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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)

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Filed Under: General

About Marion Maneker

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