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At Hard Carbon Inc. we are always researching and keeping up to date on fancy colored diamond news. This year has been an incredible year for investors in fancy colored diamonds – whether you are purchasing for pure investment or to incorporate a fancy colored diamond into a piece of jewellery, this year was one of the times to do it. Below we review some highlights for the year and give a sneak peak on our predictions for 2023.
The spring auctions presented some exquisite examples of fancy colored diamonds, in April Sotheby’s auctioned The De Beers Blue, an incredible rare blue diamond that is just over 15 carats. It is one of the most historic diamonds in this shade to be discovered, the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) declared it the largest vivid blue diamond ever found.
Blue diamonds gain their color from boron and it is theorized that the boron comes from the sea floor that is moved into the earth’s mantel by shifting tectonic plates. This fancy colored diamond is relatively new, being discovered in raw form in 2021.
It was the largest vivid blue diamond to go to auction and only five blue diamonds over 10 carats have ever gone to auction – but by far The De Beers Blue was the most vivid, flawless and largest blue diamond to go to auction. Sotheby’s realized $57.4 million USD for this remarkable fancy colored diamond – nearly $10 million above the estimate.
Christie’s auction house was abuzz in May of this year as a truly historic fancy colored diamond went to auction. The excitement was due to a fancy intense yellow cushion modified diamond weighing a whopping 205.07 carats called The Red Cross Diamond was up for sale for only the third time in just over 100 years.
The name ‘The Red Cross Diamond’ came from a series of auctions Christie’s held in WWI specifically between 1915-1918; the goal of the auctions was to raise money for the Red Cross who supported people impacted by the war including veterans returning with life-changing injuries. The stone was originally found in a De Beers mine in South Africa in 1901, the original uncut stone was nearly 375 carats.
From the very beginning this diamond was earmarked for a humanitarian purpose and was pledged to the Order of St. John and the British Red Cross. This is why, it was cut into a cushion shape with a pavilion faceted in the shape of a Maltese cross. The Maltese cross is the symbol of the Order of St. John.
This incredible attention to detail adds to the lustre and fame of this canary diamond. It’s next turn at auction after WWI was in 1973, again at Christies, and it sold this year for $14,626,895 USD.
The highlight of the year occurred in October when Sotheby’s Hong Kong featured the Williamson Pink Star; an exquisite 11.15 carat, fancy vivid pink and internally flawless diamond. The original stone was found in the Williamson Mine in Tanzania and weight approximately 32 carats; it was ultimately cut and polished by cutters from Diacore. The bidding was lively and ultimately a buyer from the US was the lucky bidder who won the lot for $57.7 million – making it the second most expensive fancy colored diamond to be sold, right after the CTF Pink Star.
The results from the 2022 fancy colored diamond is no real surprise to experience investors. This year’s auction results saw that out of the ten major sales that took place this year five of the highest achieving lots were fancy colored diamonds.
At Hard Carbon Inc. we have decades of experience and clients across the globe.
Fancy colored diamonds have on average increase between 9%-12% in recent years. It is important to be aware that there is a difference between fancy colored diamonds – different colors have different values. But in general people, who invested in 2005 would have seen their fancy pink diamond increase approximately 300% in value. If you were fortunate to invest in the highest quality fancy vivid pink diamond you would have seen over a 400% gain.
Our experts at Hard Carbon Inc. predict that fancy colored diamonds will continue to perform strongly in 2023. The Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF) reported that fancy colored diamonds climbed in value for the third quarter of this year; especially any fancy vivid colored diamonds whose value rose nearly 6%.
Moving into the new year we feel that clear diamonds will continue to fall in value while yellow diamonds will continue to rise as they ride a wave of popularity. If you are a new or seasoned investor in fancy colored diamonds we suggest you give us a call to plan your 2023 investments.
For our highly valued network of clients we source and sell only the best fancy colored diamonds on the market. Call us today to get started.