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(MoneyNewsWire.Net, December 21, 2017 ) PREMIER DIAMOND GROUP (NORTH AMERICA) LTD.
Volume 2, No. 5
May 2016
FOR SOME DIAMONDS, $4 MILLION A CARAT IS THE NEW PRICE
Source: thestreet.com, Scott Gamm
You won’t believe how much some diamonds are selling for.
“Colored diamonds used to make a $1 million per carat, which was a great price and today, $4 million a carat is the new normal,” said Rahul Kadakia, head of jewelry at Christie’s International.
On May 18, Christie’s is set to auction a rare blue diamond in Geneva, Switzerland, that could fetch more than $45 million.
“At the highest end, there’s a great shortage of fine gem stones, fine jewelry, fine colored gem stones and there’s a big group of buyers out there who want to buy the very best, which is what’s driving these prices.”
While Kadakia said the demand for these stones changes based on different economic cycles, it’s consistently strong among buyers in certain areas.
“You always have Asian clients, who have been big connoisseurs of great gems,” he added. “The Middle East has constantly been buying with us. Russia has been buying lately and established collectors in the U.S. and Europe who are always there.”
Since the start of the year, economists have been worried about a global recession. China, the world’s second-largest economy, is undergoing a massive economic transition that is set to bring about lower growth. In the first quarter, its economy grew by 6.7%, compared to 6.9% for all of 2015.
But Kadakia isn’t worried about slower growth in the world’s biggest economies.
“Things can’t keep going up forever,” Kadakia said. “They have a little dip, they correct themselves, and they come right back up, and we saw that when the market got a little quiet in 2008, but it bounced back very quickly in just about a year.”
Within the broad diamond market, Kadakia said colored diamonds are performing “extremely well.”
AUCTION RESULTS SOTHEBY’S & CHRISTIE’S
APRIL 2016
Diamonds continue to attract buyers’ interest at auctions, especially those of top quality. On April 5 at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, the De Beers Millennium Jewel 4, a 10.10-carat fancy vivid blue diamond, sold for $31.8 million (est. $30 – 35 million), the highest price paid for a jewel at auction in Asia, according to Sotheby’s.
This helped lift the auction house’s overall result for its Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite Spring Sale to $73.3 million.
The top lots show diversity in collector appetites: A 22.40-carat D-IF diamond ring sold for $3.68 million, within its $3.28-4.06 million estimate; a fine jadeite and diamond ring with a pair of matching earrings fetched $2.47 million, also within its estimate ($2.32-2.57 million); a 4.08-carat fancy vivid orange diamond and diamond ring sold for $2.471 million, which was significantly above its $1.54-1.80 million estimate.
Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels sale in New York, held on April 19, brought a total of $29.9 million, selling 70% by lot.
The top lot was a cushion brilliant-cut fancy purplish pink diamond ring weighing 12.45 carats, which fetched $4.6 million, within its pre-sale estimate of $3 million to $5 million.
Elsewhere, a pear-shaped fancy light blue diamond ring of 5.06 carats handily topped expectations, achieving a final price of $1.5 million, or about three times its high estimate of $500,000.
Christie’s Magnificent Jewels & The Jubilee Ruby Auction on April 20th had overall results of $57,029,250 (USD). It included the Jubilee Ruby – the most important Burmese ruby to appear at auction in the United States in over 25 years with an estimate of $8,000,000 - $12,000,000 and a price realized of $8,845,000. In addition, a fancy intense purple-pink diamond ring of 10.07 carats with an estimate of $12,000,000 - $15,000,000 had a price realized of $14,165,000.
EVERYTHING ABOUT THE BLUE DIAMOND MARKET –
AND WHY IT’S BLOWING UP
Source: The Robb Report, Sheila Gibson Stoodley
It’s not your imagination – auctions of blue diamonds have dominated the headlines lately. In November 2014, Sotheby’s New York set an auction record for a blue diamond when the Zoe Diamond garnered $32.6 million. The 12.03-carat Blue Moon dropped jaws and raised paddles at Sotheby’s Geneva in November 2014, setting an auction record for any gemstone when it sold for $48.5 million. (Its new owner renamed it the Blue Moon of Josephine in honor of his daughter.) Earlier this month, Sotheby’s Hong Kong offered the 10.10-carat De Beers Millennium Jewel 4 and saw it sell for $31.8 million. You can aim for the Oppenheimer Blue, appearing at Christie’s Geneva on May 18. At 14.62 carats, Christie’s bills it as the largest and finest vivid blue diamond (the best) to come up for sale at auction, bringing a presale estimate of $38 million to $45 million.
But more headlines does not mean there are more blue diamonds out there. It means that more people have learned to appreciate them. “Now it seems like the average person I see comes in with more knowledge than even a decade ago. It contributes to the prices going up,” says Scott West, who is executive vice president of LJ West Diamonds in Manhattan and a colored-diamond specialist. “If you’re not comfortable, or unsure about something, it’s easier to say no to a big purchase.”
