Unlock the Secrets of Rare Wealth with Colored Diamonds

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Collectors & Investors


Unlock the Secrets
of Rare Wealth
with Colored Diamonds

Jewelry Sales

Sales of jewelry, watches and other luxury items in Hong Kong rose in the first 11 months of 2017 as tourists returned and local consumer sentiment recovered, the city’s official data authority said. 

Strong Pink Diamond Sales

Alrosa garnered $1.2 million at its colored diamond auction in Israel this month, noting good demand for rare pink stones. 

Blue Diamond Performance

Blue diamonds outperformed the rest of the fancy-color market in the first quarter, as high demand for the rare stones continued to drive prices, according to the Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF).

Yellow Diamonds to Lead Bonhams Sale

RAPAPORT... Bonhams will offer an array of yellow diamonds at its New York auction later this month.


The top lot will be an “old European” brilliant-cut, 6.32-carat, fancy vivid yellow, VVS1-clarity diamond set between two brilliant-cut diamonds. The entire ring is valued at $400,000 to $600,000, Bonhams said in a recent statement.

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT COLOURED DIAMONDS

Harpers bazaar - uk


The experts share their advice for buying the rare stones


What makes coloured diamonds so special? We spoke to the experts to discover everything you need to know about the covetable coloured stones...


1. They're sought-after because they're rare. 

Fancy coloured diamonds are not nearly as common as white diamonds, which adds to their appeal and their value.


2. There's a big difference between a diamond that is slightly discoloured and one that is 'fancy' coloured. 

Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder, but everyone sees beauty when the colour is definite (e.g with yellow stones, when they are 'fancy' and not just tinted),. The grading of coloured diamonds is complex, as every stone has a different depth of colour. They are ranked on a different scale to white diamonds (which are graded from D to Z) and are classed as 'coloured' if they are found to be more intense in hue. The coloured diamond scale grades from 'faint' and 'very light', through to 'fancy light', 'fancy', 'fancy intense', 'fancy deep', 'fancy dark' and 'fancy vivid' . This is then cross-referenced by colour (for example blue, bluish-green, blue-green or green). Diamonds have to reach a certain colour saturation before they can be classed 'fancy'.


3.The coloration of a diamond is the result of external influencers on the stone.

The coloration in diamonds is caused by the addition of different elements and conditions. For example, green diamonds are caused by natural safe irradiation; blue by the addition of Boron; and yellow by the addition of Nitrogen. Evidence has found that high pressure and heat can result in the deformation of the structure of a diamond to cause a pink hue.


4. The coloration of a diamond has an enormous impact on its value.

Usually, the brighter and more colourful, the better. For example, a fancy orange-pink diamond might be less than half the value of a fancy purple-pink stone. Why? Purely because the purple boosts the pink, giving it a more desirable colour, while orange can sometimes take it towards a more brownish hue. 


5. Red diamonds are the rarest. 

Equally, they are the most expensive. Green diamonds are not far behind this in terms of rarity. But blues and oranges take the second-highest value.


6. The setting of a coloured stone is just as important as the stone itself.

Coloured diamonds range from very subtle pastel hues through to intense and vivid colours, so the choice of which particular shade of gold – and there are many variations – will best complement the colour of the stone is important, as is the decision on which other gems to cast alongside. It's important to consider, for example, whether to add definition by contrasting it with pure white diamonds or to create a harmonious mood by mixing gentle nuances of colour. The aesthetic of the design needs to celebrate the coloured diamond without over powering it.


7. Buy carefully.

Unlike white diamonds, which are graded with a simpler set of parameters, coloured diamonds need to be valued first-hand by an expert as there's such a wide scope within each category. And without a trusted expert you may have trouble understanding a coloured diamonds true value.


