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Investing In Colored Diamonds is On The Rise for 2019 ~ Have The Conversation With Your Private Jewe

C Pinot Dinelli
Feb 20, 2019
3 min read

“There is no steady supply of pink and blue diamonds so most likely prices will continue to appreciate,”

“In 2018, fancy color diamonds continued to have a strong position in the market, simply because they are generally rare, although some colors have had soft prices for the last few years.”

While the market for diamonds didn’t gain the traction analysts had expected, 2018 was a year of record-setting discoveries and sales.

In January, Gem Diamonds (LSE:GEMD) unearthed its largest diamond to date: a 910-carat rough stone in Lesotho. The massive find set the exploration tone for the year.

The spectacular stone then sold at auction in March for US$40 million.

In addition to the record-setting discovery, 2018 was marked with record sales and auctions.

In February, Sotheby’s (NYSE:BID) brought a rare 102.34-carat white diamond to auction, and the gigantic gem sold for more than US$30 million.

Mid-year, Russian miner Alrosa (MCX:ALRS) sold its most expensive stone, the 51-carat Dynasty diamond. The polished and cut stone was part of a larger collection that brought in approximately US$10 million.

2018 was the year large stones reigned supreme for a couple of reasons, according to Zimnisky.“It’s important to note the significant dislocation in price between rough diamond sizes and categories: smaller, lower-quality goods have under-performed, as medium and larger categories have outperformed,” he explained.

If anything trumped large diamonds in 2018, it was fancy colored diamonds, which also set records and captivated the world with their beauty.

LUCAPA DIAMOND

In May, Lucapa Diamond (ASX:LOM) unveiled a tremendous 46-carat pink diamond from its Lulo diamond mine in Angola.

Then, later in the month, the Australia-based miner unearthed a 25-carat yellow diamond in Lesotho.

Last month, Christie’s Geneva set a new auction record when it sold the Pink Legacy, an exquisite 18.96-carat pink diamond, capping off the year of the colored diamond.

Yaniv Marcus, colored diamond expert at the Diamond Investment and Intelligence Center, offered an explanation on why colored stones have fared so well.

“In 2018, fancy color diamonds continued to have a strong position in the market, simply because they are generally rare, although some colors have had soft prices for the last few years.”

Speaking about yellow diamonds, Marcus commented, “prices for the lower intensities … have been soft,” he said. “Fancy vivid yellow prices have continued to appreciate mainly due to their rarity. We are seeing more and more vivid yellows reaching well above US$100,000 per carat.”

While brightly tinged yellow diamonds performed well in 2018, pink and blue diamonds outperformed all gems in the sector.

“Blue diamonds continued to outpace all colors in terms of value due to extremely high demand and an extremely acute supply,” explained Marcus. “Prices are almost at double-digit growth for the last few years. No new rough of significant size is coming out of mother nature, and the majority of sales in auctions are from the secondary market, meaning previously owned.”

Pink diamonds also proved rare, and increased demand has helped drive up the price of the stones.

“Argyle pink diamonds have had at least a 400-percent increase in value in the last 18 years, and will surely have a further increase as the Argyle mine is set to close in 2020. This will cut the supply a further 90 percent after that,” added Marcus.

The colored gem expert believes that once the Argyle mine in Australia closes, and have predicted to be in 2020 the price of pink gems could reach parity with their blue counterparts.

“There is no steady supply of pink and blue diamonds so most likely prices will continue to appreciate,” he said. There is a constant supply of yellow diamond roughs in general, but those of vivid intensities continue to be rare and we see it in their prices.

As mined colored gems become more valuable and more scarce, We predict it will be a game of collecting best and and brightest.