According to wholesale pricing data collected by the Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF), fancy-color diamond prices grew substantially in the year 2016 due to an increase in demand for rare blue and pink diamonds.
The net effect of price increases for blue and pink diamonds of 5.5 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively and a price decline of 4.0 percent for yellow diamonds was a marginal increase in the Fancy Color Diamond Index by 0.4 percent in the year 2016.
Data collected by FCRF showed that for the 4th-Quarter 2016, prices of fancy-color diamonds on an average remained unchanged and that the overall trends were similar to the ones identified in the first three quarters. The two clear pricing trends identified during this period was a consistent demand-driven price increase for blue fancy-color diamonds and a continued price decline for lower-cost yellow fancy-color diamonds.
While prices of blue diamonds in Q4 2016 increased by 1.5 percent, the prices of pink diamonds remained mostly unchanged. On the other hand prices of yellow diamonds declined by 1.4 percent in comparison to the prices achieved in the 3rd-Quarter. Overall, prices of fancy-color diamonds decreased slightly during Q4 2016, while prices of white diamonds showed a significant decrease during the same period, attributed to the Indian liquidity crisis.
FCRF data also indicated clearly that during Q4 2016 the strongest price performers among fancy vivid blue diamonds were stones of 10 ct, 1 ct and 2 ct sizes, whose values appreciated by 5.6%, 4.8% and 4.3% respectively. Likewise, a price decline of 1-2% was identified among most yellow diamond categories including fancy-intense and fancy-vivid categories, though some rare and unique fancy-intense and fancy-vivid yellow stones were able to register steady prices.
Commenting on the price trends observed in fancy-color diamonds in the year 2016, Jim Pounds, executive vice-president for diamonds at miner Dominion Diamond Corporation and chairman of the FCRF advisory board said, “Blue fancy color diamond prices are at their all-time peak due to a combination of very thin supply and a healthy demand. Overall, high quality, and well cut vivid blues and pinks do not exist in sufficient volume to create price stability. Highly saturated yellow rough diamonds, especially vivids, have recently achieved high prices in tenders, likely representing improved demand that will impact prices.”
