Diamonds Find Their Footing: August’s Market and Industry Highlights

The diamond trade posted its strongest pricing performance in more than a year, with the Rapaport Diamond Index for 1-carat stones holding flat after 13 consecutive months of decline. The 0.30-carat index rose 1.6% and the 0.50-carat index gained 1.8%, its best monthly showing since March 2025, while the 3-carat index edged up 0.2%. It was the first month since March 2025 that all four major RAPI size categories closed flat or higher. The gains came as the US finalized a new tariff structure that retains a 10% duty on India-polished diamonds while exempting goods from Belgium, Botswana and Namibia, and as US demand concentrated on 2-carat stones in G to J color and VS1 to SI2 clarity. Corporate results were mixed but leaned positive. Brilliant Earth returned to profit in the second quarter, posting revenue of $115.1 million (up 6% year on year) and net income of $800,000 against a $1.1 million loss a year earlier, with average order value up 8% to $2,238. Chow Sang Sang’s first-half revenue rose 17% to HKD 12.88 billion ($1.64 billion) and profit jumped 139% to HKD 2.15 billion ($274.6 million) on strong gold demand. Sarine’s results moved the other way, with its first-half loss widening more than 20-fold to $3.5 million as lab-grown competition continued to erode natural-diamond processing volume, even as revenue at its Kitov.ai unit more than doubled. Anglo American confirmed that more than one bidder remains active for its 85% stake in De Beers, valued at roughly $1 billion, with Gareth Penny’s Global Diamond Consortium still the lead contender and a year-end 2026 close targeted. Anglo has ruled out a public listing for the business. 

Leadership changed hands at two organizations central to the trade. Yoram Dvash, former president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses and former chairman of the Israel Diamond Exchange, was named chairman of the Okavango Diamond Company’s board, succeeding Gape Kaboyakgosi. At Pandora, André Branch was appointed President of North America effective August 15, succeeding Luciano Rodembusch, bringing more than 25 years of consumer and lifestyle brand experience to the role. The month also underscored the industry’s ongoing focus on supply chain integrity, with a former Tse Sui Luen procurement manager pleading guilty to stealing diamonds from suppliers over a six-year period, and US Customs and Border Protection seizing a shipment of 875 counterfeit jewelry items with a potential retail value exceeding $3.7 million. 

Here’s your diamond market analysis from Rapaport Trade for September 2026

In August, price trends for 1-carat round diamonds strengthened, following more moderate increases in July. D-F and G-J colors rose by an average of 0.7%, compared with an average increase of 0.1% in July. In K-M colors the picture was more divided: IF-VVS clarities rose by an average of 2.1%, while VS saw a price correction of 0.3%, after a sharp 2.8% increase in July. SI clarities rose by an average of 0.4%, with D-F holding steady while G-J and K-M recorded an increase of 0.6%.

Inventory distribution shifted modestly during the month. D-F colors rose to 30.9% of 1-carat listings on September 1, up 0.6 points from 30.3% a month earlier. G-J colors slipped to 62.7%, down 0.5 points from 63.2%. K-M colors eased to 6.2%, down 0.2 points from 6.4%.

Search behavior on Rapaport Trade stayed concentrated in the same two categories. G-J VS remained the most searched combination at 22.1% of searches on August 1, down from 23.1% a month earlier. D-F IF-VVS held the second spot at 20.2%, down from 20.7%. The gap between the top two categories narrowed to 1.9 points from 2.4 points in July.

Please note: the searches breakdown are a breakdown of buyers searches on Rapaport Trade

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