8. They were made to be seen.

It's all too tempting to store fine jewellery away where it can never be harmed, but coloured diamonds were made to be seen – so wear them. If you are fortunate enough to have a collection of coloured diamonds, wear them as and when you so desire. Colour is naturally very evocative and imbues diamonds with a poetic quality, giving the effect of an imaginative and emotional style of expression. They can be both dramatic and dreamy, and I don't think should be reserved for any particular occasion – it is more about the wearer.


Jewelry News

U.S. specialty jewelry store sales increased 3.6 percent year on year to $2.29 billion in April, according to the latest government calculations. The growth matched the upward trend in U.S. jewelry stores this year which saw revenue from all outlets advance an estimated 5.4 percent in April, the sharpest rise in three years.

Specialty jewelry store sales in the first four months of the year rose 2.1 percent to $8.83 billion, the data showed. Revised figures for previous months showed March sales increased 3.7 percent to $2.14 billion. 


The ‘Cullinan Dream’ (pictured to the left) sold for $25.4 million in New York, achieving a record auction price for a fancy intense blue diamond, according to Petra Diamonds.

The cut-cornered rectangular mixed-cut, 24.18-carat, VS2 diamond fetched $1 million per carat at Christie’s Magnificent Jewels sale on Thursday.

Petra, which announced the discovery of the original 122.52-carat rough at its Cullinan mine in South Africa in June 2014, will receive a 15-percent share in the sales proceeds from the polished. The miner sold the rough into a cutting and polishing partnership in September 2014 for $23.5 million. The stone was cut into four polished diamonds, of which the Cullinan Dream is the largest.

The auction at the Rockefeller Plaza also featured an oval brilliant-cut, 52.76-carat, K, VS2 diamond, which was sold for $2 million, or $38,760 per carat. Christie's sold a total of $42.2 million of jewels at the auction.

Jewelry Market

U.S. jewelry and watch sales from all retail outlets increased 4.8 percent year on year to an estimated $5.39 billion in September, according to preliminary government figures.

The sector’s total for previous months was revised, as is often the case, resulting in the rate of growth for July being lower than previously reported. Jewelry and watch sales improved by 2.1 percent to $5.4 billion in July, down from an earlier estimate of 3.5 percent. August sales rose 1.9 percent to $5.38 billion.

Jewelry sales in September increased 4.8 percent year on year to $4.77 billion, according to Rapaport News estimates, the strongest improvement of the calendar year so far. This comes against a 1.3 percent rise in the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) in September compared with the previous month and a 2.7 drop compared with September last year Watch sales rose 5.2 percent to $632 million, which was also the strongest growth yet in 2015.

However, the CPI for watches fell 1.6 percent during September and was down 2.2 percent from a year earlier. Jewelry and watches sales for the first nine months of the year advanced 1 percent to $48.43 billion, according to preliminary figures. Jewelry sales were up 1 percent to $42.76 billion, while watch sales increased 1 percent to $5.67 billion, as calculated by Rapaport News.

Specialty jewelry store sales, which are tracked separately, were flat at $2.61 billion during August, according to the most recent government data. Specialty-store sales growth for the first eight months to August 2015 fell 1.7 percent to $17.95 billion.

Overall U.S. retail sales rose by just 0.1 percent in September but consumer spending has remained “extremely strong,” Reuters quoted Harm Bandholz, chief economist at UniCredit Research in New York as saying.

“If sentiment had indeed shifted, it would be hard to explain why sales of cars, certainly among the more expensive items, jumped in September to their highest level since July 2005," Bandholz said.

Retail Sales

U.S. sales of fine jewelry and fine watches increased by 3.5 percent in July, according to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Commerce.


Specialty jewelers, stores with a majority of their revenue from jewelry and watch sales, showed a 2.9 percent sales increase in the month. Jewelry sales through larger, big-box merchants such as Wal-Mart and Costco rose an estimated 3.9 percent in July.


Michael Hill Retail Sales


Michael Hill reported a 9.9 percent increase in sales to $80.8 million (AUD 112.5 million) for the three months through September, while same-store sales rose 6 percent to $76.8 million.

