Fancy Color Price Index Up Across the Board

RAPAPORT... Prices of fancy-color diamonds increased in the second quarter amid supply shortages, according to the Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF).The group's Fancy Color Diamond Index gained 0.2% compared with the previous three months, the organization reported Monday. Prices of blue fancy-color diamonds jumped 0.4%, while pinks increased 0.3%, and yellows rose 0.1%."As retail in the US, Asia and Europe copes with the new realities and constraints of a Covid-19 economy, we are still seeing supply shortages in the fancy-color diamond segment that provide pricing stability," said FCRF advisory board member Oren Schneider, who is also CEO of online secondhand jewelry platform Circa. "Inventories are still at a historically low level for this product."The strongest items in the blue category were 1.5- and 2-carat diamonds in all saturations, rising 1.3% quarter on quarter, FCRF noted. Meanwhile, 2-carat fancy pinks jumped 1.6%, while 3-carat stones of that color went up 2%. Most segments in the yellow-diamond category grew, with the most prominent increase seen in 5-carat, fancy-vivid yellows, which climbed 1.3%. Those rises outweighed decreases in all colors for larger-sized diamonds, including 10-carat fancy yellows and pinks, and blue stones weighing between 3 and 5 carats.The index tracks prices of yellow, pink and blue fancy-color diamonds in Hong Kong, New York, Geneva and Tel Aviv.Image: A 39.34-carat rough blue diamond. (Petra Diamonds)