If you're looking for safety, security, physical possession, minimal risk and long term growth...............

According to Sotheby’s Diamonds, since record keeping began in the 1970′s, Rare Color Diamonds have appreciated at about 10 to 15 percent per year.  ”Yellow diamonds have doubled in value every 7 years,” they said.  ”Reds, blues, and greens have seen the greatest appreciation, having quadrupled within the last decade.”

My number one priority is to make sure that any solution I suggest for you protects your principal. Rare Color Diamonds are historically one of the best performing assets in the world.  That is why I have partnered with The Diamond Market.



I strongly believe that every one of my clients ought to allocate a portion of their portfolio towards Rare Color Diamonds.  By doing this, you will add diversity to your existing portfolio with a proven hard tangible asset that you will acquire in a completely private transaction.



All of the Rare Color Diamonds from The Diamond Market are graded and certified by the Gemological Institute of America to assure their intrinsic value. In addition, they come with a 7 day money back guarantee. By having physical possession of these magnificent rarities you will have the comfort of knowing that you are storing your wealth in one of the worlds most concentrated and portable forms of wealth.

A 29.6 carat Natural Blue Diamond Found at Cullunan Mine

A 29.6 carat Natural Blue Diamond Found at Cullunan Mine

By: Gino Di Geso
LONDON: A 29.6 carat blue diamond, one of the rarest and exciting  has been discovered at a South African mine by Petra Diamonds. The miner said the “exceptional” acorn-sized diamond, small enough to fit into the palm of a hand, was unearthed at the Cullinan mine near Pretoria.
The mine, owned by the firm since 2008, was also where the Cullinan Diamond was found in 1905 — described as the largest rough gem diamond ever recovered and weighing 3,106 carats. Other notable diamonds found in the mine include a 25.5 carat Cullinan blue diamond, found in 2013 and sold for $16.9 million, and a diamond found in 2008, known as the Star of Josephine, which was sold for $9.49 million.
The vast majority of Blue Diamonds owe their color to the presence of Boron. The bonding of Boron to Carbon causes absorption in red, yellow and green parts of the spectrum producing blue color. Blue Diamonds may contain Grey , Violet and Greenish modifying color.
“An amazing find. The Cullinan mine (formerly Premier mine) continues to be the only consistent source of natural color type IIb diamonds in the world.” - Thomas Gelb, NCDIA Educational Director
In my opinion, this piece of blue diamond rough, based on its projected color yield, is the birth of a stone for the history books. The winning bid, based on potential yield and clarity could easily break the world record for price per carat for a rough diamond. - Alan Bronstein – NCDIA VP (Aurora Gems)
Petra Diamonds is due to release figures on production and sales for the six months to Dec. 31 on Thursday, but these will not take into account the find which occurred in January.
The mine, owned by the firm since 2008, was also where the Cullinan Diamond was found in 1905 — described as the largest rough gem diamond ever recovered and weighing 3,106 carats.
Other notable diamonds found in the mine include a 25.5 carat Cullinan blue diamond, found in 2013 and sold for $16.9 million

This Is What An $83 Million Pink Diamond Looks Like

This Is What An $83 Million Pink Diamond Looks Like

Image Courtesy of Sotheby's

The Pink Star, the world's largest cut diamond of its class, sold at Sotheby's evening auction in Geneva for a record $82 million, Sky News reports.

That's well above the estimated $60 million sale price, and does not include Sotheby's commission, according to AFP.


The 59.6-carat diamond was expected to command a record price, both because of its size and color.
It is the largest internally flawless or flawless, fancy vivid pink diamond that the Gemological Institute of American (GIA) has ever graded, according to Sotheby's.


As for its uniquely vivid hue, The Telegraph explained: "The 'Pink Star' gets its intense pink colour due to changes to the electron structure, known as 'plastic deformation' during its journey to the earth's surface."


The previous record price for a diamond was $46.2 million. That diamond, also a pink stone, was purchased by London jeweler Lawrence Graff at a 2010 Sotheby's auction.


Here's another look at the Pink Star. The identity of the buyer remains under wraps.

The Clarity

The Clarity

 

Clarity refers to the number of tiny imperfections, called “inclusions,” present in a diamond. The fewer and smaller the inclusions, the more rare and valuable the stone, which makes clarity a key factor for valuing colorless diamonds. But clarity plays a less important role determining value of a natural color diamond than it does with colorless diamonds. The rarity of color is paramount in determining the stone’s value, and the color within the diamond frequently makes masks the inclusions invisible to the naked eye.…
 

 

Color: F Clarity:VVS

Color: F Clarity:VVS

 

In a white diamond, clarity can make or break the stone. The image above shows a VS quality stone on the left (more valuable), compared to a visibly included, lesser-valued stone on the right.
 

