Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

  • AMMpro
  • AMM Fantasy Collecting Game
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us

Colored Diamonds Continue to Have Asset Appeal

May 18, 2016 by Marion Maneker

The Unique Pink (iii)

The art market may be retrenching at the very top causing sales volumes to contract markedly. But the large colored diamond market continues to act like a safe-haven asset, defying price trends in the rest of gem and jewelry market.

Last night’s record sale at Sotheby’s in Geneva underscores the process. The seller of the top lot, a large pink diamond that sold for $31.5m, comments on the trend:

“We’re slowly seeing a market for diamonds going beyond jewelry and becoming an asset,” Ehud Laniado said in a phone interview. “I think that tendency will move to the big white stones as well.”

If buyers still see colored stones as a store of value, how should we interpret the drop in art transactions? Lack of supply? Guarantee exhaustion? A shift to other tangible assets?

Sotheby’s Sets World Record With $175 Million Jewelry Auction (Bloomberg)

More from Art Market Monitor

  • DeparturesDepartures
  • Post #2000: Just Getting StartedPost #2000: Just Getting Started
  • Guggenheim Endowment Down 18%; Museum Staff Down 8%Guggenheim Endowment Down 18%; Museum Staff Down 8%
  • When Will the West Coast Start Collecting Art? It Did Long AgoWhen Will the West Coast Start Collecting Art? It Did Long Ago
  • Christie’s London Contemporary Fights Fatigue with Bacon, Dubuffet & Single-Owner CollectionsChristie’s London Contemporary Fights Fatigue with Bacon, Dubuffet & Single-Owner Collections
  • Did Banksy’s Slave Labour Finally Sell?Did Banksy’s Slave Labour Finally Sell?

Filed Under: General

About Marion Maneker

Want to get Art Market Monitor‘s posts sent to you in our email? Sign up below by clicking on the Subscribe button.

Top Posts

  • Rare Photo Album by Dutch Street Photographer Bought at Auction by Rijksmuseum
  • Keith Haring’s 1989 Retrospect Comes to Sotheby’s London Prints Sale
  • Four of Picasso's Women Valued at $28m Come to Christie's from Rose-Walters Collection
  • Norman Rockwell's Not Gay. But Is He a Great Artist?
  • Roy Lichtenstein’s Top Ten Auction Prices
  • David Hockney's $20m Pacific Coast Highway & Santa Monica
  • Sotheby’s Offers Pop-Culture Memorabilia, from Nike to Yeezy, in New Series
  • Christie's Announces $70m Picasso Self Portrait
  • Christie's to Sell $12m Yves Klein to Benefit The Water Academy
  • Tony Podesta's Secret Art Buying
  • About Us/ Contact
  • Podcast
  • AMMpro
  • Newsletter
  • FAQ

twitterfacebooksoundcloud
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
California Privacy Rights
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Advertise on Art Market Monitor