Data Suppliers: Index Feedback

The FCRF data suppliers are 24 of the most influential fancy color diamond companies in the market. Among these companies are manufacturers, traders and other specialists, each representing a different segment of the fancy color niche. The data suppliers, in addition to being members of the FCRF, are responsible for providing high quality pricing data every quarter in order to generate the Fancy Color Diamond Index (FCDI). The interviews below provide insights on the quarterly index readings.

Name
Leibish Palnauer
Company
Leibish & Co.
Dealing in Fancy Color Since
1979
Location of Offices
Israel, Hong Kong, New York
Fancy Color Price Category
Medium to High
Prices of Yellow Fancy Color diamonds are at record low, for quite some time. What is your projection on price for this category?
Yellow diamonds are already going up in price again- due to shortage of goods and increased demand. There are not many goods around.

Following the closing of the Argyle mine, it seems like Pink melee is about to disappear from the market at some point. What are the implications on future prices for this category?
I believe the Argyle Melle will go insane in price, so it will cool the demand and jewelers will use Rubies or white diamonds. Larger Argyle stones, especially the ones over 1 ct., have gone up 30% this year, and I see them continuing to rise.
Name
John Glajz
Company
Glajz-THG.
Dealing in Fancy Color Since
2000
Location of Offices
Singapore
Fancy Color Price Category
Low to High
Prices of Yellow Fancy Color diamonds are at record low, for quite some time. What is your projection on price for this category?
I have always been a fan of Yellow diamonds. In my opinion, they are the best value “fancy colour” on the market. After all, one can purchase a nice, 5ct Fancy Yellow diamond for less than the cost of a commercial white diamond of that size. So, I think that they are currently undervalued and will most likely rise in price, particularly in the larger sizes. We are already seeing stronger prices in the vivid categories. These will surely pull up the Intense and especially the Fancy categories.

Following the closing of the Argyle mine, it seems like Pink melee is about to disappear from the market at some point. What are the implications on future prices for this category?
It may become a situation of “out of sight “ becoming “out of mind”. There was once an abundance of the product where one needed to create designs in order to sell it. I think that scarcity of the product in the coming future will drive designers to other things. Without continuity of Argyle branding and marketing initiatives, the demand for the product may diminish.
Name
Eden Rachminov
Company
Rachminov Diamonds 1891
Dealing in Fancy Color Since
1994
Location of Offices
Tel Aviv, New York and Hong Kong
Fancy Color Price Category
Medium to High
Prices of Yellow Fancy Color diamonds are at record low, for quite some time. What is your projection on price for this category?
Prices of Yellow fancy color diamonds have been low for more than a year, and I think prices are already climbing since January, especially in the “Fancy” category that was very low to begin with. Due to the fact that supply is very low and inflation is on the horizon, it looks like we will witness a boom in the prices of Yellows in the next two years.

Following the closing of the Argyle mine, it seems like Pink melee is about to disappear from the market at some point. What are the implications on future prices for this category?

The fact that new Pink melee is not being unearthed anymore is dramatic. I have a feeling that when jewelers will understand that the market cannot supply their needs, it will be too late and too expensive to stock these stones. It is hard to comprehend that a complete category of size and color will disappear forever from the world of high-end jewelry. I think that every Argyle Pink fancy color is destined to be a collectable item.

Q3 2020

Name
David Ebrani
Company
Color Diamond Trading Co.
Dealing in Fancy Color Since
1988
Location of Offices
New York
Fancy Color Price Category
Medium to High
Following this unusual year, the price drop for Fancy Color diamonds in general was below 1%. How do you explain this price resilience?
I believe the price dropped more in many items (especially in rough prices), However, the diamonds that are reflected in the FCRF’s Index are better quality and mainly in the hands of strong dealers who are not willing to sell cheaply. Therefore, the prices of Fancy Color Diamonds did not drop significantly. At the same time, Indian sellers are selling their goods for approx 15% less than before.
Name
David Shara
Company
Optimum Diamonds
Dealing in Fancy Color Since
1999
Location of Offices
New York
Fancy Color Price Category
Medium to High
Following this unusual year, the price drop for Fancy Color diamonds in general was below 1%. How do you explain this price resilience?
The price drop in Fancy Color Diamonds primarily shifted by relatively weak goods, for example, Zimbabwe Green, Fancy Light Greyish-Yellowish Green, Brown-Pink and others like these. The market saw a huge supply of those kinds of weak colors, and in addition, there were a lot of rough diamonds that weren’t polished and manufactured, so the market was flooded with the manufactured “cheap” goods like browns etc. As a result of travel restrictions, smaller diamond businesses started selling cheaply because they were struggling to get new manufactured goods and buyers. However, major players continued with big sales. If you eliminate the weak goods and calculate the prices of the rare, unique Fancy Color Diamonds that most of the major players deal with, you will see that the prices really haven't gone down. Me, as well as other people I know, had great sales throughout this unusual year. I believe there was a rush to purchase very rare things like paintings and Fancy Color Diamonds because people were and are worried about the economy, and realized it's a good time to invest in great valued goods. The segments that objectively dropped, will rise again very soon, not just due to COVID-19, but because of the uncertainty of the American political situation.
Name
Bruno Scarselli
Company
Scarselli
Dealing in Fancy Color Since
1980
Location of Offices
USA, China
Fancy Color Price Category
Medium to High
Following this unusual year, the price drop for Fancy Color diamonds in general was below 1%. How do you explain this price resilience?
While auction houses have sold Fancy Color Diamonds, such as Yellow, Pink, and Blue, the prices have been mixed. The reason for that is that not many people have been drawn to auctions due to COVID-19, social riots, elections, trade wars and most of all the liquidity issues surrounding the lack of global sales. On the other hand, the lack of new production with the limited buying interests coming from the retail international segment may have helped diminish the price value.

