U.S. diamond demand firms ahead of Las Vegas shows, rough stays quiet
Demand strengthened for 2-carat-plus rounds and elongated fancy shapes as buyers headed to Las Vegas, while rough stayed subdued before De Beers’ May sight.
Demand sharpened for 2-carat-plus rounds, elongated fancy shapes and larger collection goods as the trade moved into the Las Vegas buying season, giving natural-diamond sellers a firmer lane heading into the city’s biggest jewelry week. Warm-colored stones and antique-style cuts also drew more interest, a sign that buyers were leaning toward pieces with stronger visual distinction rather than commodity melees.
That firmness sat beside a rough market that remained quiet. Manufacturers were buying selectively, and profitability pressure across the midstream kept them disciplined as they waited for the next De Beers sight, scheduled for May 25 to 29. The miner’s 2026 calendar carried 10 sales dates, but the fifth sight landed directly on top of the trade-show run, a reminder that polished demand and rough caution were moving on different tracks.
JCK Las Vegas was set for May 29 to June 1 at The Venetian Expo, with Luxury by JCK running May 27 to June 1 by invitation only. Some programming, including JCK Talks, GEMS featuring AGTA, Hong Kong Pavilions and the new Lifestyle Pavilion, opened May 28. The overlap made the week a critical test of appetite for finished goods, especially for larger natural stones that still command attention on the floor when buyers are looking to stock up for the season ahead.
The wider market backdrop remained mixed. Rapaport’s May newsletter described demand as balancing weak global appetite against tightening supply, a combination that has kept rough purchases restrained even as certain polished categories hold up better. Earlier in the year, De Beers cut rough prices at its January sight, underscoring how much pressure the rough side still carried. By late May, that tension was visible in the way dealers talked about stable pricing at the sight but low expectations for sales.
Lab-grown diamonds continued to hang over the natural market, with multiple 2026 industry reports projecting strong growth in global lab-grown sales. That pressure has sharpened the natural-diamond pitch around rarity, size and character. In a week built around Las Vegas showcases, the pieces drawing the most interest were not the broadest offerings but the ones with a clearer point of view: larger rounds, stretched fancy shapes and antique-leaning stones with warmer color and stronger personality.
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