Sourcing: what a lab-grown diamond costs to bring in
Built from customs records for Mar 2026 to Aug 2026, the period after the latest tariff change. These are averages across all shipments; a real order depends on the stones, the supplier and the broker.
Landed cost per carat, India to the U.S.
India's average export price per carat (gem quality), plus the freight, insurance and duty U.S. importers actually paid on Indian stones.
Not included: customs processing fees, broker charges, grading and payment costs. Duty is charged on the customs value of the goods.
Source: India Ministry of Commerce (price); U.S. Census Bureau (freight, insurance and calculated duty, HTS 7104.91.10)
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| Step | US$ per carat |
|---|---|
| India price | $68.48 |
| Freight | $0.43 |
| Duty | $6.77 |
| Landed | $75.68 |
Duty plus freight, by shipping country
Share added on top of the goods' value, Mar 2026 to Aug 2026. Countries that shipped fewer than 10,000 stones in the period are left out of the chart (Botswana, Israel) but appear in the table.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
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| Country | Stones | Value per stone | Duty | Freight and insurance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| India | 7.78M | $16.42 | 9.9% | 0.63% |
| United Arab Emirates | 141,367 | $18.48 | 5.7% | 1.37% |
| Botswana | 123 | $12K | 0.0% | 0.00% |
| Canada | 11,783 | $87.82 | 0.9% | 0.87% |
| Thailand | 135,645 | $6.13 | 10.5% | 1.44% |
| Israel | 8,834 | $77.76 | 10.8% | 2.01% |
Landed-cost calculator
Starts from India's average price and the duty and freight shares actually paid in Mar 2026 to Aug 2026. Change any number to match a real quote. Rupee conversion uses 94.94 per dollar (2026-10-23).
A planning estimate from published averages, not a customs ruling or a quote. Tariff rates change; confirm the rate for a shipment with a licensed customs broker.
Freight, insurance and duty by year
Freight and insurance fell to about 0.67% of value in 2026, from 3-4% in 2022-2024. The records do not say why.
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| Year | Freight and insurance | Duty paid |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2.89% | 0.1% |
| 2023 | 3.32% | 0.0% |
| 2024 | 4.09% | 0.0% |
| 2025 | 2.56% | 6.5% |
| 2026 | 0.67% | 10.8% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau (CIF value minus customs value, and calculated duty)
Average size of a stone shipped to the U.S.
India's record of carats sent to the U.S. divided by the U.S. record of stones received from India, April to March. An estimate that mixes two countries' records.
Source: India Ministry of Commerce; U.S. Census Bureau
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| India fiscal year | Carats (India's record) | Stones (U.S. record) | Carats per stone |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY 2023-24 | 3.76M | 25.95M | 0.145 |
| FY 2024-25 | 5.82M | 51.01M | 0.114 |
| FY 2025-26 | 3.50M | 14.56M | 0.241 |
How fast prices are falling
Change in price per carat from the same month a year earlier, from April 2024 (when both months fall under India's current customs codes). Aug 2026: polished −9%. In other words, the same stones would cost about that much less to replace than a year ago.
Source: India Ministry of Commerce (DGCI&S TRADESTAT)
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| Month | Polished | Rough |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 2026 | −9.0% | +29.3% |
| Jul 2026 | −11.6% | +33.2% |
| Jun 2026 | −12.8% | −5.1% |
| May 2026 | −15.1% | −8.0% |
| Apr 2026 | −17.7% | −3.9% |
| Mar 2026 | −24.1% | +24.4% |
| Feb 2026 | −15.6% | +6.2% |
| Jan 2026 | −23.5% | +19.5% |
| Dec 2025 | −27.3% | −2.3% |
| Nov 2025 | −34.3% | −8.6% |
| Oct 2025 | −36.4% | +1.5% |
| Sep 2025 | −35.6% | +4.6% |
| Aug 2025 | −38.6% | −35.0% |
| Jul 2025 | −37.8% | −33.0% |
| Jun 2025 | −41.3% | −40.0% |
| May 2025 | −41.8% | −37.1% |
| Apr 2025 | −41.4% | −55.4% |
| Mar 2025 | −38.6% | −46.8% |
| Feb 2025 | −42.8% | −43.8% |
| Jan 2025 | −41.0% | −54.7% |
| Dec 2024 | −41.2% | −55.9% |
| Nov 2024 | −40.4% | −60.5% |
| Oct 2024 | −44.6% | −62.5% |
| Sep 2024 | −39.5% | −64.0% |
| Aug 2024 | −40.0% | −32.4% |
| Jul 2024 | −41.4% | −28.1% |
| Jun 2024 | −38.4% | −33.2% |
| May 2024 | −41.7% | −32.6% |
| Apr 2024 | −36.0% | −39.2% |