Blue & Pink Diamond Prices Reach All-Time Peak in 2016
The two clear pricing trends identified during 2016 was a consistent demand-driven price increase for blue fancy-colour diamonds and a continued price decline for lower-cost yellow fancy-colour diamonds.
Demand for pink & blue diamonds increased substantially during 2016, while demand for yellows continued to fall. For the full year 2016, the Fancy Colour Diamond Index rose by 0.4%, driven by price increases for blue and pink diamonds of 5.5% and 1.4%, respectively, and offset by a 4.0% decline in prices of yellow diamonds.
Pink Diamond Price Index vs other indices
Source: Courtesy of The Fancy Colour Research Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
According to wholesale pricing data collected by the Fancy Colour Research Foundation (FCRF), on average prices for fancy colour diamonds remained unchanged in the Q4 2016. The overall trends were similar to the ones identified in the first three quarters. For more than 18 months, transactional data has pointed to two clear pricing trends: consistent demand-driven price increases for blue fancy colour diamonds, partially offset by continued price declines in lower-cost, commercial yellow fancy colour diamonds.
In the fourth quarter of 2016 prices of blue diamonds increased 1.5%, while pink diamond prices remained largely unchanged. Prices of yellow diamonds declined by 1.4%, more than during the third quarter of the year. Overall, prices in the fancy colour diamond category were slightly down during Q4, while prices of white diamonds decreased significantly during the same period, as a result of the India liquidity crisis. White diamonds weighing 0.50 and 1.00 carat declined by 4.8% and 3.0%, respectively, between October and December 2016.
The strongest price performers during Q4 2016 were the fancy vivid blue in the 10ct, 1ct and 2ct categories, appreciating by 4.3-5.6% in various size categories.
On the other side, price declines between 1-2% were identified across most yellow categories, including ‘fancy’, intense and vivid. Nevertheless, rare yellow diamonds (namely unique intense and vivid yellow) did not see price declines.
The Fancy Colour Diamond Index is calculated based on live pricing inputs from a large sample of the world’s leading traders of fancy colour diamonds in Asia, United States and the Middle East. The Index is published by the non-profit Fancy Colour Research Foundation (FCRF), and tracks pricing data for yellow, pink and blue fancy colour diamonds.
FCRF Advisory Board chairman Jim Pounds said, “Blue fancy colour 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 blues and pinks do not exist in sufficient volume to create price stability”.