Rahul Kadakia, international head of jewelry for Christie’s, traces the current streak to his house’s sale of the grayish-blue, 35.56-carat Wittelsbach in London in December 2008. “It was at the nexus of the downturn, “he says, recalling its presale estimate as $12 million to $15 million. Subsequently, jeweler Laurence Graff bid $24.3 million for it and renamed it the Wittelsbach-Graff. “That kind of turned prices around,” Kadakia says. “People thought: If it can make this price in this market, what can colored diamonds be worth?” The Wittelsbach still holds the Christie’s house record for a blue diamond, but he expects that the Oppenheimer Blue will take the title next month. Its perfect rectangular cut is itself a luxury – no contemporary jeweler would risk consigning so much of the rough stone to the floor. “It’s truly one of the rarest blue diamonds I’ve seen, and I’ve been with the company for 20 years,” he says. This is really the best. If it was up for sale anywhere else, I'd say the same thing.”
David Bennett, worldwide jewelry chairman at Sotheby’s, says he has become “a sort of evangelist” for blue diamonds. “There’s no other gemstone like a blue diamond,” he says. “Once you’ve been charmed by a blue diamond, nothing else will do.” He is unsurprised that the Blue Moon earned a record price, not just for any blue diamond, but any gemstone at auction. “On a personal level, it was one of the most beautiful blue diamonds I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot,” he says, laughing. “It had that effect on a lot of people.”
CHAMPAGNE & COGNAC DIAMONDS
The beautiful and desired champagne diamonds and cognac diamonds of today’s market weren’t always so popular. In reality, champagne diamonds are a varietal of a brown diamond, with a yellowish hue. Cognac diamonds are simply brown diamonds that vary in shade. For years, diamond companies have used marketing campaigns to change the public’s perspective. After years of work, these precious stones are now more sought after than ever.
Naturally fancy colored diamonds are formed through a process deep within the Earth’s core and obtain their color as various molecules are trapped when forming. Champagne and cognac colored diamonds get their hue specifically from nitrogen presence during this process of diamond formation. Subsequently, the more nitrogen trapped in the diamond, the deeper its color. On the other side of the spectrum are cognac diamonds, which are darker and richer in color and demand a higher price. The brown and golden tones of champagne diamonds and cognac diamonds are produced naturally and remain untreated.
Riding on the coattails of Argyle Pinks, Cognac, Burnt Orange and Champagne Diamonds are selling for a fraction of the price of Pink. It is expected that prices will be affected in a positive way after the closure of the Argyle Mine, which has been the major source of these diamonds for the past 20 years.
For people looking to take advantage of the closure of the Argyle mine without having the ability monetarily to diversify to a Pink Diamond, Argyle Cognac Diamonds are a wise choice. Ranging from Fancy Orange Brown to Dark Orange Brown as well as Pure Brown (Chocolate) and Light Brown (Champagne), there is a price range that would fit everybody’s budget and allows more collectors/connoisseurs to enter into the World of Argyle Colored Diamonds. We feel the best potential for capital appreciation will come from the Orange Brown/Brown Orange and the Dark Orange Brown/Deep Brown Orange sector.
The majority of these stones are found at The Argyle Mine in Australia, where nearly half of the colored diamonds mined are brown. Knowing this, Rio Tinto’s Argyle Mine pioneered the terms champagne diamonds as well as cognac diamonds. The term “champagne diamonds” was designated to the lighter brown shade, which exuded luxury, elegance and wealth just like the bubbly beverage it was named after. The term “cognac diamonds” was given to the darker shades for its rich appearance. This new wave in colored diamonds has gained rising attention from collectors and investors worldwide that search for uncommon colors with high potential for investment.
Throughout the years, the increasingly popular champagne diamonds and cognac diamonds have made a significant sales impact at global auctions. One of the most famous champagne diamonds is “The Golden Jubilee” which originated from the Cullinan Diamond Mine of South Africa weighing 545.67 carats. Known as the world’s largest faceted diamond, its estimated value is between $5-$12 million. The diamond was given to the king of Thailand in 1997. To date, the diamond remains in the Royal Thai Palace as part of the crown jewels.
Another famous diamond of champagne color is a 69.93 carat stone known as “The Golden Pelican”. This large gem was discovered in South Africa in its rough state and was then set on a 14 karat gold band. The Golden Pelican was sold at Christie’s Auction over 40 years ago and its estimated value is currently $3 million.
Naturally fancy colored champagne and cognac diamonds have been around for many years, but it is relatively recently that they are rapidly attracting popularity among collectors and investors.
Premier Diamond Group (North America) Lt
David Metcalfe
416-679-9306
info@premierdiamondltd.com
Source: EmailWire.Com 
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