Fancy color diamonds, a new market waiting to be explored
Rare, extremely rare, unique, original— so peculiar that they are not part of any financial index.
“We are talking about Fancy Diamonds – says Maurizio Spoldi, CEO of DSC, Diamond Service Company – extremely rare natural crystals that are giving rise to a new kind of investment in gemstones. This is a new sector for elite investors that market participants must deal with, because it has remained untapped until recently and is highly profitable and increasingly attractive.”
Fancy diamonds are considered to be true works of art, comparable only to priceless paintings and other items that elude conventional valuation standards: their value is the result of a series of factors determining a unique price that cannot be obtained with a sterile calculation.
Each fancy diamond is a masterpiece of Mother Nature— different from any other, and with its own identity.
“The market value of a Fancy Diamond – explains Mr Spoldi – is an investment with guaranteed and constantly rising returns. The rarity of these gemstones, representing exceptional outcomes of the natural diamond-forming process, ensures the growth of the investment over the years.”
What are fancy diamonds, and what is their value? Here are some examples of the rarity of these gemstones.
PINK STAR DIAMOND is a 59.60-carat vivid pink diamond with unique characteristics and unrivalled in terms of size and colour saturation. Mined in 1999 in South Africa, in April 2017 it was auctioned by Sotheby's in Hong Kong and sold for 71.17 million dollars. The previous record for another pink diamond, the 24.78-carat Graff Pink, had been set in January 2010, when Sotheby’s sold it for 46.16 million dollars.
The APOLLO and ARTEMIS diamonds, one blue and the other pink, are the most expensive pear-shaped pair of earrings ever auctioned by Sotheby's, fetching a combined 57.4 million dollars. Although they were offered separately, the same bidder paid more than 42 million dollars for the blue diamond and over 15 million dollars for the pink one. Apollo is the largest fancy vivid blue and internally flawless diamond that has ever been auctioned. This 14.54-carat stone is categorised into Type 11b, which comprises just 1% of the world's diamonds. The 16-carat pink Artemis has been classified as a Type 11a diamond, as it is the chemically purest stone of its kind.
If these diamonds are so rare, one has to wonder about the amount of the investment: certainly, not everyone can invest tens of millions of dollars or euros.
“There are colored diamonds with a lower carat weight on the market – says Maurizio Spoldi – allowing to make a good investment with 30/40 thousand euros. As always, it is paramount to do business with someone that can ensure a transparent diamond-buying and international certification process”.