1 Carat Diamond Price
What a 1 carat diamond costs in 2026 — by grade, by shape, and natural against lab-grown.
Natural median about $5,200Lab-grown $800–1,500About 6.4 mm across, round
In September 2026 a natural 1 carat round diamond graded G–H color and VS2 clarity, with an excellent cut and a GIA report, costs about $4,000–6,000 — around $5,200 at the median. A lab-grown diamond of the same grade costs about $800–1,500. Better color and clarity raise the natural price quickly, and natural diamond jewelry typically resells for 30–50% of what it cost.
Figures reviewed September 2026
One carat is the most searched and most bought weight in the diamond market, and it is priced accordingly: the price per carat steps up sharply at 1.00, so a stone of 0.90 to 0.99 carats with identical grades costs noticeably less while looking almost the same on a hand.
A well-cut 1 carat round measures about 6.4–6.5 mm across. At this size G or H color faces up white in white gold or platinum, and VS2 clarity is reliably eye-clean in a round brilliant.
1 Carat Diamond Price by color and clarity
| Color | VVS2 | VS1 | VS2 | SI1 | SI2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | $9,800 | $8,200 | $7,500 | $6,400 | $5,100 |
| E | $9,300 | $7,700 | $7,100 | $6,000 | $4,800 |
| F | $8,700 | $7,300 | $6,700 | $5,700 | $4,500 |
| G | $7,300 | $6,100 | $5,600 | $4,700 | $3,800 |
| H | $6,400 | $5,300 | $4,900 | $4,200 | $3,300 |
| I | $5,700 | $4,700 | $4,300 | $3,700 | $2,900 |
| J | $4,800 | $4,000 | $3,700 | $3,100 | $2,500 |
Mid figures for a 1 carat round brilliant with an excellent cut, from the Diamond Price Calculator — calibrated in September 2026 to published prices for GIA-graded stones. Each figure sits inside a range of about ±18%.
| Shape | Indicative price, G VS2 | Face-up size |
|---|---|---|
| Round | $4,600–6,600 | 6.4 mm |
| Oval | $3,900–5,600 | 8.0 × 5.7 mm |
| Cushion | $3,800–5,500 | 6.1 × 5.5 mm |
| Princess | $3,700–5,400 | 5.6 mm |
| Emerald | $3,700–5,300 | 7.2 × 5.1 mm |
| Pear | $3,800–5,500 | 8.6 × 5.5 mm |
Fancy shapes cost less per carat than rounds because cutting them wastes less rough. Elongated shapes spread their weight over a larger face-up area and look bigger for the same carat weight.
A 1 carat natural, lab-grown or moissanite
| Stone | Indicative price, same look | Typical resale |
|---|---|---|
| Natural | $4,600–6,600 | About 35% of the price paid |
| Lab-grown | $910–1,300 | About 10% of the price paid |
| Moissanite | $210–300 | About 5% of the price paid |
Round, G VS2, excellent cut, from the Lab-Grown vs Natural vs Moissanite calculator. Only natural diamonds keep a meaningful secondary market; lab-grown prices have fallen year after year as production has scaled.
Buying just under the step
A 0.90 carat stone with the same grades costs about 30% less than a 1.00 carat, and measures only about 0.2 mm narrower across a round. On a hand the difference is effectively invisible; on the invoice it is not.
Where prices are heading in 2026
Natural diamond prices have been falling since their 2022 peak, and the decline was steepest below a carat. Rapaport's RapNet index for 1-carat SI diamonds fell 24.1% through 2025 before the decline eased in early 2026, and a tracked cohort of 1-carat natural stones was down a further 14.4% between January and mid-September 2026.
Lab-grown prices fell faster still for several years, and in 2026 a lab-grown stone costs roughly a fifth of a natural one at a carat and a seventh at three carats. That gap is the main reason natural prices under a carat have come down: the budget end of the market has moved to lab-grown.
Questions we are asked
- How much is a 1 carat diamond?
- In September 2026 a natural 1 carat round diamond graded G–H color and VS2 clarity, with an excellent cut and a GIA report, costs about $4,000–6,000 — around $5,200 at the median. A lab-grown diamond of the same grade costs about $800–1,500. Better color and clarity raise the natural price quickly, and natural diamond jewelry typically resells for 30–50% of what it cost.
- How big is a 1 carat diamond?
- About 6.4–6.5 mm across for a well-cut round brilliant. An oval of one carat is roughly 8.0 × 5.7 mm, and a princess cut about 5.6 mm square.
- Why does a 1 carat diamond cost so much more than a 0.90?
- Because the whole market shops at the round number. Price per carat steps up at 1.00 carat, so a 0.90 carat stone of the same grades costs markedly less while measuring only about 0.2 mm narrower.
- The Diamond Price — natural and lab-grown price chart by carat, September 2026
- Rapaport — decline in diamond prices eases (RapNet index, February 2026)
Indicative US retail figures, never an appraisal or a quotation. A grading report, the stone itself and a jeweler who can see both are what price a particular diamond.
Lovenhall DiamondRead the stone itself
This page reads the market. The instrument reads the stone in front of you — the four Cs estimated from a photograph, with a range beside them.