Why Investors are Turning to Fancy Color Diamonds
May 22, 25
(in association with jacobrivlin.com) - The entire diamond market is facing extremely tough conditions - but the fancy color niche seems to have a life of its own.
Just last week the 10-carat 'The Mediterranean Blue' diamond sold for $21m at Sotheby's, and other fancy color experts report healthy and stable demand.
"I'm overwhelmed by the number of mining companies preparing to shut down operations, simply because the supply of diamonds coming out of the earth is rapidly depleting," said Eden Rachminov, managing owner of Rachminov Diamonds 1891, one of the world's leading manufacturers of fancy color diamonds.
"Investors are increasingly turning to fancy colors because fewer and fewer diamonds being mined today. We are approaching a point where acquiring a fancy color diamond will no longer be about choice, but about having access. We are approaching a point where acquiring a fancy color diamond will no longer be about choice, but about having access.
"Buyers will feel the urgency to secure whatever becomes available. These diamonds continue to stand out as the ultimate way to preserve and protect wealth. They have always been a remarkable investment, and as time goes on, this asset class only proves its stability and long-term value."
We can see some interesting trends in the pink diamond family segment (pink, purple, red, and their different combinations and over-tones). The offer on the global market has been drastically reduced in the past years because of the war in Ukraine and diamond mines approaching the end of their lives.
The largest pink diamond contributor to the world market was the Argyle mine, which ended its life-of-mine in November 2020. Sanctions on Russian diamonds have cut the supply of the second world source of pinks (mainly purple diamonds), originating from the mines of the Sakha Republic of the Russian Federation.
The GIA conducted a survey on the pink diamond family in which researchers analyzed about 90,000 certified fancy color diamonds. A quarter of the stones had the rare phenomena that is defined by gemologists as Type IIa - a diamonds with no nitrogen or close to no nitrogen. These are rare diamonds that nature has created with a higher degree of purity of the crystalized carbon.
Nitrogen, on the other hand, is the cause for the extremely rare pink color found at the Golconda diamond mine, in India.
99.5% of the pink diamond family, including brown over-tones (other than the Golconda diamonds), are caused by what is called 'plastic deformation'. The huge pressure that exists hundreds of kilometers below the surface, causes those graining lines (that also exist in white diamonds), to generate different shades of pink.
Fancy Color Auction
The fancy color diamonds pictured above - a 0.82-carat fancy vivid blue and a 5.25-carat fancy intense orangy pink - are an exclusive option for the organizers.
For inquiries, further details, or to view the diamonds, please email idexonline.rivlin@gmail.com. Closing date is Thursday, May 29th at 14:00 Belgium time. See GIA certificates below.
The organizers reserve the right, under special circumstances, to conclude the sale of one or both stones if they receive an attractive offer that meets the seller's expectations.
