For most of the twentieth century, De Beers did not follow the diamond market. It was the market. In 2026, the company that taught the world “A Diamond Is Forever” has done something once unthinkable: cut its prices to meet reality.
At a glance
- January 2026: price cuts on 1–2 carat rough diamonds.
- July 2026: official prices moved much closer to secondary-market levels across categories.
- Sightholders: reduced from about 70 to 45–50 elite buyers.
- Q1 2026: average selling price down 19% to $101 per carat.
- Ownership: Anglo American has been trying to sell De Beers since May 2024.
Why did De Beers cut its prices?
Its official prices had drifted well above what diamonds actually traded for between dealers. Several forces pushed the gap open at once: the rapid rise of lab-grown diamonds, weak luxury demand in China, extra supply from producers such as Angola, US tariffs and geopolitical tension in the Middle East. In the July sales cycle, De Beers moved its prices much closer to the market and signed new supply agreements with a smaller group of sightholders.
A short history of De Beers
De Beers was founded in 1888 in South Africa, and under Cecil Rhodes and later the Oppenheimer family it grew into the world’s leading source of rough diamonds. It sold stones to invited buyers, the sightholders, at regular “sights,” and held diamonds back when demand weakened. For decades De Beers managed much of the world’s rough-diamond supply, releasing stones to market at a measured pace. That model drew regulatory scrutiny in the United States and Europe, which De Beers resolved through agreements and settlements in the 2000s, and the company gradually moved to a more open, market-based approach. In 1947, its advertising agency coined “A Diamond Is Forever,” which turned the diamond engagement ring into a global tradition. Over recent decades, new mines beyond its reach and new technologies steadily opened the market.
For a century, De Beers set the price. In 2026, the price set De Beers.
What does it mean for buyers?
For everyday natural diamonds, especially in the 1–2 carat range, prices are softer than they have been in years. At the top of the market, the story is different: exceptional colored and very large diamonds remain scarce, and their prices have held far better.
Frequently asked questions
What is a De Beers sightholder?
An approved buyer allowed to purchase rough diamonds directly from De Beers at its regular sales, called sights.
Is De Beers for sale?
Its parent company, Anglo American, has been working to sell or separate De Beers since May 2024.
Sources: IndexBox · Rapaport · US Department of Justice (2004) · European Commission
