Driven by a 4.1% rise in the prices of fancy blue colour diamonds, and a smaller 1.7% increase in the prices of fancy colour pinks, the Fancy Color Diamond Index rose by 0.5% year-on-year during the period between April and June 2016, according to a statement issued by the Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF) yesterday.

The Fancy Color Diamond Index is calculated based on live pricing inputs from a large sample of the world’s leading traders of fancy color diamonds in Asia, the United States and the Middle East.

FCRF noted that the rise in prices of fancy blues and pinks was partially offset by a 3.5% fall in prices of fancy yellow diamonds particularly in lower-cost, commercial categories, adding that the price performance during Q2 was broadly in line with long-term trends.

The statement noted that the Q2 rise came after a relatively soft first quarter. Blue and pink fancy colour diamonds saw a 1.1% and 0.7% price increase, respectively, compared to Q1, with yellow fancy colour diamonds registering price declines of 0.5%. This was less than during the first quarter, FCRF added.

Fancy intense and vivid blues and fancy vivid pinks across all carat sizes were the strongest performers during Q2 2016, with the fancy vivid blue category seeing an 8.6% price leap during the period, driven by the 1ct and 5ct size brackets. In contrast, the fancy yellow grade category declined by 3.7%, mainly driven by sluggish demand for the 3ct and 5ct sizes.

FCRF Advisory Board chairman Eden Rachminov commented that “unsurprisingly, fancy intense and fancy vivid color diamonds of all colors enjoy robust demand in the market, driven mainly by supply scarcity that is not likely to change in the foreseeable future”. He added that “the situation is different with commercial fancy yellow goods, which is being adversely affected by sluggish U.S. demand”.