Pink Diamond Prices Firm in 1Q

Pink fancy-color diamonds outperformed other major color categories in price terms during the first quarter, the Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF) said.

“At a time of diamond-market uncertainty, fueled by growing white-diamond inventory and the emergence of lab-grown diamonds, most categories of fancy-color diamonds are showing continued pricing stability, with the pink segment posting slight price increases,” said Oren Schneider, an FCRF advisory board member.

Prices for pinks grew 0.5% quarter on quarter for the three months ending March 31, according to the FCRF, which released its quarterly Fancy Color Diamond Index (FCDI) last week. By contrast, overall prices of blue fancy-color diamonds, which previously held the top spot, declined 0.2% compared to the previous quarter. Yellows slipped 1.5%, causing the overall index for fancy-color diamonds to fall 0.2%.

“The color-diamond market as a whole is in a slowdown, following the hyper price rises of the past years,” added Alan Bronstein, president of the Natural Color Diamond Association. “Demand always goes through cycles where values rise and fall.”

Diamonds weighing 1 carat showed the best performance in both the fancy-yellow and fancy-intense-blue categories during the quarter, according to the FCRF. The segment was led by the 3- and 5-carat vivid-pink categories, which increased by an average of 3.1%.

In February, the FCRF predicted a rise in the price of yellow diamonds for 2019, as Dominion Diamond Mines’ Ekati deposit — one of the main suppliers of those stones — transitions from open-pit to underground mining. The group cautioned there would be a shortage of supply during the transition phase.

The Fancy Color Diamond Index tracks prices of yellow, pink and blue fancy-color diamonds in Hong Kong, New York and Tel Aviv.

Source: Diamonds.net

Pink Diamond Prices Firm in 1Q

Pink fancy-color diamonds outperformed other major color categories in price terms during the first quarter, the Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF) said.

“At a time of diamond-market uncertainty, fueled by growing white-diamond inventory and the emergence of lab-grown diamonds, most categories of fancy-color diamonds are showing continued pricing stability, with the pink segment posting slight price increases,” said Oren Schneider, an FCRF advisory board member.

Prices for pinks grew 0.5% quarter on quarter for the three months ending March 31, according to the FCRF, which released its quarterly Fancy Color Diamond Index (FCDI) last week. By contrast, overall prices of blue fancy-color diamonds, which previously held the top spot, declined 0.2% compared to the previous quarter. Yellows slipped 1.5%, causing the overall index for fancy-color diamonds to fall 0.2%.

“The color-diamond market as a whole is in a slowdown, following the hyper price rises of the past years,” added Alan Bronstein, president of the Natural Color Diamond Association. “Demand always goes through cycles where values rise and fall.”

Diamonds weighing 1 carat showed the best performance in both the fancy-yellow and fancy-intense-blue categories during the quarter, according to the FCRF. The segment was led by the 3- and 5-carat vivid-pink categories, which increased by an average of 3.1%.

In February, the FCRF predicted a rise in the price of yellow diamonds for 2019, as Dominion Diamond Mines’ Ekati deposit — one of the main suppliers of those stones — transitions from open-pit to underground mining. The group cautioned there would be a shortage of supply during the transition phase.

The Fancy Color Diamond Index tracks prices of yellow, pink and blue fancy-color diamonds in Hong Kong, New York and Tel Aviv.

Source: Diamonds.net

Pink Diamond Prices Firm in 1Q

Pink fancy-color diamonds outperformed other major color categories in price terms during the first quarter, the Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF) said.

“At a time of diamond-market uncertainty, fueled by growing white-diamond inventory and the emergence of lab-grown diamonds, most categories of fancy-color diamonds are showing continued pricing stability, with the pink segment posting slight price increases,” said Oren Schneider, an FCRF advisory board member.

Prices for pinks grew 0.5% quarter on quarter for the three months ending March 31, according to the FCRF, which released its quarterly Fancy Color Diamond Index (FCDI) last week. By contrast, overall prices of blue fancy-color diamonds, which previously held the top spot, declined 0.2% compared to the previous quarter. Yellows slipped 1.5%, causing the overall index for fancy-color diamonds to fall 0.2%.

