A “Toi et Moi” ring featuring blue and pink diamonds – both over 5.0-cts – sold for $3.7m (£3m) almost double its high estimate, at Bonhams London.
The ring was crafted and signed by Mouawad, the Geneva-based jeweler to royalty and high society, which was founded in 1890. It carried a pre-sale estimate of $1.3m to $1.9m (£1m to £1.5m).
The radiant-cut fancy intense blue diamond, weighing 5.03 carats, is obliquely-set with a radiant-cut fancy purple-pink diamond, weighing 5.13 carats. The gallery and shoulders are pave-set with brilliant-cut diamonds of pink and blue tint.
The 113-lot sale, on 13 June, made a total of £6,590,562, with 78 per cent sold by lot and 99 per cent sold by value.
Only one in 10,000 diamonds found are coloured, according to the Gemological Institute of America.
Average prices for fancy coloured diamonds of any size climbed by 3.9% in 2022, led by yellows and pinks, the Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF), a non-profit that promotes transparency and fair trade in the market, said on Wednesday.
The industry body said prices for all yellow diamonds climbed by 4.6% from the previous year, followed by a 3.9% rise in pinks and 1.8% in blues.
The improved prices reached by these diamonds, the FCRF said, contrast with the annual decline in white diamonds prices.
“2022 was a very good year for yellow fancy colour diamonds in all sizes and saturations. It seems like yellow diamonds with high visual grades and in certain shapes increased by more than what is reflected in the Index,” FCRF data supplier, Israel Papushado, said in a statement.
Source: FCRF.
“Pink fancy colour diamonds performed with no significant change in comparison to previous years; however, blue diamonds did not perform as expected, probably due to limitations in the Chinese market,” he noted.
The prices reported by the FCRF are based on its own Fancy Colour Diamond Index, which is built on tracked data for yellow, pink, and blue fancy colour diamonds’ performance in major global trading centres such as Hong Kong, New York, Geneva and Tel Aviv.
Nature bestows fancy colours on about one in every 10,000 rough diamonds of gem quality that are mined around the world.
The precious stones that can be blue, pink or green form a special asset class, relying on a consumer preference for exotic and unusual items. This also means they are less affected by other factors driving supply and demand in the main diamond market.
Prices of fancy-color diamonds slipped marginally in the fourth quarter of 2020 as stability in the yellow category helped the sector stave off a heavier slump, according to the Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF).
“Although 2020 was challenging in terms of logistics and travel, contrary to market expectations, fancy-color diamond prices proved to be resilient, with minor price decreases across the board,” the FCRF said Monday.
The organization’s Fancy Color Diamond Index for yellows inched down 0.3% year on year in the three months ending December 31, while prices for blues fell 1.3%. Pink fancy-color diamonds decreased 0.9%, with the overall index slipping 0.8%.
The 1.50- and 5-carat categories were the strongest for fancy blues, increasing 0.5% versus the previous quarter, while fancy-vivid blues decreased 0.6%, led by soft prices for 1-carat stones in that category. Pinks stayed mainly flat compared to the third quarter, with 2-carat fancy pinks seeing the highest rise, up 1.4%. In yellows, the fancy-intense, 5-carat segment grew 0.8%, and the price for fancy-vivid, 3-carat stones was up 0.7%. Fancy-yellow, 1.50-carat diamonds increased 0.6% during the period.
The FCRF believes prices of yellows will continue to remain strong throughout 2021.
“2020 was a fascinating year; wholesalers and retailers alike had to overcome many logistical hurdles in order to finalize simple transactions, while demand for fancy-color diamonds was solid,” said FCRF advisory board member Eden Rachminov. “I expect 2021 to be a bullish year for yellows; their current price is relatively low and I think that a price increase is inevitable.”
The index tracks prices of yellow, pink and blue fancy-color diamonds in Hong Kong, New York, Geneva and Tel Aviv.
Prices of fancy-color diamonds slipped marginally in the fourth quarter of 2020 as stability in the yellow category helped the sector stave off a heavier slump, according to the Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF).
“Although 2020 was challenging in terms of logistics and travel, contrary to market expectations, fancy-color diamond prices proved to be resilient, with minor price decreases across the board,” the FCRF said Monday.
The organization’s Fancy Color Diamond Index for yellows inched down 0.3% year on year in the three months ending December 31, while prices for blues fell 1.3%. Pink fancy-color diamonds decreased 0.9%, with the overall index slipping 0.8%.
The 1.50- and 5-carat categories were the strongest for fancy blues, increasing 0.5% versus the previous quarter, while fancy-vivid blues decreased 0.6%, led by soft prices for 1-carat stones in that category. Pinks stayed mainly flat compared to the third quarter, with 2-carat fancy pinks seeing the highest rise, up 1.4%. In yellows, the fancy-intense, 5-carat segment grew 0.8%, and the price for fancy-vivid, 3-carat stones was up 0.7%. Fancy-yellow, 1.50-carat diamonds increased 0.6% during the period.
The FCRF believes prices of yellows will continue to remain strong throughout 2021.
“2020 was a fascinating year; wholesalers and retailers alike had to overcome many logistical hurdles in order to finalize simple transactions, while demand for fancy-color diamonds was solid,” said FCRF advisory board member Eden Rachminov. “I expect 2021 to be a bullish year for yellows; their current price is relatively low and I think that a price increase is inevitable.”
The index tracks prices of yellow, pink and blue fancy-color diamonds in Hong Kong, New York, Geneva and Tel Aviv.
Fancy blue diamonds out performed other major color categories in price terms during the first quarter, the Fancy Color Research Foundation said.
Prices for fancy blues jumped 5% year on year for the three months ending March 31, according to the FCRF, which released its quarterly Fancy Color Diamond Index on Monday.
By contrast, prices of fancy pink diamonds declined 1.7%, while the index for yellows slipped 0.6%, the organization said. The overall index for fancy color diamonds edged up 0.1%.
Vivid blues and vivid pinks weighing 2 carats showed the best performance in their respective color categories during the quarter.
The Fancy Color Diamond Index tracks prices of fancy yellow, pink and blue diamonds in Hong Kong, New York and Tel Aviv.
Fancy blue diamonds out performed other major color categories in
price terms during the first quarter, the Fancy Color Research
Foundation said.
Prices for fancy blues jumped 5% year on year for the three months
ending March 31, according to the FCRF, which released its quarterly
Fancy Color Diamond Index on Monday.
By contrast, prices of fancy pink diamonds declined 1.7%, while the
index for yellows slipped 0.6%, the organization said. The overall index
for fancy color diamonds edged up 0.1%.
Vivid blues and vivid pinks weighing 2 carats showed the best
performance in their respective color categories during the quarter.
The Fancy Color Diamond Index tracks prices of fancy yellow, pink and blue diamonds in Hong Kong, New York and Tel Aviv.
