1-carat diamond suddenly drops to just over 1,000? A large number of consumers are crying in regret: if they had bought a year earlier, they would have lost tens of thousands!

I used to think that 1-carat diamonds were the “threshold of luxury,” with any piece costing tens of thousands of yuan, especially for those who bought their wedding rings a few years ago, often spending at least 30,000 to 50,000 yuan. But now, walking through jewelry markets, I find that a 1-carat diamond can actually be bought for just over 1,000 yuan. When this news spread, many early buyers who paid high prices started complaining, regretting they bought too early, as if they had thrown away several ten-thousand-yuan bills.

Not all 1-carat diamonds can be sold at high prices; the key still lies in the diamond’s 4Cs—Carat weight, Cut, Color, and Clarity. These four parameters directly determine the quality and price of a diamond, with Carat weight having the most significant impact, followed by Cut and Color, while Clarity has the least effect.

Let me show you some real data for a more intuitive understanding of price changes. According to the latest 2026 wholesale diamond prices, the price range for 1-carat diamonds varies greatly: entry-level 1-carat diamonds (Color J or below, Clarity SI2 or below, Cut G) are priced between 1,200 and 2,500 yuan; mid-quality ones (Color G-H, Clarity VS2-SI1, Cut 3EX) range from 10,000 to 28,000 yuan; high-quality diamonds (Color D-F, Clarity VS1 or above, Cut 3EX) still cost between 22,000 and 50,000 yuan. Back in 2022, even entry-level 1-carat diamonds were priced around 8,000 to 12,000 yuan. In just four years, the price for entry-level diamonds has dropped by over 70%.

There are two main reasons for this sharp decline: changes in market supply and demand, and the impact of cultivated diamonds. From the supply side, global diamond mining in 2024 increased by 5.7%, reaching 117.95 million carats, while global diamond exports decreased by 16.8%. The oversupply has directly driven prices down. De Beers, the world’s largest diamond producer, has repeatedly lowered prices since 2024—by 10% for rough diamonds in January, and by 10-15% for secondary market roughs in December. In 2025, prices for rough diamonds over 0.75 carats were again reduced by 0.75%, with bargaining ranges of 10-15%.

More critically, the rise of cultivated diamonds has directly squeezed the mid-to-lower end of the natural diamond market. Data shows that in 2024, China’s cultivated diamond production reached about 22 million carats, a year-on-year increase of 144.44%, accounting for 63% of the global total. By 2025, cultivated diamonds worldwide accounted for over 40% of sales, more than eight times the amount in 2019. Cultivated diamonds can match the quality of natural diamonds and are difficult to distinguish with the naked eye, but their prices are only about one-fifth or even less of natural diamonds. The price of a 1-carat high-quality cultivated diamond has fallen from 8,000 yuan in 2020 to around 3,500 yuan now, with entry-level ones costing just over 1,000 yuan. This is a major reason for the overall price decline of 1-carat diamonds.

Many consumers regret buying early, not only because prices have fallen but also because the value retention of diamonds is far below expectations. The resale market for second-hand diamonds is very clear: the buyback price depends solely on the diamond’s 4Cs, not on brand premiums or processing fees paid at purchase. For an average 1-carat natural diamond of mid-quality, the resale price is only 30-50% of the original purchase price. For entry-level 1-carat diamonds, resale value can be less than 1,000 yuan. Some netizens shared that a 1-carat ring bought for 18,000 yuan ten years ago can now only be sold back for a maximum of 180 yuan, a depreciation of 99%. Others paid 100,000 yuan for a high-quality 1-carat ring, but its current resale value is only about 30,000 yuan.

Here’s a professional concept to understand—“Carat premium,” which many people fall into when buying diamonds. Among the 4Cs, carat weight impacts price exponentially, especially for whole-carat diamonds like 1 or 2 carats. Scarcity increases sharply at these sizes, causing a jump in price. For example, a diamond with 3EX cut, G color, and VS2 clarity weighing 0.9 carats costs about 12,000 yuan, while a 1.0-carat diamond with the same specifications can cost as much as 35,000 to 40,000 yuan. Doubling the weight results in roughly tripling the price, even though visually, 0.9 and 1.0-carat diamonds look almost identical.