The latest data from the Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF) shows that fancy colored diamond prices nudged higher in the second quarter, after a relatively soft first quarter.
Blue and pink fancy diamonds drove the price growth showing a 1.1-percent and 0.7-percent increase respectively, and offset continued price declines for lower-cost (a 0.5-percent decrease), commercial yellow fancy diamonds. Overall, prices in the fancy color diamond category rose by 0.4 percent for the period.
Across color and size categories, the strongest performers during the second quarter were fancy intense and vivid blues and fancy vivid pinks across all carat sizes. The fancy vivid blue category saw an 8.6-percent price increase, driven largely by 1-carat and 5-carat stones. Sluggish demand for 3-carat and 5-carat fancy yellow stones led to a 3.7-percent drop.
On a year-over-year basis, the Fancy Color Diamond Index increased 0.5 percent compared with the second quarter of 2015 – with blue and pink fancy color diamonds showing a 4.1-percent and 1.7-percent increase, respectively. Meanwhile, fancy yellow diamonds dropped 3.5 percent over the same period.
“…unsurprisingly, fancy intense and fancy vivid color diamonds of all colors enjoy robust demand in the market, driven mainly by supply scarcity that is not likely to change in the foreseeable future,” said FCRF advisory board chairman Eden Rachimov. “The situation is different with commercial fancy yellow goods, which is being adversely affected by sluggish US demand.”
