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Fancy Color Diamonds
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Colored diamonds are truly rare: For every 10,000 carats of diamonds that are cut, a mere one-carat may possess fancy color. A purplish-pink diamond from the Argyle mine in Australia may, literally, be a one-in-a-million proposition. This is among the reasons their prices have never gone down at the dealer level during the past thirty years. In fact, prices for the finest quality colored diamonds have increased in value by an average of between 10%-15% per year, which means that some have, on average, doubled in price every 5 years at the dealer level. The rise in value has not been in a straight line: There have been pauses, during which prices were static or barely increasing in times of economic contractions. But except for these short pauses, prices of colored diamonds have gone in only one direction – upwards.
In contrast to the uncertain and wavering values of stocks, real estate and other assets, the downside financial risk from owning a colored diamond is minimal and has existed only during very short periods, the potential upside is exceptional. There is an additional bonus for sophisticated collectors who experience enchantment from the ownership of beautiful works of art, in this case, nature’s works of art. Owning a colored diamond has become a mark of prestige as well as sophistication. It is very difficult today to read an up market magazine without seeing two or three advertisements featuring colored diamond jewelry.
Ownership of a fine colored diamond is now, more so than ever, within the reach of people of relatively modest means as well as connoisseurs and collectors. Multi-carat stones of pink, blue and green worth millions of dollars each may still change hands behind the velvet curtains of high society’s auction rooms, but within the past decade a different and much larger market has emerged outside these sanctums, where colored diamonds, of all sizes and all colors are regularly bought and sold.
Few people pause to realize that the world’s most celebrated diamonds are colored diamonds.
Over the past decade there has emerged a new generation of owners and admirers of colored diamonds, equally discerning and drawn by the same desire to possess something of value with no match anywhere in the world. These adherents are people who have learned that every colored diamond, no matter its size or hue, is unique - each with its own shade of color, and degree of color saturation, its own indescribable quality of brightness.
Today the market in colored diamonds goes far beyond the confines of the major auction houses, where, in the past, only the very finest diamonds of intense pink, blue and green were deserving of attention.
Colored diamonds are still among nature’s rarest works, and rarity defines their commercial value. As more and more people become educated about colored diamonds, and as the breadth of appreciation expands, so does the breadth of the market.
Colored diamonds are becoming increasingly popular, and that has only heightened their prestige. Their consistently rising value is making them all the more coveted. For some people, a colored diamond is not only an object to be possessed and admired, but also a source of comfort at a time when precious metals, commodities, and even the world’s stock markets have become less reliable protections against inflation and other erosions of capital.
Fancy colored diamonds are growing in fashion. But they’re still as rare as ever. Red, green, purple, and orange diamonds are generally the rarest, followed by blue and pink. But many times, these colors aren’t nearly the rich rainbow display as seen in this exhibit. The colors are often pale and muted. It’s incredibly unusual to discover such strength of color in diamonds of this size. So unusual, in fact, that some experts estimate that only two percent of total rough diamond production is fancy colored. The percentage is even lower for fashioned diamonds: Only one out of 10,000 carats of fashioned diamonds displays fancy color, and a diamond’s chances of displaying intense color are even lower – one in 25,000!
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