Press Releases

FCDI Q4 2019

FCRF: Pink Diamonds Led the Chart throughout the Decade

New York, February 3, 2020: The Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF) announced today the results of the Fancy Color Diamond Index (FCDI) in 2019 and over the last decade. During the years 2010-2019 the general index showed a steady market price increase of 77%. Leading the index during the decade were Pink diamonds, which increased by 116%. The prices of Blue diamonds rose by 81% and of Yellow diamonds by 21%. 

Here are some prominent results of the FCDI during the last decade: In the Pink color category – 5ct increased by 99%. In the Blue color category – Fancy Vivid Blue 1ct increased by 135%, and in the Yellow color category – Fancy Vivid Yellow 5ct and 3ct increased by 30%.

During the year 2019 there was a 1.4% decrease in the general index, mainly influenced by a 5.4% decrease in Yellow diamonds. The Pink and Blue categories showed stability. Going into further detail, in the Pink category – Fancy Vivid Pink increased by 4.4%, while Fancy Vivid Pink 3ct increased by 9.1%. In the Blue category – all 1ct, 1.5ct and 2ct increased by 2.5%, 3.7% and 2.7% respectively.  Fancy Vivid Blue 1.5ct increased 7.2%. In the Yellow category – Fancy Vivid Yellow 10ct decreased by 6.1% and Fancy Intense Yellow 3ct decreased by 5.3%.

Q4 2019 results:    

Pink
In Q4 2019, the pink segment decreased by 0.2%. Fancy Vivid Pink in the 2ct category rose by 1.7%, while Fancy Pink in both 1ct and 8ct declined by 1.2% and 1.1% respectively. The 5ct Fancy Pink category decreased by 2.7% in Q4 2019, and also presented the most significant decline of Pink diamonds in 2019. 

Blue
Blue diamond prices slightly declined in Q4 by 0.5%, mainly as a result of the decline of 2.1% in the Fancy Blue 8ct and a decrease of 2.2% in the 5ct Fancy Intense Blue. Fancy Intense Blue 8ct presented an increase of 2.0%. 

Yellow
In the Yellow segment in Q4, the only category showing a significant increase was the Fancy Vivid Yellow 10ct, which rose by 1.0%, while the greatest price drop was -4.3% in the Fancy Vivid Yellow 5ct category. 

For a complete data analysis, please visit www.fcresearch.org

Category Q4/19 vs. Q3/19 Q4/19 vs. Q4/18
All Fancy Color Diamonds -0.6% -1.4%
All Yellow Fancy Color Diamonds -1.4% -5.4%
All Pink Fancy Color Diamonds -0.2% 0.1%
All Blue Fancy Color Diamonds -0.5% 0.2%

In January 2020, the FCRF refined its database and index model and adjusted past data accordingly.

FCRF Advisory Board member, Jim Pounds said: “The declines we witnessed in 2019 in the fancy color index are a ripple effect caused by the double digit decrease in the colorless category in the last few years. From the mining perspective we are currently experiencing a shortage in high quality fancy color rough and we therefore feel quite optimistic about the future”. 
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 Color diamonds in major global trading centers – Hong Kong, New York, Geneva and Tel Aviv. 

FCDI Q3 2019

Blue and Pink Diamonds Show Price Stability in Q3 2019

New York, November 5, 2019: The Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF) reported that prices of Fancy Color diamonds in Q3 2019 largely remained stable. The Fancy Color Diamond Index (FCDI) for Q3 2019 showed a decrease of 0.5% in overall Fancy Color prices, driven by a 1.5% decline in the prices of Yellow diamonds. Prices of Blues and Pinks stood firm.

As in the past 12 months, in the third quarter, the Fancy Vivid category outperformed (0.1%) the Fancy Intense (-0.5%) and Fancy (-1.0%) categories.  

In comparison to the corresponding quarter in 2018, the Q3 FCDI indicates that the Fancy Vivid Blue 2 ct category increased by 6.9%, the Fancy Vivid Yellow 8 ct category decreased by 9.5% and the Fancy Vivid Pink 5 ct category showed an increase of 5%.

Pink
The prices of Pinks remained stable this quarter, with a mixed behavior in different categories, which resulted in a slight decrease of 0.1% overall, mainly due to a decrease of 3% in the 5 ct Fancy Pink category. However, all Fancy Vivid Pinks rose by 0.4%, with Fancy Vivid Pinks of 1 and 3 ct categories increasing by 1.6% and 1.7%, respectively. 

Blue
The Blue diamonds prices remained balanced in Q3, with a 0.1% increase. The sharpest increase in Q3 was presented by the 1.5 ct Fancy Vivid Blue category (2.1%). Over the past 12 months, the price of this category appreciated by 10.6%. Interestingly, the sharpest drop during this quarter (-2.2%) was in the 1.5 ct Fancy Intense Blue category. 

Yellow
Generally, the prices of Yellow diamonds decreased by 1.5% in the current quarter. The most distinct price decrease of 3.5% was in the 3 ct Fancy Vivid Yellow category. The only category not presenting a depreciation was the 2 ct Fancy Intense Yellow.

