Lab-grown diamonds are transforming the global market dynamics as the natural diamond industry is faced with weaker demand and declining production,” DMCC’s executive chairman and chief executive officer Ahmed Bin Sulayem stated. Lab-grown diamonds accounted for 61 per cent of unit purchases in the US in 2025, up from just 2 per cent in 2017, Bin Sulayem said at the Dubai Diamond Conference on Monday.
Lab-grown diamonds are a distinct consumer preference and a distinct commercial segment. Natural diamonds are finite, geologically scarce and closely associated with socio-economic development. “Both industries deserve objective, fact-based analysis of their markets,” he said.
Bin Sulayem presented numbers that showed Dubai recorded a record $41.7 billion in diamond trade in 2025, with natural diamonds comprising 95.8 per cent of the total. The emirate has also grown its position in trading polished diamonds, with the overall value of polished diamond commerce up 246 per cent since 2020. DMCC is home to close to 1,400 diamond and gem companies and Dubai Diamond Exchange organised over 100 tenders and auctions in 2025″, Bin Sulayem stated.
De Beers’ June 2026 Diamond Report said lab-grown diamond wholesale prices had decreased 93 per cent since 2020, to an average of roughly $100 a carat. The decline is a function of growing supply and competition, making lab-grown diamonds cheaper for customers and putting pressure on the natural diamond market.
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