The New Zealand-based retailer has also released results for the Emma & Roe brand for the first time, with same-store sales rising 44.6 percent to $813,964. It said the directors were pleased with sales of the brand, which is still in the second year of a trial phase, and added that it plans to open an two new stores in the coming months, bringing the total to 11.

This would take the brand to a critical mass in the South East Queensland market and give the company the best indication of its commercial viability, it commented.

Meanwhile, the group said in a statement that Michael Hill New Zealand same-store sales grew 8.6 per cent in local currency to $15.6 million (NZD 23.6 million), while same-store sales for the main brand in Canada nudged up 2.9 percent to $12 million (CAD 23.6 million). The group opened three new Michael Hill stores, giving a total of 291 stores trading at the end of the quarter.

U.S. same-store sales for the brand were up by just 1.2 percent to $2.1 million.

The statement said gross margins had been under pressure due to the strengthening U.S. dollar against the other currencies, but said “appropriate action” had been taken and that its gross margin should be steady for the period against the corresponding period last year. The dollar gained ground on all major currencies in the period, save for the euro and Japanese yen, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.


Louis Vuitton Retail Sales


LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton reported an 18 percent increase in revenue to $28.8 billion (€25.3 billion) for the first nine months of 2015, with its watches and jewelry business jumping 22 percent.


Jewelry and watch sales totaled $2.7 billion for the first nine months, a 22 percent reported increase on last year and a 10 percent organic rise. It was the strongest improver across LVMH’s business sectors, closely followed by wines and spirits and selective retailing, both of which saw 19 percent reported growth over the nine months.


The second quarter was the strongest of the three quarters of 2015 so far for the watches and jewelry business in year-on-year growth terms, with a rise of 13 per cent on 2014, to $942.7 million. Quarterly revenues for the sector in the first quarter rose 7 per cent to $822 million, while third quarter sales were $968.6 million, up 11 percent.


LVMH said it would continue its strategy focused on “innovation and targeted geographic expansion in the most promising markets” and that it would “rely on the power of its brands and the talent of its teams to further extend its global leadership in the luxury market in 2015.”

Fancy Color Investment Analysis

RAPAPORT... The Chairman of the Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF), shares his insights on investment opportunities around fancy color diamonds and explores how these assets have performed in recent years.


In early February 2015, the Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF) published its first update of the Fancy Color Diamond Index. Based on data collected by the foundation, prices of fancy color diamonds were stable in the fourth quarter of 2014 despite the deflationary undercurrent seen in most commodity categories. Fancy color diamonds vastly outperformed colorless white diamonds, which experienced steep price declines across the board during the same period.

The FCRF has monitored the behavior of fancy color diamonds over the past decade and observed some striking changes in their value. The data revealed correlations between investment patterns and national economies, all against the backdrop of a recovering global economy. 


The stark differences between fancy color diamonds and other asset classes were made evident during the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009. Fancy color diamonds were resilient even as the market turned sharply lower so suddenly. Important pink and blue diamonds outperformed practically all investment classes as consumers and investors continued to view them as a long-term safe haven, an effective hedge against inflation and a unique opportunity to create value and upside gains in one’s portfolio. Based on FCRF data, between January 2008 and January 2010, pink and blue diamond prices appreciated by 18 percent and 10 percent, respectively, while the S&P500 and NASDAQ plunged by 22 percent and 9 percent.


Trading in fancy color diamonds has increased as markets have slowly recovered, driven largely by growing demand in the emerging economies of the Far East. Given the significant gains compared to colorless white diamonds, many trading entities entered the wholesale fancy color environment seeking to explore new markets for their products. Still, the underlying factor for this increase in trading and the prices of fancy color diamonds has been strong consumer demand. As with any other commodity, demand is the factor that drives the price of fancy color diamonds at any time.