Toronto: Diamonds, especially the fancy colored stones – continue to hold investors in thrall, and auction houses are ensuring the fascination endures with sales featuring some stunning selections.
The market for diamonds continues on its upward trajectory,” said Michael King, Director of Trading for Paragon International Wealth Management. “And it’s not just the beauty and unusualness of many of the offerings that impress us. The prices are also breath-taking.”
Toronto-based Paragon International Wealth Management is a leader in acquiring and managing hard investment assets, with a specialty in fancy colored diamonds.
King noted that Sotheby’s spring sale this month of Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels in Geneva will highlight the most valuable pair of fancy colored diamond earrings ever sold at auction. The rare stones are the 14.54 fancy vivid blue Apollo Blue, estimated at $38 million to $50 million, and the 16-carat Artemis Pink, at $12.5 million to $18 million.
Meanwhile, last month, Christie’s New York Magnificent Jewels Sale offered up 332 lots with numerous fancy colored diamonds among the highlights. These included a 3.02-carat fancy intense pink diamond estimated at $1.5 million to $2 million, which is mounted on a platinum and gold ring and flanked by baguette-cut colorless diamonds. A less pricey offer at $300,000 to $500,000 was a 23.56-carat fancy intense yellow diamond set in a platinum and gold ring and covered with colorless and circular-cut yellow diamonds.
King pointed out that auctions like these, with considerable focus on colored diamonds, continue to fuel investors’ appetite for such hard investment assets. “Their scarcity is in part what drives their value,” he said, noting that colored diamonds generally have appreciated by 142 percent since 2009.
But, it’s the rarest pink diamonds that have really soared – by 315 percent, in fact, according to the Fancy Color Research Foundation. It’s a fact that was underscored by the recent auctioning of the unique Pink Star diamond for $71.2 million.
As King said: “It all makes for exciting times for those of us who know and appreciate the world of colored diamonds.”