“The color-diamond market as a whole is in a slowdown, following the hyper price rises of the past years,” added Alan Bronstein, president of the Natural Color Diamond Association. “Demand always goes through cycles where values rise and fall.”

Diamonds weighing 1 carat showed the best performance in both the fancy-yellow and fancy-intense-blue categories during the quarter, according to the FCRF. The segment was led by the 3- and 5-carat vivid-pink categories, which increased by an average of 3.1%.

In February, the FCRF predicted a rise in the price of yellow diamonds for 2019, as Dominion Diamond Mines’ Ekati deposit — one of the main suppliers of those stones — transitions from open-pit to underground mining. The group cautioned there would be a shortage of supply during the transition phase.

The Fancy Color Diamond Index tracks prices of yellow, pink and blue fancy-color diamonds in Hong Kong, New York and Tel Aviv.

Source: Diamonds.net

Pink Diamond Prices Firm in 1Q

Pink fancy-color diamonds outperformed other major color categories in price terms during the first quarter, the Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF) said.

“At a time of diamond-market uncertainty, fueled by growing white-diamond inventory and the emergence of lab-grown diamonds, most categories of fancy-color diamonds are showing continued pricing stability, with the pink segment posting slight price increases,” said Oren Schneider, an FCRF advisory board member.

Prices for pinks grew 0.5% quarter on quarter for the three months ending March 31, according to the FCRF, which released its quarterly Fancy Color Diamond Index (FCDI) last week. By contrast, overall prices of blue fancy-color diamonds, which previously held the top spot, declined 0.2% compared to the previous quarter. Yellows slipped 1.5%, causing the overall index for fancy-color diamonds to fall 0.2%.

“The color-diamond market as a whole is in a slowdown, following the hyper price rises of the past years,” added Alan Bronstein, president of the Natural Color Diamond Association. “Demand always goes through cycles where values rise and fall.”

Diamonds weighing 1 carat showed the best performance in both the fancy-yellow and fancy-intense-blue categories during the quarter, according to the FCRF. The segment was led by the 3- and 5-carat vivid-pink categories, which increased by an average of 3.1%.

In February, the FCRF predicted a rise in the price of yellow diamonds for 2019, as Dominion Diamond Mines’ Ekati deposit — one of the main suppliers of those stones — transitions from open-pit to underground mining. The group cautioned there would be a shortage of supply during the transition phase.

The Fancy Color Diamond Index tracks prices of yellow, pink and blue fancy-color diamonds in Hong Kong, New York and Tel Aviv.

Source: Diamonds.net

Signet Enters Lab-Grown Market

James Allen has launched sales of lab-grown diamonds, marking parent company Signet Jewelers’ entry into the synthetics market.

The e-commerce business, which Signet acquired in 2017, now gives consumers the option of “earth-created” or “lab-created” stones on its retail page. James Allen is offering lab-grown as center stones for engagement rings, promising “up to 30% more size for the same cost.” At press time, the prices of lab-grown on the site ranged from $450 for a radiant, 0.52-carat stone to $48,350 for an emerald-cut, 4.49-carat diamond.

All its lab-grown diamonds will carry grading reports from laboratories such as the International Gemological Institute (IGI) or the Gem Certification & Assurance Lab (GCAL). The colors available on the James Allen site range from D to J, while clarities span from internally flawless to SI2.

Analysts were expecting Signet to move into the lab-grown market, after Gina Drosos, its CEO, said last year it was assessing demand, and would position itself to offer the category if consumers wanted it. It has taken a different approach from De Beers, which launched its Lightbox fashion-jewelry line a year ago with a standard price of $800 per carat and no grading reports.

Mined diamonds are still “the traditional choice,” James Allen notes in the questions-and-answers section of its site. But it emphasizes that its lab-grown stones are chemically identical and look the same as naturals, and that they are graded to the same standards.

Signet views James Allen as an incubator for testing out ideas, Drosos observed in an investor call in December. Late last year, it launched a concept store for the brand in Washington, DC, featuring new retail technology.

Source: DCLA

Signet Enters Lab-Grown Market

James Allen has launched sales of lab-grown diamonds, marking parent company Signet Jewelers’ entry into the synthetics market.

