When you’re shopping for a diamond engagement ring, you’ll likely encounter references to the Rapaport diamond price list, the industry’s most widely used benchmark for pricing polished diamonds. This weekly report influences how jewellers, dealers, and wholesalers worldwide determine the value of their stones based on carat weight, colour, and clarity.

At A Star Diamonds, we believe informed customers make confident decisions. Understanding how diamond pricing works, and where those numbers come from, helps you evaluate whether you’re getting fair value for your chosen stone. Whether you’re comparing quotes from different jewellers or simply curious about trade practices, knowing about Rapaport gives you valuable context for your purchase.

This guide explains what the Rapaport price list is, how it calculates diamond values, and the various ways you can access it. We’ll also discuss its limitations and why retail prices often differ significantly from the wholesale figures published in the report.

Why the Rapaport price list matters

The Rapaport diamond price list serves as the primary pricing reference in the global diamond trade, offering you a transparent starting point when evaluating what dealers and jewellers pay for stones. Without this benchmark, you’d face considerably more difficulty comparing quotes or determining whether a diamond’s price reflects its quality specifications. The list updates weekly, tracking market movements and giving professionals a common language for negotiating deals.

Industry standard for transparency

Jewellers and dealers worldwide rely on Rapaport as their baseline pricing tool, which creates consistency across the fragmented diamond market. When you ask your jeweller about their pricing structure, they’re likely referencing Rapaport percentages (for example, offering a stone at "20% below Rap"). This standardised approach allows you to compare offers from different sellers on equal footing, rather than accepting arbitrary numbers without context.

Understanding Rapaport percentages helps you evaluate whether a jeweller’s pricing is competitive within the broader market.

The transparency matters because diamonds lack the fixed pricing structures you’d find with most consumer goods. Each stone’s unique combination of characteristics makes direct comparisons challenging, but Rapaport provides the framework that makes these conversations possible.

Starting point for negotiations

Most wholesale diamond transactions begin with Rapaport prices, then adjust based on market conditions and specific stone qualities. You’ll find that stones typically sell at discounts to the published list, with the percentage varying by diamond category, supplier relationships, and current demand. Knowing this pattern helps you assess value propositions when jewellers present their pricing, particularly when they explain their markup structures or discount claims relative to retail competitors.

What Rapaport prices do and do not cover

The Rapaport diamond price list focuses exclusively on polished diamond characteristics, covering the four Cs that determine a stone’s base value: carat weight, colour grade, clarity grade, and (implicitly) cut quality within standard round brilliant parameters. You’ll find prices organised in grids that reflect these specifications, giving you wholesale reference points for diamonds that meet specific quality combinations.

What’s included in the pricing

Rapaport publishes separate price sheets for round brilliant diamonds (the most common shape) and fancy shapes like princess, emerald, and oval cuts. Each sheet lists prices per carat based on colour (D through M) and clarity (IF through I3), with different grids for various carat weight ranges. The system assumes standard cut proportions and symmetry, meaning stones that fall within generally accepted parameters for their shape.

The list provides baseline wholesale values before any adjustments for specific stone qualities or market conditions.

What’s excluded from the calculations

You won’t find adjustments in Rapaport for fluorescence intensity, polish quality, symmetry grades, or specific cut proportions. The report also doesn’t account for certification differences between laboratories, though most users assume GIA or similar standards. Market factors like currency fluctuations, regional demand variations, or individual supplier margins remain outside the published figures, requiring separate negotiation between buyers and sellers.

How to read the Rapaport diamond price grid

The Rapaport diamond price list organises prices into grids where colour grades run horizontally across the top (D, E, F, G, and so on) while clarity grades run vertically down the left side (IF, VVS1, VVS2, VS1, etc.). You’ll find separate sheets for different carat weight ranges, such as 0.90-0.99 carats, 1.00-1.49 carats, and 2.00-2.99 carats, because larger stones command higher per-carat prices.

Understanding the grid layout

Each cell in the grid shows a price per carat rather than a total stone price, which means you’ll need to multiply the listed number by the diamond’s actual weight to calculate its wholesale reference value. The grids assume standard round brilliant cuts with acceptable proportions, so stones with premium cuts or poor makes require adjustments outside the published figures.

The per-carat structure means larger diamonds cost exponentially more, not just proportionally more.

Reading the price per carat values

Rapaport lists prices in hundreds of US dollars per carat, so a grid entry showing "75" translates to $7,500 per carat. You move across the colour axis and down the clarity axis to find where your diamond’s specifications intersect, giving you the baseline wholesale reference before any market adjustments or discounts apply.

How to use Rapaport to price a specific diamond

Once you’ve located the appropriate Rapaport grid for your diamond’s carat weight, you’ll apply a straightforward calculation to determine its wholesale reference value. The process requires you to identify the stone’s exact specifications (colour, clarity, and carat weight), find the corresponding grid cell, then multiply the per-carat price by the actual weight. This gives you the baseline figure that jewellers use before applying their discounts or markups.

Step-by-step calculation process

Start by finding the correct carat weight range grid (for example, the 1.00-1.49 carat sheet for a 1.25-carat diamond). Locate where your diamond’s colour grade (let’s say G) meets its clarity grade (perhaps VS2) in the grid, giving you a per-carat price in hundreds of dollars. Multiply this figure by 100 to convert it to actual dollars, then multiply by your diamond’s carat weight to reach the Rapaport wholesale reference value.

The calculation provides a starting point, not a final retail price you’ll actually pay.

Adjusting for real-world factors

Jewellers typically sell diamonds at discounts to Rapaport ranging from 10% to 40% below list prices, depending on market conditions and stone qualities. You’ll need to account for factors like cut quality, fluorescence, certification source, and current demand when evaluating whether a specific offer represents fair value against the baseline reference.

How to access the Rapaport list and alternatives

Accessing the Rapaport diamond price list requires a paid subscription through Rapaport’s official service, which primarily targets trade professionals rather than consumers. You’ll find that individual access costs several hundred dollars annually, making it impractical for most people buying a single engagement ring. This restricted access explains why jewellers often reference "Rapaport percentages" without showing you the actual list.

Accessing the official Rapaport service

Trade professionals can subscribe through Rapaport’s website, gaining access to weekly price updates, news, and trading platforms. The service includes different membership tiers depending on whether you need basic pricing data or full trading capabilities. Most retail customers won’t justify this expense for a one-time purchase, though some jewellers may share relevant excerpts during your consultation.

Professional subscriptions start at hundreds of dollars annually, designed for businesses making regular diamond purchases.

Free and lower-cost alternatives

Several diamond retailers display pricing discounts from Rapaport on their websites, giving you indirect access to the reference system without purchasing a subscription. You can also ask your jeweller to show you their calculations relative to Rapaport for your specific stone. Comparison shopping across multiple jewellers naturally reveals whether prices align with typical market discounts, providing practical pricing context without needing the actual list.

Final checks before you buy

Understanding the rapaport diamond price list gives you valuable context, but your final purchase decision should combine this knowledge with careful evaluation of the actual stone in front of you. The list provides baseline wholesale references, yet the diamond you choose needs to match your personal preferences for brilliance, fire, and overall appearance. Numbers alone don’t capture how a stone performs in different lighting conditions or how it looks on your partner’s hand.

Before committing to your purchase, verify the certification source, confirm all lifetime benefits like resizing and cleaning, and ensure you’re comfortable with the jeweller’s transparency about their pricing structure. If you’re ready to create a bespoke engagement ring with expert guidance through every step, book a consultation at A Star Diamonds to discuss your vision with our Hatton Garden team.