The overall Fancy Coloured Diamonds Price Index for 2018 remained largely stable with a minor increase of 0.2%, with the prices of blue diamonds up and those of yellow diamonds showing a decline over the 12-month period, the Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF) reported.

During the last quarter of 2018, the picture was slightly different, with prices showing stability across all sizes and saturations, it added. During the three-month period, FCRF stated that prices of blue fancy colour diamonds increased by 0.8 %, and fancy intense blues increased by 1.9%. Pink diamond prices remained stable, while 2 carat pink diamonds category rose by 1.1%, led by fancy vivid pink that rose by 2.1%, while 10 carat fancy pink decreased by 0.8%. In the same period, yellow fancy colour diamonds showed a general decrease by 1.5%, with an increase by 1.2% in fancy vivid yellow 5 carat category.

For the year as a whole, the fancy colour diamond Index increased by 0.2%, with blue prices up by 4.1% (1 to 1.5 carat up by 9.1%), yellow prices down by 2.1% (fancy yellow decreased by 3.9%) and pink prices remained stable.

Interestingly in 2018 all fancy intense and fancy vivid diamonds increased by 0.7% and 1.5%, respectively, while the ‘Fancy’ category decreased by 1.4%, FCRF said.

Jim Pounds, FCRF Advisory Board member: “In the last three years we witnessed a substantial amount of vivid yellows coming to market, mainly from the ‘Misery’ Pipe at the Ekati mine in Canada. However, as the mine transitions from open pit mining to underground, a substantially reduced amount of stones will be available during 2019. Therefore, we anticipate a slight increase in vivid yellow prices.”

The Fancy Color Diamond Index is published by the non-profit Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF), tracking pricing data for yellow, pink, and blue fancy colour diamonds in three key global trading centers – Hong Kong, New York, and Tel Aviv.