Rapaport
Price List
The trade's weekly asking-price benchmark — and the origin of the "discount from Rap" language you'll see in dealer quotes.
KEY FACT
Diamonds rarely sell at Rap. The list sets a ceiling; actual trades happen at a discount — typically −25% to −70% depending on demand for that grade combination.
1978
FIRST PUBLISHED
Weekly
UPDATE FREQUENCY
Trade only
ACCESS
Illustrative Rap grid structure
Price per carat (USD, hundreds) — colour × clarity matrix. Values are illustrative of the grid's relative structure, not live Rap data.
Values ×100 = USD/ct. Example: 280 = $28,000/ct. Round brilliant, 1.00–1.49 ct range. Darker = higher price. Illustrative only — not live Rap data.
Values ×100 = USD/ct. Pear / Marquise, 1.00–1.49 ct range. Fancy shapes trade at a discount to round. Illustrative only — not live Rap data.
Key concepts
Understanding four ideas unlocks most dealer conversations that involve Rap.
STRUCTURE
How the list is structured
The Rap list publishes one sheet per shape (round, pear/marquise, etc.) and one per carat-weight range. Each sheet is a grid of colours (D–Z rows) vs clarity grades (IF–I3 columns). Every cell contains a price per carat in hundreds of US dollars — e.g., "280" means $28,000/ct.
RAP DISCOUNT
Trading at a discount
Diamonds almost never trade at full Rap. Dealers quote a "discount from Rap" — e.g., "minus 40%" means the stone sells at 60% of the listed price. For popular goods (G–H VS) discounts might be −25% to −40%; for slow movers (very large or very included) discounts exceed −70%.
PREMIUM
Trading at a premium
Very rare goods — Fancy Intense or Vivid colours, IF flawless stones in D–F, or exceptionally cut rounds — occasionally trade at a premium above Rap, quoted as "+5%" or "+12%". This is uncommon for commercial goods.
ACCESS
Who can access it
The Rapaport Price List is a paid subscription product, available to trade professionals only — dealers, wholesalers, and jewellers. It is not publicly available. Consumers rarely see the raw sheet; instead, they see retail prices that may be described in terms of "Rap discount".
Rap vs actual market price
The Rapaport list is a starting point for negotiation, not a reflection of what buyers actually pay. Understanding where the discount comes from matters.
Rapaport list price
Published weekly. Editorially set by Rapaport based on market observations. Represents the high end of dealer asking prices, not actual transaction prices.
Dealer wholesale (−25% to −55%)
Dealers trade among themselves at significant discounts. A popular G VS1 round might trade at "−35% Rap". Very large or very included goods may be "−70% Rap" or more.
Retail asking price (±0% to +80%)
Jewellers mark up their cost significantly. A stone bought at −40% Rap may retail at Rap or above once setting, overhead, and margin are added. Branded retailers may ask 2× Rap or more.
Online market median (−15% to −40%)
Large online retailers (Blue Nile, Brilliant Earth, etc.) operate at lower margins than brick-and-mortar. Their asking prices sit closer to trade levels — often −15% to −40% Rap — which is what market benchmarks like CaratAtlas capture.
FACET / CARATATLAS APPROACH
Market-derived median
DiamondTheGuide prices come from CaratAtlas, which aggregates actual asking prices from online listings and computes medians per grade cell. This reflects what buyers actually encounter — not a theoretical ceiling. The data refreshes daily and is derived from real market activity, not editorial judgment.
Median of online asking prices
Updated daily · CC BY 4.0
RAPAPORT APPROACH
Editorial asking-price ceiling
The Rapaport list is set weekly by editorial analysis of the market. It represents a high-end reference point, not a transaction price. Its value is as a common language — when a dealer says "−40% Rap" you know roughly where they stand without knowing their actual cost basis.
Weekly subscription · trade only
Not a transaction price
Controversies
The Rapaport list has been influential but not without criticism. Understanding its limitations is important for anyone using it as a price reference.
Circular pricing
Because so many dealers use Rap as a reference, prices can become self-referential — the list influences the market it claims to measure. Critics argue this makes it less a benchmark than a price-setting mechanism.
Lab-grown exclusion
Rapaport briefly published a lab-grown price list before withdrawing it. The stated reason: lab-grown prices fall so quickly that a weekly list cannot keep pace, and including them alongside naturals causes confusion.
Fancy shape treatment
Non-round shapes (pear, oval, marquise, etc.) are grouped into shared grids even though their markets differ significantly. An oval and a marquise at the same grade are priced identically on the list, despite different supply and demand dynamics.
Subscription gatekeeping
Because the list is trade-only and paid, consumers cannot verify whether a dealer quote is reasonable relative to Rap. This information asymmetry has historically favoured sellers.
Alternatives
Several market-derived alternatives have emerged to complement or replace Rap as a reference for specific use cases.
IDEX Online
The International Diamond Exchange publishes its own price index derived from its own trading platform. Publicly available index; full list is subscription.
CaratAtlas
Aggregates online retailer asking prices into a daily grid benchmark. Freely available under CC BY 4.0. Used by DiamondTheGuide as its underlying data source.
OpenFacet
Publishes log-price matrices derived from listing data. Open source, free, refreshes daily. Focus on statistical modelling rather than editorial judgment.
ASHI / Polygon
Trade networks that track actual transaction prices among members. More accurate than asking-price lists but restricted to network members.
Brief history
From a faxed typewritten sheet to a global trade standard — and the beginnings of alternatives.
Martin Rapaport publishes the first Rapaport Diamond Report — a single typewritten sheet of round diamond prices. Distributed by fax.
Becomes the dominant trade reference. Dealers worldwide begin quoting prices as percentages of Rap. The "discount" language enters trade vocabulary.
Moves to weekly publication. Expands to cover fancy shapes, coloured diamonds, and smaller goods. First digital distribution.
RapNet, the Rapaport online diamond trading network, launches. Price list integrates with the online marketplace.
Controversy over lab-grown diamonds — Rapaport publishes a separate lab-grown list, then withdraws it, citing market confusion. Position: lab-grown should not share Rap infrastructure.
Alternative benchmarks (IDEX, CaratAtlas, OpenFacet) gain traction. Some dealers prefer market-derived medians over the editorially set Rap list.
How to use this as a buyer
You cannot access the Rap list directly, but you can use the concept to your advantage when talking to dealers.
Ask for the Rap discount
If buying from a dealer, ask directly: "What is the discount from Rap?" A straightforward dealer will tell you. Typical ranges: −25% to −45% for commercial goods; −10% to −20% for fine goods.
Compare to market benchmarks
Use market-derived tools like DiamondTheGuide (powered by CaratAtlas) to cross-check. If a dealer quote is significantly above the market median, ask why.
Understand what Rap does not cover
Rap does not account for cutting quality beyond the basic grade, make, fluorescence nuances, or provenance. Two VS1 G rounds may have very different market values; Rap assigns them the same base number.
Be skeptical of "Rap minus X" retail language
Some retailers advertise discounts from Rap as if they are giving you a deal. Rap is an editorial ceiling, not a market price. "−30% Rap" from a retailer may still be above what dealers pay each other.