Q2 2020

Name
Marc Boghossian
Company
Bomare SA
Dealing in Fancy Color Since
1997
Location of Offices
Geneva, Switzerland
Fancy Color Price Category
Medium to High
The industry has been reporting difficulties in regards to diamond shipping, delays, and other logistics restrictions. How was your experience with those issues?
During the COVID-19 pandemic we have been experiencing logistical difficulties in terms of shipping to and from various destinations: Hong Kong, New York City, Israel, Dubai and Mumbai. This has resulted in delays, irregular schedules, and inevitable price increases.
Name
Ephraim Zion
Company
Dehres
Dealing in Fancy Color Since
1971
Location of Offices
Hong Kong, New York and Shanghai
Fancy Color Price Category
Medium to High
The industry has been reporting difficulties in regards to diamond shipping, delays, and other logistics restrictions. How was your experience with those issues?
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have had major restrictions in Hong Kong, including 2 weeks of quarantine for anyone going in or out of the city which has created great difficulty transporting diamonds. There have been some shipments to the USA and Europe, but the Far East is on logistical hold. This means business has been extremely slow and many transactions couldn’t go through due to this logistical freeze.
Name
Ishaiah Gol
Company
Ishaia Trading Corp.
Dealing in Fancy Color Since
1978
Location of Offices
New York, Geneva and Ramat Gan
Fancy Color Price Category
Medium to High
The industry has been reporting difficulties in regards to diamond shipping, delays, and other logistics restrictions. How was your experience with those issues?
Here in New York, the main problem has been the closing of the GIA services, along with the factory's shutdown. For a few months we were even forced to close down the office. Even now we are working in limited capacity, however the GIA in California is providing services, so some of our work has resumed.
Name
Leibish Palnauer
Company
Leibish & Co.
Dealing in Fancy Color Since
1979
Location of Offices
Israel, Hong Kong, New York
Fancy Color Price Category
Medium to High
The industry has been reporting difficulties in regards to diamond shipping, delays, and other logistics restrictions. How was your experience with those issues?
The Corona pandemic has reduced commercial flights and the business of Malca Amit and Brinks substantially, so shipping and delivery takes more time. However, it does not affect sales in a big way. The problem is in the supply chain, as Indian manufacturing has dried up completely and no new goods are being shipped from Mumbai.
Name
John Glajz
Company
Glajz-THG.
Dealing in Fancy Color Since
2000
Location of Offices
Singapore
Fancy Color Price Category
Low to High
The industry has been reporting difficulties in regards to diamond shipping, delays, and other logistics restrictions. How was your experience with those issues?
We have experienced a few minor delays and a slight increase in costs, however nothing has been too problematic considering the global situation. This has been especially the case, as Malca Amit Singapore has been extremely efficient in their logistics management.
Name
Marc Lazar
Company
Marc Lazar Diamonds
Dealing in Fancy Color Since
1995
Location of Offices
New York and a presence in Israel
Fancy Color Price Category
Medium to High
The industry has been reporting difficulties in regards to diamond shipping, delays, and other logistics restrictions. How was your experience with those issues?
At the outset of the outbreak, we experienced a slowdown in shipping availability that led to a complete freeze. Fortunately, as we are all in this situation together, everybody is very understanding. We had one small transaction that was canceled due to the difficulty to transport to and from India.
Currently we find that domestically the availability to ship is back to approximately 80%.
International shipping requires a little more time and planning, but it’s also operating pretty efficiently now.
Name
Matthew Aldrige
Company
Gemcut S.A.
Dealing in Fancy Color Since
1978
Location of Offices
Geneva
Fancy Color Price Category
Medium to High
The industry has been reporting difficulties in regards to diamond shipping, delays, and other logistics restrictions. How was your experience with those issues?
There have been shipping delays during the last 4 months due to global flight restrictions. However, it wasn’t all bad, as we had time on our hands and service and transactions weren’t quite so rushed. As we start to come out of the pandemic, this could become a problem, as clients generally will expect to be served more quickly.
Name
Eden Rachminov
Company
Rachminov Diamonds 1891
Dealing in Fancy Color Since
1994
Location of Offices
Tel Aviv, New York and Hong Kong
Fancy Color Price Category
Medium to High
The industry has been reporting difficulties in regards to diamond shipping, delays, and other logistics restrictions. How was your experience with those issues?
The difficulties are indeed substantial and are affecting the time cycle of each transaction. The demand for high-end fancy color diamonds is stronger than expected during these days. However, in many cases, it is just impossible to bring the client and the stone together due to the lockdown of some countries and the low frequency of flights.