Why Your Diamond Ring Isn’t Worth as Much as You Think

Thought that gem would always appreciate? Here’s the stone-cold reality

June D. Bell,

AARP

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Published January 26, 2026

Can you tell the difference? Less costly, but equally sparkly, synthetic gemstones are flooding the market, meaning your real diamonds are worth less.

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Lisa Cullen-Ashley’s engagement ring no longer fits her finger. Or her life.

Her marriage ended more than a decade ago. And her 25-year-old daughter doesn’t want the marquise diamond, with its negative connection. Cullen-Ashley, 51, who lives in Clark, New Jersey, considered selling the ring. She thought it would be worth more than the $4,000 it cost in the late 1990s. But a jeweler’s offer of around $1,700 for the 0.98-carat diamond and two side stones disappointed her. “I assumed if it’s a diamond, they’re forever,” she says.

Turns out that’s not so, at least when it comes to value. The culprit: less costly, but equally sparkly, synthetic gemstones that are flooding the market.

For example, a 2-carat fabricated diamond runs for around $1,000 today, says Joel Levinson, a fifth-generation pawnbroker and vice president of Dynasty Jewelry and Loan in Norcross, Georgia. “You can’t tell by the naked eye that one is natural and one is lab, so people are choosing to spend a lot less money for what looks to be the same thing,” he says. And that, in turn, is affecting the market for natural diamonds. They are still more expensive, but their value has diminished with less demand. Market prices for diamonds have dropped by 45 percent since a peak in March 2022, according to the IDEX Diamond Index.

Cost isn’t the only factor fueling the turn toward synthetics. Some younger buyers want jewelry produced without the taint of environmental damage or exploitative labor. About half of millennial couples now choose a lab-grown engagement ring, and two-thirds of Gen Z buyers select a synthetic stone, according to a survey by insurance agency BriteCo.

These shifts have left natural diamond owners — many of whom are older and expected their investment in a precious gemstone to appreciate over decades of ownership — stuck with jewelry that has plunged in value. “This is definitely the worst time I can remember for the natural diamond market,” says Aleah Arundale, a diamond wholesaler for 24 years with Olympian Diamonds in Chicago.

Levinson says his offers to heirloom diamond owners almost always disappoint them. “I don’t think diamonds are ever going to be the store of value they once were,” he says.

So how can you secure the best price possible for a diamond?

Clean it

Use a toothbrush and dish soap to remove dulling oil and dirt buildup. This can make the diamond appear well cared for, helping to fetch the best price, Levinson says.

Get it appraised

For about $150, an appraiser will detail the diamond’s weight and condition and record any minute cracks or chips. This gives the buyer more confidence in the stone’s quality. But don’t expect to get the full appraised value when selling the diamond, Arundale says, because resellers must leave room to mark it up for their operating costs and profit.

Get quotes from at least four local buyers, Arundale says. Those can include jewelers and pawnshops. Also, consider online auction sites such as Circa and Worthy, which reach a larger pool of prospective customers.

Not sold on selling?

You might be able to use the diamond from an engagement ring in a new way. Jewelry designers can transform old stones into “empowerment” rings for significant birthdays, job promotions and cancer recoveries. “It’s a way to maintain history and honor family members, yourself and your past experience while also remaking things so that they’re more in your taste,” says jeweler Page Neal, co-founder of Bario Neal, which is in Philadelphia and New York City.

Repurposing diamonds is also an eco-friendly alternative to lab-grown diamonds, whose creation consumes energy and resources, she says.

June Turner, 67, recently freed her late mother’s 1950s-era engagement diamond from the lockbox where it had spent nearly a decade. Bario Neal’s jewelers reset the 1.25-carat stone in a contemporary filigree band. Now, Turner, who lives in Danbury, Connecticut, feels a flash of joy when she glances at her hand. “It is more than just being sentimental,” she says. “We had a very deep connection. It has such tremendous emotional meaning to me.”

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