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FANCY COLORED DIAMONDS

 

FANCY COLOR DIAMOND PRICES POST MODEST DECLINE DURING Q3,
CIVIL UNREST IN HONG CITED AS CAUSE

 

Prices of fancy color diamonds remained largely stable during the third quarter of 2019, reported the Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF), whose Fancy Color Diamond Index (FCDI) decreased by a modest 0.5 percent during the three-month period.

The main reason for the decline, the organization stated, was a 1.5 percent decline in the prices of fancy yellow diamonds. In contrast, the prices of fancy blue color stones and fancy pink color stones stood firm.

FCRF is a New York-based body works to provide fact-based support for fancy color diamonds as an asset class and to empower fancy color diamond sellers through a new information channel that improves the consumer experience. Its index tracking pricing data for yellow, pink, and blue fancy color diamonds in major global trading centers – Hong Kong, New York, Geneva, and Tel Aviv.

 “The civil unrest in Hong Kong has had a negative impact on the entire luxury market including diamonds and jewelry,” stated FCRF Advisory Board member Ephraim Zion. “Having said that, I’m not surprised that fancy color diamonds have been more resilient and managed much better than their counterpart.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS WITHIN PINK AND BLUE RANGES

As mentioned, prices of pinks remained stable during the quarter, but there was mixed behavior in different categories within the same color range, which resulted in the slight decrease of 0.1 percent overall.

This mainly was due to a decrease of 3 percent in the 5-carat Fancy Pink category. However, all Fancy Vivid Pinks rose by 0.4 percent, with Fancy Vivid Pinks of 1 and 3 carat categories increasing by 1.6 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively.

The blue diamond prices remained balanced during the third quarter of the year, with a 0.1 percent increase reported. The sharpest increase in in the blue category was presented by the 1.5 carat Fancy Vivid Blue category, where a 2.1 percent increase was registered. 

Over the past 12 months, the price of the blue category appreciated by 10.6 percent. The sharpest drop during this quarter, which was a fall of 2.2 percent, was in the 1.5 carat Fancy Intense Blue category.

FANCY INTENSE COLOR OUTPERFORM OTHERS

As stated, the prices of Yellow diamonds slipped by 1.5 percent in the current quarter, with the most distinct price decrease being in the 3-carat Fancy Vivid Yellow category, where a 3.5 percent fall was recorded. 

The only yellow category not showing a depreciation in price was the 2-carat Fancy Intense Yellow.

In general, the FCDI indicated that Fancy Intense categories outperformed the Fancy Intense and Fancy categories during the third quarter, as has been the case over the past 12 months, posting a 0.1 percent average increase, as compared to decreases of 0.5 percent and 1 percent respectively. 

Certain specific categories showed quite extreme volatility during the third quarter of 2019. FCDI indicated that the Fancy Vivid Blue-carat category showed strong prices rises of  6.9 percent on average, while the average prices of the Fancy Vivid Yellow 8-carat category plummeted by 9.5 percent and the Fancy Vivid Pink 5-carat category showed an increase of 5 percent.

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