Watches & Jewellery / Jewellery
Lab-Grown or Natural? Singapore's Diamond Buyers Are Choosing Both
As lab-grown prices keep falling, natural stones are repositioning themselves as an asset class, not a discount alternative.
The gap has never been wider.
By early 2026, a one-carat natural diamond cost roughly US$4,200, against about $1,000 for a lab-grown equivalent a stone that, chemically, is identical but takes weeks rather than billions of years to form. Lab-grown prices have fallen some 96 percent from their 2018 peak as production technology matures, while De Beers has responded by cutting its own 2026 output guidance amid softer rough-diamond trading.
The upshot for shoppers, in Singapore and everywhere else, is less confusion than segmentation: natural diamonds are increasingly marketed on heritage, rarity and resale value, while lab-grown stones compete on size and price for buyers who simply want the look. Large, rare and fancy-coloured natural stones, notably, are bucking the downward pressure entirely.
About the author
Jing Yi Tan
Fashion editor and writer covering design, image-making and the creative networks connecting Southeast Asia.
