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FANCY COLOR DIAMONDS

THE FANCY COLORED DIAMOND DECADE, AS AVERAGE

VALUE RISES BY 77 PERCENT

The past decade was a good one for those who invested in fancy colored diamonds. According to Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF), which last week published an analysis of the Fancy Color Diamond Index (FCDI) in 2019 and over the last decade. During the years 2010 to 2019 the general index showed a steady market price increase of 77 percent. 

Leading the index during the decade were fancy pink diamonds, which registered an increase in value of 116 percent. In contrast, the prices of fancy blue diamonds rose by 81 percent, the prices of fancy yellow diamonds by 21 percent.

Among the more specific results recorded over the past decade, in the the pink color category 5-carat stones rose in value by an average of 99 percent. In the blue color category, 1-carat fancy vivid blue diamonds increased in value by 135 percent, and in the yellow color category, fancy vivid yellow 5 caraters and 3 caraters increased by in value by 30 percent.

The Fancy Color Diamond Index is published by the non-profit Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF), tracking pricing data for yellow, pink, and blue fancy color diamonds in three key global trading centers – Hong Kong, New York”>New York, and Tel Aviv.

YELLOW COLORS BRING DOWN AVERAGE VALUES DURING 2019

Looking specifically at 2019, there was a 1.4 percent decrease in FCRF’s general fancy color price index, mainly influenced by a 5.4 percent decrease in fancy yellow diamonds.  In contrast, the pink and blue categories showed stability. 

 “The declines we witnessed in 2019 in the fancy color index are a ripple effect caused by the double digit decrease in the colorless category in the last few years,” said FCRF Advisory Board member Jim Pounds. “From the mining perspective we are currently experiencing a shortage in high quality fancy color rough and we therefore feel quite optimistic about the future.”

In further detail, in the pink category, fancy vivid pink increased in value by 4.4 during the fourth quarter, while 3-carat sized fancy vivid pink increased by 9.1 percent. In the blue category, 1-carat, 1.5-carat  and 2-carat sized stones increased in value by by 2.5 percent, 3.7 percent and 2.7 percent respectively.  

Fancy vivid blue diamonds of 1.5 carats rose in value an impressive 7.2 percent during the year. However, in the yellow category, 10-carat sized fancy vivid yellow stones decreased in value by 6.1 percent and 3-carat fancy intense yellow decreased in value by by 5.3 percent.

MIXED PRICE PERFORMANCE DURING Q4 2019

Results recorded in the fancy colored diamond trade during the fourth quarter of 2019 were mixed, FDCI reported. The pink segment decreased on average by by 0.2 percent, although fancy vivid pink in the 2-carat category rose by 1.7 percent, while fancy pink diamonds of 1-carat and 8-carat declined in value by by 1.2 and 1.1 percent respectively. The 5-carat fancy pink category decreased in value by 2.7 percent.

Blue diamond prices slightly declined during the fourth quarter of last year, by 0.5 percent, mainly as a result of the decline of 2.1 percent in the 8-carat fancy blue category and a decrease of 2.2 percent in the 5-carat fancy intense blue category. Fancy intense blue stones of 8 carats rose in value by 2 percent.

In the yellow segment, the only category showing a significant price increase during the fourth quarter of 2019 was the 10-carat fancy vivid yellow category, which rose by 1.0 percent. The greatest fall in fancy yellow prices, 4.3 percent, was in the 5-carat fancy vivid yellow category.

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