From the fall of 2026, laboratory stones in Russia will no longer be called diamonds and will become “cut synthetic diamonds.” Their weight will no longer be indicated in carats. The measure should protect consumers: until now, retailers could mix products from different categories. The innovation could lead to a decrease in consumer demand and create risks for jewelers.
From September 1, 2026, the name “diamond” in Russia can only be applied to stones of natural origin, says the resolution government, published on June 1. Stones of non-natural origin in Russia will be called “cut synthetic diamond”.
When selling grown stones, it will not be possible to indicate the quality and color characteristics of diamonds and their carat weight.
Only indication of weight in grams is allowed, and labels and tags must be marked “synthetic”. Terms that give the consumer the impression of natural origin, such as “precious” or “eco-friendly” are also prohibited.
Grown diamonds have been developing on the jewelry market for several years. They are produced in laboratories and, in their chemical composition, hardness and appearance, are usually comparable to natural ones. Consumers are attracted to products with artificial stones due to their lower cost. For example, on the Sokolov website, the most affordable white gold ring with a 1-carat grown diamond now costs 50 thousand rubles, and with a natural 0.5 carat diamond – 208 thousand rubles.
In the 585 Gold chain, the share of products with artificial stones based on the results of January-March 2026 was estimated at 6.9%. Over the year, the value has almost tripled. In Sokolov, jewelry with grown diamonds in January-March formed 25% of sales of products with precious inserts (see “Kommersant” dated April 20). General Director of Infoline Analytics Mikhail Burmistrov believes that networks can promote products with synthetic elements, considering them as more marginal.
This is due to cost. According to the April estimate of the Jewelers Guild, in wholesale purchases, a 1-carat artificial diamond costs an average of $100 (7.2 thousand rubles), a natural one – $4.5 thousand (323.1 thousand rubles). But in retail, the cost of products with artificial and natural inserts could still be close, the Ministry of Finance notes. The ministry believes that until now it was the lack of clear terminology that allowed sellers to mix products of these categories.
The new rules, according to the Ministry of Finance, make the difference between products with natural and synthetic inserts more clear to consumers.
“Precious items are a significant purchase, which is often associated with a gift, family history and long-term value; the consumer should see correct and reliable information,” the press service quoted Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev as saying. The executive director of the Jewelers Guild association, Vladimir Zboykov, believes that ideally the innovation will divide the market into a segment of expensive natural stones and products with synthetic inserts for every day.
Mikhail Burmistrov believes that a ban on the use of the word “diamond” for artificial diamonds will slow down the growth of their sales. Although in general, in his opinion, interest in them will remain. Sokolov CEO Nikolay Polyakov is also confident that the demand for grown diamonds will remain high. “The growth of their popularity is due to the unaffordable price of large natural stones for the mass consumer, and renaming the insert on the product tag is unlikely to reverse the trend,” he says.
Problems for jewelers, according to Mr. Zboikov, can be created by the very introduction of the term “cut synthetic diamond.” The business, he said, offered more neutral options – a “grown” or “synthetic” diamond. The expert explains that these stones are now designated as “diamonds” in the GIIS DMDK, and their weight is in carats. There cannot be any other characteristics on the tag. Vladimir Zboykov considers replacing labels a potential problem for jewelers due to high costs: “Common sense dictates that a transition period is needed.”
Regulation of the market for synthetic diamonds could also be aimed at supporting diamond producers: their global sales have been under pressure for several years, although there have recently been signs of recovery in the market (see below). “Kommersant” dated June 1).
The diamond mining corporation ALROSA believes that the new approach is in line with international practice: for example, the Gemological Institute of America, which developed the “4C” system (color, clarity, weight, cut) for grading diamonds, stopped using it to evaluate synthetic products in 2025. But investors were not inspired by the news. On June 10, during trading on the Moscow Exchange, ALROSA shares dropped to 22.85 rubles, a new low since December 2012. At the end of the main trading session, they lost 1% in price, and since the beginning of the year they have fallen in price by almost half. Currently, the capitalization of the diamond mining company has dropped to 173 billion rubles.
