Fancy-Color Price Index Rebounds

RAPAPORT... Prices of fancy-color diamonds increased in the first quarter as the American market showed renewed demand for high-end products, according to the Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF).The group's Fancy Color Diamond Index gained 0.3% compared with the previous three months, the organization reported Thursday. Prices of blue fancy-color diamonds jumped 0.5%, while pinks increased 0.4%, outweighing a 0.2% decline in the yellow category."As the USA rebounds from Covid-19, we are witnessing an uplift in spirits, which in turn affects the demand for luxury goods," said David Shara, founder and CEO of Optimum Diamonds, one of the companies that supplies pricing data to the FCRF. "We see now, and will see, a continuous rise in prices of fancy-color diamonds."The strongest items during the quarter were 2-carat, fancy-intense colored diamonds, for which prices advanced 2.6%, following by 3-carat, fancy-intense stones, which saw a 1.9% increase. The weakest was the 2-carat fancy category, which witnessed a drop of 1.1%.The fancy-color market ground to a halt during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic last year, forcing the FCRF to hold off publishing its index for the first and second quarters. Prices in the fourth quarter were 0.8% lower than during the same period of 2019.Image: Fancy-color diamonds. (FCRF)