Lab-Grown Brings Them In. Natural Still Pays the Bills. How Independent Jewelers Sell Both.

61% and 85%. Those two numbers look like they contradict each other. They do not, and the jewelers who understand why will have a better bridal year than the ones who pick a side.

The Knot surveyed more than 10,000 couples married in 2025 and found that 61% of engagement rings had lab-grown center stones, up 239% since 2020. Tenoris retail data puts lab-grown at 58% of engagement ring sales in 2025. By units, lab-grown has won bridal.

Now look at the register. De Beers tracks point-of-sale data from 950 U.S. independent jewelers. In 2025, natural diamonds were 85% of those stores’ diamond sales and lab-grown was 15%. Independents’ natural diamond sales grew 4% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2025 and 9% in the first quarter of 2026.

Both are true because they measure different things. One counts rings bought by couples everywhere. The other counts dollars rung up at independent jewelers. (De Beers sells natural diamonds, so weigh its numbers accordingly, but the direction matches what other trade data shows.)

Where each one wins

Diamond analyst Edahn Golan put the line in one sentence, reported by JCK in May: “Lab-growns dominate today’s diamond market at price points under $2,500,” and natural diamonds “are winning sales above that mark.” Within bridal, Golan says natural growth is coming from second marriages.

That gives you a simple map of the bridal customer:

• Under about $2,500: lab-grown is the default. A first-time buyer wants size and look on a fixed budget, and lab-grown delivers it.
• Above about $2,500: natural is winning. Rarity and story start to matter, and natural carries the dollars.
• Second marriages: natural, increasingly.

The Knot also found that 40% of couples said it was specifically important that their stone be lab-grown. Read the other way, 60% did not call lab-grown essential. For many of them, that is a sales conversation, not a settled decision.

The inventory trap

Lab-grown demand is real. Lab-grown value is not holding. Tenoris data, reported by JCK, showed wholesale lab-grown prices down 14% year over year in the first quarter of 2026, with larger stones hit hardest: 3-carat rounds down 28% against 15% for 1-carat. Inventory relative to sales rose from the high single digits in 2020 to nearly 50%.

The decline is slowing. Second-quarter wholesale prices were down 13%, 1-carat rounds actually rose 1%, and some producers raised rough prices 30% or more. But “slowing” still means “falling,” especially in larger sizes.

The lesson is not to stop selling lab-grown. It is to stop owning so much of it. A lab-grown stone you bought last year is worth less today, even if your markup percentage looks healthy. Memo, virtual inventory and made-to-order protect you from holding the price drop. Retail markups on lab-grown are still above 80% over wholesale, according to analyst Paul Zimnisky, so the margin is there for stores that do not sit on stock.

The chains already picked a strategy

In March, Signet said Blue Nile would become “primarily natural,” while lab-grown stays available through a James Allen collection, and that Diamonds Direct’s back end would be integrated into Jared. In September, the Natural Diamond Council relaunched as the Diamond Collective, with plans for a global Trustmark for natural diamonds and a Diamond Desire Index starting in the fourth quarter.

Translation: the biggest players are investing in the natural story at the top of the market. Independents compete there with something the chains cannot copy, the relationship and the bench.

How to run a two-track bridal business

1. Lead with the customer’s budget, not the stone

Ask the budget first. Under about $2,500, show lab-grown confidently and without apology. Above it, show both side by side and let the customer feel the difference in story and value.

2. Script both stories

Every salesperson should be able to explain, in two sentences each, why lab-grown is a smart choice and why natural is a lasting one. The store that sounds uncomfortable about either loses the sale to a store that does not.

3. Manage margin dollars, not markup

A lab-grown ring can carry a healthy percentage and a small dollar profit. Track gross profit dollars per bridal sale by stone type, monthly. That is the number that pays rent.

4. Hold less lab-grown, memo more

Keep enough to show and sell same day. Source the rest on memo or made-to-order. Revisit any lab-grown you have owned for more than six months.

5. Build the natural story for the upgrade

The anniversary, the second marriage, the 10-year upgrade: these are natural’s best openings, and they are your past customers. Market to them by name. The clienteling playbook applies directly.

6. Use the second engagement ring

Designer Noam Carver called the second engagement ring this holiday’s must-have on our Legacy of Luxury episode from Centurion. Lab-grown makes it affordable to own a second style. That is a lab-grown sale to a customer who may already own natural.

Frequently asked questions

What percentage of engagement rings are lab-grown?

The Knot's 2026 Real Weddings Study found 61% of engagement rings bought by couples married in 2025 had lab-grown center stones. Tenoris retail data puts lab-grown at 58% of engagement ring sales in 2025.

Are natural diamonds still selling at independent jewelers?

Yes. De Beers' point-of-sale data from 950 U.S. independent jewelers shows natural diamonds were 85% of their diamond sales in 2025, and independents' natural sales grew 9% year over year in the first quarter of 2026.

Should independent jewelers sell lab-grown diamonds?

Most should, especially under about $2,500 where lab-grown dominates. The risk is owning too much inventory while wholesale prices fall. Memo, virtual inventory and made-to-order reduce that risk.

Are lab-grown diamond prices still falling?

Yes, but more slowly. Wholesale prices fell 14% year over year in Q1 2026 and 13% in Q2, according to Tenoris data reported by JCK. Larger stones have fallen the most.

Sources

1. The Knot Worldwide, 2026 Real Weddings Study, February 18, 2026
2. Mining Weekly, De Beers point-of-sale data on U.S. independents, June 11, 2026
3. JCK, Edahn Golan on natural diamonds in bridal, May 29, 2026
4. JCK, "Rising Demand for Lab-Grown Diamonds Collides With Falling Value" (Tenoris data), 2026
5. JCK, "Lab-Grown Diamond Prices Show Signs of Stabilizing," July 8, 2026
6. JCK, "Lab-Grown Diamond Wholesale Prices Are in Freefall; Retail Margins May Be Next"
7. National Jeweler, Signet to close 100 stores and shutter James Allen banner, March 19, 2026
8. National Jeweler, Natural Diamond Council rebrands as the Diamond Collective, September 23, 2026