domestic jewelry sales, especially in commercial and bridal categories, a crucial signal for the months ahead because that demand tends to support the bread-and-butter sizes that have been under the most pressure.

The drag from synthetics is still hard to ignore. De Beers’ June 2026 Diamond Report said lab-grown diamond retail prices have been trending downward even as volumes continue to grow, and that lab-grown stones accounted for 15% of U.S. independent jeweler sales by value in 2025. That mix helps explain why natural diamond pricing is recovering first in the smallest, most inventory-sensitive goods while the broader market remains cautious.

Rapaport’s wider view is still guarded: after three years of decline, the industry is trying to recover, but only supply discipline will make the rebound last. For now, May looks less like a full turn in the cycle than an early test of whether bridal demand, tighter inventories and dealer restocking can outrun lab-grown competition long enough to hold prices together.