 

Color: F Clarity:VVS

Color: F Clarity:VVS

 

Now notice the stone on the right, graded as SI1 for clarity, meaning it does have inclusions. But just see what a rich, deep color it displays. A clarity grade of SI1 or SI2 would significantly lower the value of a colorless diamond, but the intensity of color makes this lower clarity stone more valuable and desirable—and far outweighs the fact that the stone has inclusions.

PINK DIAMONDS

PINK DIAMONDS

 

Pink diamonds range from delicate pastel to deep raspberry, Pink Diamonds are the most feminine of colors and are typically associated with romance. These extremely rare diamonds have long been revered by Hollywood stars and today are the hot favorite of collectors and connoisseurs.

 

 

PINK ORIGIN

Pink diamonds have only been found in a few mines across the world. The rich Golconda region in India and the Minas Gerais region of Brazil produced notable diamonds in the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, the Argyle mine in Western Australia is the source of the vast majority of the worlds supply. It is famous for generating the hugely coveted full-bodied hot pink diamonds.

 

 

Color Formation

Diamonds become pink when heat and pressure deep within the earth cause the crystal lattice to distort. These distortions cause Pink Diamonds to absorb green light and hence impart a pink color. This can often be seen as in parallel bands within the diamond. Pink Diamonds may be modified by an orange, brown or purplish color.

 

 

 

strength of color

The strength of color is one of the most important factors in determining the value of a natural color diamond. The value of a natural color diamond increases with the intensity of the most prominent color within the diamond.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BUBBLEGUM | RASPBERRY | MERLOT

 

The Diamond Investment Promise: Are Diamonds Finally A Commodity?

BY The Diamond Market         

“Investment” is the word du jour of the diamond world and investment in diamonds is becoming a common discussion in financial circles. At the same time, a growing number of initiatives are in various stages of formation.

The wide range of formats and ways of going about it reflect that this is a budding endeavor with the initiatives testing new, mostly uncharted, ground.

At the heart of all of the offerings is the expectation that the price of diamonds from one-carat whites to high-end fancies, are set to increase steadily; some will appreciate slowly, beating inflation, while others are expected to appreciate 15 percent annually.

The expectation that the price of diamonds are set to increase stands on two legs – decreasing diamond reserves and increasing demand. The global diamond mining industry produces, on average, about 120-130 million carat of gem and industrial grade diamonds. Of this production, 28 million carats are gem and near gem quality rough diamonds that is fit for the global jewelry industry.

Thismay seem like a plentiful supply, but diamond production is declining, down from the 168 million carats mined in 2006 and far below the +176 million carats per year mined prior to that. In addition, there is no certainty that the current quality of production is sustainable.

With the exception of Alrosa – the world’s largest producer by volume – all of the other diamond miners are decreasing production.

At the same time, the established diamond miners and many prospective miners are constantly exploring for new diamond sources. Currently there is no known high quality, high-yield rich diamond source that is not mined. Without any new mines coming online, the global diamond industry is facing an increasing shortage of natural diamonds.

It takes some 10 years from the discovery of a new resource to commercial production of a diamond mine. This means that if a new pipe is found today, it won’t be before 2022 when its production will be made available to the market.

In practical terms, there is no expectation that global diamond production will increase in the next ten year – at best.

On the other side of the equation is demand. The leading consumer demand – by price point and growth – is bridal jewelry. In India, bridal jewelry is switching from gold to diamond jewelry, in China diamond wedding rings are spreading from the trend setting Shanghai and Beijing to other urban areas and in the U.S. bridal jewelry continues to be a must have.

GDP per capita, a reliable predictor of diamond jewelry demand, is set to grow, mainly in the BRIC countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China. These growing economies are witnessing more people becoming wealthy, and much more joining the middle class. With this new found financial ability comes growing discretionary income, spent on luxury goods.

Chinaand India posted a real GDP growth of 9.2 percent and 6.9 percent respectively, in 2011. The World Bank pins global GDP growth in 2011 at 2.7 percent.

While GDP growth is expected to slow down in 2012,ChinaandIndiaare expected to continue their above average growth and provide the two economic engines of the diamond industry. Global GDP growth is expected to slow to 2.5 percent in 2012, China’s GDP is forecasted to grow by 8.2 percent, and in India GDP is projected to grow by 6.6 percent, according to the World Bank.

Aided by continued marketing efforts, this growth is backing the increased demand in diamond jewelry.
Global consumer demand for diamond jewelry is growing and shifting. If in the past more than 50 percent of global diamond jewelry consumptions was in theU.S., today consumers from growing economies are buying diamond jewelry at increasing levels.

By 2015,ChinaandIndia, together withHong Kong,Taiwanand the Gulf countries are expected to consume about 40 percent of diamond jewelry globally, rising from the current 31 percent market share.
Demand for diamond jewelry inChinaandIndiaincreased by an estimated 10 percent and 9 percent respectively in 2010 and by another 9 percent and 8 percent in 2011. This year, the forecast is for continued steady growth, the same as in 2011.

