Art isn’t the only asset to benefit from the global slide in equity values

Bloomberg reports on the popularity of colored diamonds and large white diamonds

“There’s a group of very savvy, tremendously wealthy people who have put a small portion of their fortunes aside to invest in diamonds,” said Francois Graff, managing director of London- based Graff Diamonds International. “They’ve made incredible returns.”

. . .

“They used to be viewed as curiosities,” said Joanna Hardy, senior specialist at Sotheby’s jewelry department in London. “Now buyers are taking colored diamonds much more seriously. People want to have something different. And they value rarity.”

. . .

“When stock markets go down, it’s always good for us,” said Hardy. “People with a lot of surplus cash turn to something more tangible.” Sotheby’s was selling diamonds to buyers from a record number of countries, Hardy said.

“We’ve got a lot of customers from the Middle East, Russia and the Ukraine. And there are more buyers from Europe than America at the moment,” she said.

Hardy does not expect prices for large-scale colored and colorless stones to fall within the next six months.

“It’s not as if there are suddenly going to be more of them,” she said.

Diamonds Attract Funds as Largest Gem Prices Surge 76% in Year (Bloomberg)