For a complete data analysis, please visit www.fcresearch.org 

Category Q3/19 vs. Q2/19 Q3/19 vs. Q3/18 
All Fancy Color Diamonds -0.5% -0.9%
All Yellow Fancy Color Diamonds -1.5% -4.9%
All Pink Fancy Color Diamonds -0.1% 0.9%
All Blue Fancy Color Diamonds 0.1% 0.5%

FCRF Advisory Board member Ephraim Zion said: “The civil unrest in Hong Kong has had a negative impact on the entire luxury market including diamonds and jewelry. Having said that, I’m not surprised that Fancy Color Diamonds have been more resilient and managed much better than their counterparts!”

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 color diamonds in major global trading centers – Hong Kong, New York, Geneva, and Tel Aviv.

FCDI Q2 2019

Pink Diamonds Outperformed Blues and Yellows in Q2 2019

New York, July 29 2019: The Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF) announced today the results of the Q2 2019 Fancy Color Diamond Index (FCDI). The FCDI indicates a decrease of 0.1% in overall prices of Fancy Color Diamonds in Q2 2019. Pink diamonds continued to rise, while prices of Blues and Yellows declined.

Comparing this quarter to the corresponding quarter in 2018, Pink diamonds showed an upturn of 0.4% in Q2 2019, compared to a 0.5% decrease in Q2 2018. Yellow diamonds displayed a decline of 0.8% vis-a-vis the 0.2% increase in Q2 2018. Blue diamonds showed a 0.3% decrease in Q2 2019 compared to a 1.5% increase in the same quarter in 2018.

Pink

The Pink category continued to outperform all other categories, showing an increase of 0.4%. All Fancy Vivid Pinks rose by 1.3%, with Fancy Vivid Pinks of 2 and 3 carats showing a rise in the second quarter of 2019, increasing by 2.8% and 2.6%, respectively. However, Pink diamonds of 1 and 1.5 carats presented a price decrease of 0.7% and 0.2%, respectively.

Blue

Blue diamond prices decreased overall by 0.3%, affected mainly by the decline of 0.9% in the weight category of 8-10 carats. All Blue diamonds of 1-3 carats presented a distinct increase, with the appreciation of 2.3% in the 1.5 carat category, in all saturations levels. The highest rise of 4.8% is in the 1.5 carat Fancy Vivid Blue.

Yellow

The prices of Yellow diamonds declined by 0.8% overall in this quarter, primarily influenced by the 1-3 carats categories, with the sharpest downturn of 2.7% in the 1 carat category. However, the Fancy Yellow 8 carat category had a surprising upturn of 2.1%, compared to a 4.8% decrease in Q1 2019.

Category Q2/19 vs. Q1/19 Q2/19 vs. Q2/18
All Fancy Color Diamonds -0.1% -0.1%
All Yellow Fancy Color Diamonds -0.8% -4.4%
All Pink Fancy Color Diamonds 0.4% 1.5%
All Blue Fancy Color Diamonds -0.3% 1.1%

FCRF Advisory Board member Eden Rachminov said: “The recent price declines in the white goods created an overall negative psychological effect on all diamonds. This is probably the reason we also witnessed a decline of 0.1% in the Fancy Color Index. Definitely a good time to buy now…”

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 color diamonds in major global trading centers – Hong Kong, New York, Geneva and Tel Aviv.

FCDI Q1 2019

Pink Diamonds Outperformed Blues and Yellows in Q1 2019

New York, May 1st, 2019:  The Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF) concluded today the results of the Q1 2019 Fancy Color Diamond Index. The overall prices decreased by 0.2% in the first quarter of 2019, influenced by a decrease in the Yellow category. Pink Diamonds increased by 0.5%, Blue Diamonds showed a very slight decrease of 0.2%, and Yellow Diamonds decreased by 1.5%.

Pink:

The Pink category in all saturation and sizes increased by 0.5%, led by the 3 and 5 ct Vivid Pink categories, which increased by an average of 3.1%. The rest of the categories showed no change in comparison to the previous quarter.

Blue:

Although the Fancy Blue 1.5 ct category showed an increase of 3.4%, and, Fancy Vivid Blue 1.5 ct category increased by 1.3%The highest appreciation in Q1 2019 was presented by 1ct Fancy Intense Blue, which showed a rise of 3.9%. 
The overall Blue segment decreased by 0.2% on average. In comparison, the fourth quarter of 2018 showed 0.8% increase in this category.

Yellow:

In Q1 2019 the Yellow segment decreased by 1.5%. However, the 1ct category in Fancy Yellow increased by 1.2% showing a recovery after decreasing by 1.6% in 2018.

Summary:

Compared to Q1 2018, the Fancy Color Diamond Index presents an increase in Blue Diamonds by 2.8% and in Pink Diamonds by 0.6%,  and a decrease in the price of Yellow Diamonds by 3.5%.

Category Q1/19 vs. Q4/18

3 months

Q1/18 – Q1/19

12 months

All fancy color diamonds -0.2% -0.2%
All yellow fancy color diamonds -1.5% -3.5%
All pink fancy color diamonds 0.5% 0.6%
All blue fancy color diamonds -0.2% 2.8%

FCRF Advisory Board member Oren Schneider said: ”At a time of diamond market uncertainty, fueled by growing white diamond inventory and the emergence of lab grown diamonds, most categories of Fancy Color diamonds are showing continued pricing stability, with the Pink segment posting slight price increases.”

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 color diamonds in three key global trading centers – Hong Kong, New York, and Tel Aviv.