The forecasted rise in consumer demand, taking place when supply will be steady at best and declining in the more likely scenario, is expected to provide the backing to rising diamond prices in the consumer markets and fuel rising prices in years to come.

There are two main diamond categories of interest as an investment. Generally, they are high-end diamonds, and “bread and butter” white goods.

The first category is comprised of fancy color diamonds, mainly those with VS clarities and better, preferably with at least a ‘Fancy’ color grading. Fancy color diamonds that have only one color without a secondary color (pink vs purplish pink, for example) are favored. This category also includes diamonds larger than 10 carats with a DEF color and FL-VVS clarity.

This category is not a new venue for investment. However, with the growing understanding of the potential diamonds have has an investment venue, more are considering it today.

The second category of goods is often referred to as “standard,” “ABC” or “bread and butter” goods. Broadly defined, these goods consist of one carat, D-J color, IF-SI1, round GIA certified diamonds. Some companies are looking at a broader range of size, ranging from 0.50 carats to 3 carats.

A Collapse Paves the Road
The event that fueled this swell of projects was the 2008 financial collapse that crushed the value of many investors’ savings and the fall of a number of leading financial institutions. In that time, the value of shares on the stock markets dropped, housing and real estate prices declined sharply mired by over-reliance on poorly offered mortgages, commodities traded around the world and used by industry and consumer in a variety of applications fell out of favor and the lost demand brought the prices sharply down. Investors saw the value of their portfolios plummet.

In response, many investors started seeking ways to add to their portfolios a component that will remain stable in times of economic calamity, a venue that at the very least will protect some of the portfolio and remain liquid. The desire is that such a component will provide an option to put cash in the hand of an investor without – or at least hardly without – loss to the value of saved capital.

This of course is the very minimum requirement. Ideally, just as with any other investment, appreciation is desirable.

As prices of colored diamonds at auctions kept grabbing attention, financial institutes and wealth mangers started considering diamonds as the possible missing component they were seeking. Simultaneously, diamond traders realized that the precious gem they have has performed better than most other investments during the financial crisis. Thus, the initial ideas of investing in diamonds started to come alive.

Consequently, it was not long before these two groups, sometimes jointly, started looking for ways to commoditize diamonds, something that happened a few times before, but never to the extent that diamonds have become a bona fide commodity akin to precious metals, wheat and coffee.

Why Now?
The 2008 crash was an unusually deep one, but not the only recession or difficult economic period in recent memory. Other changes are making this point in time attractive to invest in diamonds, specifically, four changes that are taking place in the diamond sector.

First, until recently De Beers was the monopolistic supplier of rough diamonds to the world. Its rough pricing policies had a great influence on polished prices. The firm sought to maintain prices by regulating the availability of rough diamonds. To do so, the company held to a very large stock of rough diamonds of an estimated $5 billion, well above its annual sells. By deciding what to offer and when, it could maintain prices in the market – not completely, but enough to raise worries in the investment community that one player can rather easily effect prices.

The decline of De Beers’ market share from +80 percent to about 38 percent today while selling off its huge inventory, leaving it with a working inventory of a few hundred million dollars, relieves this issue.

In this process, De Beers also lost its marketing contracts with other large diamond miners, such as Alrosa, giving other firms a stab at rising – or declining prices – as the market demanded.

Today there are a number of large diamonds miners, Alrosa, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, as well as several mid-sized companies such as Petra and Gem Diamonds. All of them market their rough diamonds independently, via tenders, contracted selling agreements and one off sells, resulting in a wide range of prices, leading to a shift from a supply driven market to a demand driven market.

The second reason is a lack of pricing transparency. Without knowing at how much polished diamonds are sold, an open trading market is not possible. The rise of platforms such as IDEX Online and a number of other such operations are changing this, bringing transparency to the market. Today price discovery of polished diamonds is much easier, allowing traders to have a better understanding at what price a diamond is sold.

Price discovery is a fundamental requirement for investment. Without knowing the price, investors cannot asses and investment or make an informed decision on buying or selling. Great efforts are put by the forming diamond investment entities into providing price information in a transparent and objective way.
A third issue is a need for a marketplace open to the financial community, a place where diamonds can be bought and sold easily and at market prices. This, just like transparent pricing, is now ready and available. Some of the new entities are forming their own platforms where investors will be able to buy and sell diamonds. Others intend to employ a more traditional method, using experienced buyers that will facilitate the transactions.

However, while using a buyer is a good option in many instances, the need is for an automatic platform where buying and selling is quick, efficient and trackable (See details on the Guaranteed Diamond Transactions™ (GDT™) spot market platform for an example of such trading arena).

Finally, because of the afro mentioned three reasons, the investment community was reluctant to enter into diamond investments. With the growing fragmentation of the mining sector, the availability of transparent pricing and creation of a trading platform, these barriers are being removed, creating new opportunities for the financial sector to invest in diamonds.

The Growing Trend of Colored Diamonds