Fancy blue diamond prices increased by 1.7 percent in the first quarter of the year, according to data gathered by The Fancy Color Diamond Index. During the same period, fancy yellow diamonds saw price declines of 1.8 percent while fancy pink diamonds saw a 0.3 percent price increase.
The Fancy Color Diamond Index is published by the non-profit Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF), and tracks pricing data for yellow, pink and blue fancy coloured diamonds. The index is based on input from leading fancy coloured diamond traders in three key global trading centres namely Hong Kong, New York and Tel Aviv. The index is continually and selectively expanding its data supplier base. In the past quarter, six new data suppliers were added, bringing the total to 26.
The report added that overall prices in the fancy coloured diamond category remained largely unchanged for the first quarter of 2016. In comparison, according to RAPI™, white diamonds prices were mixed during the first quarter, with the 0.5-carat and 1-carat categories growing by 5.2 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively, and the 3-carat category declining by 2.9 percent.
The strongest performing price categories during the quarter were fancy intense blue and fancy vivid blue across all carat sizes, as well as fancy vivid pinks weighing 5 carats and up. The fancy yellow category, especially in small carat weights, was responsible for most of the category price declines, it added.
The index during the first quarter of the year indicated that most trends identified during 2015 were being sustained. The decline in fancy yellow diamond prices echoed the first three quarters of 2015, although it is a departure from Q4 2015, when fancy yellow diamond prices rose 1.1 percent.
On a year-on-year basis, when compared to the first quarter of 2015, the Fancy Color Diamond Index was up 0.6 percent with fancy blue and fancy pink up 4.8 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively, and fancy yellow down 3.3 percent. As in Q4 2015, across all colour segments, fancy intense and fancy vivid diamonds demonstrated robust price increases, which were offset to some extent by price declines of colour diamonds in the “Fancy” category.