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By Hugh Cameron
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The cost of diamond engagement rings is on the rise despite a wider, long-term slump in global prices.
While prices vary significantly based on carat, cut, color, and clarity (the "Four Cs"), data shared with Newsweek from Edahn Golan, founder of Edahn Golan Diamond Research & Data, indicates that prices are expected to climb in 2025. These were estimated at $7,161 in July, up nearly 8 percent from 6,650 the same month last year.
Why It Matters
The increase in engagement ring prices comes amid a wider decline in global prices—down around 10 percent for 1-carat round diamonds over the past year, per Golan's calculations. This has been attributed to several factors, including the increasing availability and popularity of lab-grown alternatives, as well as weakening demand from key markets, such as China.
Read More on U.S.
Golan told Newsweek that the increase in ring prices was attributable to idiosyncrasies in the diamond engagement ring market, and not to the policies of President Donald Trump directly. However, he and other experts have warned that tariffs, which have already injected significant uncertainty into the global diamond trade, could quickly be passed on to retail prices for the precious gems.
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What To Know
Among diamonds of all types, experts have attributed the volatility that has marked 2025 prices to tariffs. The IDEX Diamond Index charted a significant price spike following Trump's unveiling of reciprocal tariffs in early April, and two subsequent spikes interrupted this year's otherwise downward trend. The latter have been blamed elsewhere on buyers rushing to purchase ahead of the planned reimplementation of the tariffs in early July, followed by their actual implementation in August.
In its most recent diamond market update, Auctentic, a brokerage specializing in diamonds, gemstones, and jewelry, stated that the recent announcement of tariffs on India was responsible for much of the "turbulence" that characterized the diamond market in July.
Trump had intended to place a 25 percent tariff on Indian imports, but this was doubled in July due to India's continued purchase of Russian oil. This latest hike took effect on Wednesday.
Diamond industry expert and analyst Paul Zimnisky, creator of the Zimnisky Global Rough Diamond Price Index and the Zimnisky Global Polished Diamond Price Index, told Newsweek that consumer prices for natural diamonds jumped between 2 and 4 percent following the initial announcement, and by the same amount after the Russian oil penalty.
Zimnisky said that prices for natural polished diamonds in the U.S. have risen by between 6 and 10 percent year-to-date, attributing this largely to tariff impacts.
"Perhaps a silver lining is, if you already own a diamond in the U.S., the value just theoretically went up due to the tariffs," he told Newsweek.
Regarding average engagement ring prices, Golan told Newsweek that these have risen because the spread of cheaper, lab-grown gems has offered consumers a more affordable alternative, weakening demand for lower-cost diamond rings. As a result, wealthier customers who continue to purchase natural diamonds make up a larger share of the market, pushing the average price upward.
This echoes the findings of his recent monthly report for the jewelry and diamond market analytics firm Tenoris. Golan reported that unit sales of diamond jewelry in the U.S. fell by 8 percent in July, but that revenue nevertheless remained flat—evidence that "higher-spending consumers are keeping the market resilient."
What People Are Saying
Diamond industry analyst Paul Zimnisky told Newsweek: "Natural diamonds are still one of the most valuable things you can own on a value to size and weight ratio. Humans have valued rare and precious metals and gems since the beginning of time. I don't think this will change anytime soon. However, diamond jewelry is like other luxury products in that people don't need it, so desire has to be actively driven, which is traditionally done through marketing and branding, and I think the diamond industry has lost its way a little bit in this area in recent years."
Diamond industry analyst Edahn Golan, regarding the future impact of tariffs, told Newsweek: "The diamond manufacturing sector operates on single-digit margins. Retailers will be forced to raise consumer prices. The expectation is that this will have an extremely negative impact on consumer demand."
What Happens Next
Ya'akov Almor, an international diamond industry expert, told Newsweek that the 50 percent tariffs on India would prove "destructive" for the country's diamond exports, but that the industry "will do its utmost to find legal—I stress legal— ways to circumvent the tariffs as much as they can."
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