The e-commerce business, which Signet acquired in 2017, now gives consumers the option of “earth-created” or “lab-created” stones on its retail page. James Allen is offering lab-grown as center stones for engagement rings, promising “up to 30% more size for the same cost.” At press time, the prices of lab-grown on the site ranged from $450 for a radiant, 0.52-carat stone to $48,350 for an emerald-cut, 4.49-carat diamond.

All its lab-grown diamonds will carry grading reports from laboratories such as the International Gemological Institute (IGI) or the Gem Certification & Assurance Lab (GCAL). The colors available on the James Allen site range from D to J, while clarities span from internally flawless to SI2.

Analysts were expecting Signet to move into the lab-grown market, after Gina Drosos, its CEO, said last year it was assessing demand, and would position itself to offer the category if consumers wanted it. It has taken a different approach from De Beers, which launched its Lightbox fashion-jewelry line a year ago with a standard price of $800 per carat and no grading reports.

Mined diamonds are still “the traditional choice,” James Allen notes in the questions-and-answers section of its site. But it emphasizes that its lab-grown stones are chemically identical and look the same as naturals, and that they are graded to the same standards.

Signet views James Allen as an incubator for testing out ideas, Drosos observed in an investor call in December. Late last year, it launched a concept store for the brand in Washington, DC, featuring new retail technology.

Source: DCLA

Argyle revenues soar to decade high as mine closure nears

Rio Tinto’s fading Argyle diamond mine looks set to go out on a high, after posting its best financial performance in years.

Diamond markets are notoriously opaque, and Argyle’s performance cannot be gleaned through the financial results Rio reports every six months.

But new filings with the Australian Securities and Exchange Commission (ASIC) reveal revenues at Argyle, which is scheduled to close in 2020, surged to their highest levels in a decade in 2018.

The $370.6 million of revenue generated was 26 per cent higher than in 2017 and was the highest revenue reported by Argyle since 2008.

The improved financial performance was not constrained to revenue; the $148.4 million of cash flow from operations was virtually double the 2017 result, almost quadruple the 2016 result and the best since 2015.

The revenue and cash flow surge came, perversely, in a year when Argyle processed 10 per cent more ore than in 2017, but produced 18 per cent fewer diamonds; a situation that normally implies higher unit costs and poorer financial performance.

It is understood the big increase in revenue was driven by higher sales volumes in 2018 compared to previous years.

Revenue was also boosted by a stronger US currency and improving prices for the pink diamonds Argyle produces, which are tipped to enjoy greater scarcity value as the mine’s closure draws near.

Higher diamond sales in a year when Argyle’s diamond production slumped highlights the sort of opacity that makes diamond markets difficult for investors to predict.

Diamond production likely to be lower
While Argyle’s closure in 2020 appears certain, it is unclear whether Rio has built a sufficient war chest of pink diamonds to continue its annual pink diamond tender beyond the end of the mine’s life.

Rio keeps diamond pricing confidential, but within the past year the company’s diamond boss, Arnaud Soirat, has pointed to recent public auctions in which Argyle pink diamonds sold for more than $US1 million per carat.

Argyle’s revenue and cash flow surge belied the $128.6 million loss before tax that was reported to ASIC last week by the Rio subsidiary that owns the mine.

That loss was heavily influenced by a $145.4 million non-cash expense related to the closure of the mine.

Diamond production at Argyle looks set to be lower again in 2019 if the first quarter is any guide; production in the three months to March 31 was 22 per cent lower than in the same period of 2019, and 13 per cent lower than in the final three months of 2018.

The rare insight to Argyle’s financial performance comes as Rio directors and executive management fly into Western Australia this week for the company’s annual meeting of Australian shareholders on Thursday.

Chairman Simon Thompson has urged shareholders to vote against a resolution put forward by climate campaigners, which would compel Rio to set targets for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

The resolution explicitly calls for reduction targets linked to scope 3 emissions; the emissions generated by the companies Rio sells its products to.

Such a target would include Asian steelmakers, which create significant emissions when they blend Rio’s flagship product, Australian iron ore, with coking coal to make steel.

Mr Thompson has argued that emissions generated by such customers are beyond the control of Rio, and therefore the company cannot set such targets.

Source: afr.com