The Diamond Pulse – December 2025

Tariff Tensions, De Beers Uncertainty, and Rising Retail Demand

November was another hectic month in the diamond industry. Tariffs remained at the top of the agenda. Many in the sector hoped for progress on trade talks between the US and India, but American duties on imports from the country remained at 50%. There was some progress toward reducing the tariff on goods from Switzerland, a critical source of materials for the watch sector. The US and Switzerland reached a tentative agreement calling for the tariffs to fall from 39% to 15%; this had not gone into effect at press time, but might do so in December. The US also reached tariff deals with important Asian jewelry-manufacturing nations, including China.

On this score, a quick shout-out to our friends at the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA), which the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) cited in late October following agreements with Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. AGTA and its team have been opposing tariffs on imports of colored gemstones, arguing that they cannot be sourced in the US and therefore should be exempt.

Anglo American’s ongoing process of selling De Beers continued to breed uncertainty. Namibia reportedly added its name to the list of African countries interested in acquiring a stake in the diamond miner, joining Botswana and Angola. De Beers kept prices stable at its November sight, with some industry participants believing this reflected a desire to keep business steady until the divestiture is complete.

Retail was mostly positive going into the holiday season. Data provider Adobe reported an 8% year-on-year increase in US e-commerce sales to $79.7 billion for the first 23 days of November. India’s Titan Company noted strong results for the second fiscal quarter. Even Hong Kong and China showed some signs of improvement: The sales decline at retailer Chow Tai Fook eased in the first fiscal quarter, while its peer, Luk Fook, estimated a revenue jump of 20% to 30% for the same period.

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Here’s your diamond market analysis from Rapaport Trade for November 2025

In November, 1-carat diamond prices continued their downward trend.

D-F and G-J color diamonds in the IF-VVS and VS categories fell by an average of 2.7%, compared to a 1.8% decline in October. K-M color diamonds in the same clarity ranges recorded a sharper average drop of 3.5%, following a more modest 0.8% decrease in October. In contrast, SI-clarity diamonds across D-F, G-J, and K-M colors saw a smaller average decline of 1.7%, improving from October’s steeper 3.1% decrease.

Inventory distribution remained steady, with G-J colors across IF-VVS, VS, and SI clarities together representing 60% of Rapaport Trade listings in the 1-carat segment.

Search behavior on Rapaport Trade also showed consistency, with D-F VS and G-J VS diamonds continuing to receive the highest search volume.

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

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