Resurgence in Sales of Coloured Diamonds
After a period of uncertainty as a result of the global pandemic, Christie’s Magnificent Jewels auction, held on the 13th April in New York, was the setting for what is hopefully a resurgence in the sale of fancy coloured diamonds.
Christies reported global participation with bidders hailing from 40 countries across 5 continents. Leading the auction was a trio of fancy coloured diamonds, described as the “Perfect Palette.” The pink, orange and blue diamond rings were sold separately but altogether achieved a total of $8.4 million, surpassing the top estimate.
The 2.17 carat Fancy Vivid Purplish Pink, cut cornered square, had a top estimate for $2.5 million and sold for an incredible $3,510,000. The arguably rarer, 2.13 carat Fancy Vivid Blue cut-cornered rectangular diamond, sold just shy of its top estimate at $2,670,000 and the 2.34 carat Fancy Vivid Orange cut-cornered rectangular diamond, sold for $2,190,000.
“Coloured diamonds are exceptionally rare and with the relatively recent closure of the Argyle Mine, which was the source of approximately 90% of the worlds pink diamonds, it is no surprise that the purplish pink sold above the price of the blue diamond, despite being less rare,” said Philip Baldwin, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Amma Group.
“Fancy Coloured Diamonds are unlike almost any other luxury investment, purely because they are a finite commodity. Much like a Renoir or a Picasso, their scarcity and rarity is driven by the inability to produce anymore. This differs greatly from other man-made luxury items whose scarcity is as result of a business decision”, said Mahyar Makhzani, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Amma Group.
Achieving uncorrelated returns in a unique asset class, Amma Group is a fancy coloured diamond and precious stone fund manager.
Christies
14.83 Carat Purple-pink Diamond Sells for $26.6 Million
Hot off the back of the closure of the famous Argyle mine, world renowned producer of around 90% of all pink diamonds, comes the auction of an ultra rare, vivid purple-pink diamond mined in Russia and selling yesterday at Sotheby’s Geneva for an incredible $26,612,763.
This stunning stone was unearthed by diamond producer Alrosa based in the Sakha region of Russia, in July 2017. It took over a year of true artistry and unparalleled passion to expose its inner beauty and create the 14.83 carat oval diamond, named ‘The Spirit of the Rose’.
It is the largest of its kind (colour, clarity and cut) to be offered at auction. "The occurrence of pink diamonds in nature is extremely rare in any size. Only one percent of all pink diamonds are larger than 10-carats," said Gary Schuler, worldwide chairman of Sotheby's jewellery division.
Head of fine jewellery auctions at Sotheby's Geneva, Benoit Repellin, commented that the oval-shaped diamond was "completely pure." And according to Repellin, five out of the 10 most valuable diamonds ever sold at auction were pink.
Record-breaking gems
Highest price record: The world auction record for a diamond or any gemstone or jewel was the "CTF Pink Star", a 59.60 carat oval pink diamond that sold for $71.2 million in Hong Kong in 2017, after just 5 minutes of bidding.
Highest price per carat: In November 2013, Christies sold the largest vivid orange diamond in the world for $35m for a record-breaking $2.4m per carat.
Most expensive precious stone: In May 2015, a 25.59 carat “pigeon blood” Burmese ruby named the Sunrise Ruby, sold for a staggering $30m, making it the most expensive precious stone other than a diamond.
The Argyle Mine Ceases Operations Today
After 37 years and more than 865 million carats of rough diamonds, a very small proportion of which have been pink, the Argyle mine will finally close today.
The Argyle mine has been the source of 90 per cent of the world's pink diamonds over the last thirty years and in that time, pink diamonds have gone up in value by more than 500 per cent. Rio Tinto's managing director for operations, copper and diamonds, Sinead Kaufman said "Demand for Argyle pink diamonds has continued unabated. Rarity, uniqueness and a finite supply has driven the strong value appreciation we have seen, and continue to see."
Described by Vivienne Becker, award winning jewellery writer and historian, as having "a colour and quality that had never been seen before." Much like white diamonds, coloured diamonds are categorised according to their colour which range from very light through to vivid and intense - the more vibrant and intense the colour, the rarer and therefore, the more valuable. What has made Argyle Pink Diamonds so extraordinary is the sheer number of stones with the richness and vibrancy of colour, sitting in the far end of the colour spectrum. "It was completely unprecedented and there was massive excitement in the industry," said Becker.
Mahyar Makhzani, Managing Director and Co-founder of Amma Group commented that we expect prices to climb further after the mines closure. "Pink diamonds have out-performed virtually all traditional asset classes over the past 10 to 15 years," he said. "They've done better than the stock market, property, precious metals and really do present a very stable asset class.”
"The market has known for a long time now that the mine is closing so I don't think we're going to see any shock movement but certainly in a year or two the supply squeeze will start to be felt quite significantly and we’ll expect to see pink diamonds really increase in value. It would be true to say that if you have an Argyle Pink Diamond, then you should hold onto it, but if you are looking to invest, do it now rather than wait a couple of years," said Makhzani.
The land that these diamonds originate from is well known to be sacred land and as Vivienne Becker mentioned, "A huge part of the appeal of these diamonds is the provenance, the purity and integrity of the provenance."
"We've lived through the life of this mine, right from the start, and in these days, when people are really concerned with the origins of every product they buy, particularly luxuries, then this has been a very important element," she commented.
The term conflict diamonds is well known and for a long time now, mines have signed up to the Kimberley process, ensuring diamonds are conflict free. However less well known are the environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns surrounding the industry. In a desire to ensure traceability of its diamonds, Amma Group has recently partnered with The Loudhailer to support and connect digital futureshapers whose innovations might address these concerns.
“With an intention to work with partners to improve social, economic and environmental factors within the diamond and precious stone industry, Amma Group through is partnership with The Loudhailer is developing a fund structure to further support winners of the African based Global Startup Awards, also providing the business tools needed to succeed. Inevitably these digital disruptors will pave the way in addressing climate change, sustainability metrics and energy”, said Philip Baldwin, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Amma Group.
Amma Group has been one of a handful of organisations around the world that are invited to the yearly Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender - the chance to bid on stones from the Argyle mine, 2020 being its penultimate Tender. The process follows the format of a blind auction; organisations have a limited time frame in which to present their best and final offer on a stone in the hope that they come out on top. Amma Group has been fortunate enough to have purchased a number of stones from the Tender, over the last decade.
The Argyle Mine will close today, Tuesday 3rd November and Rio Tinto will begin a five-year process to decommission it before returning the land to its Traditional Owners.
In celebration of the the Argyle Mine and its treasure trove of pink diamonds, below is a wonderful podcast from The Sydney Morning Herald, Good Weekend Talks.
Thank you Argyle Pink Diamonds; ours is the richer for having known you!
Amma Asset Management Delighted to Announce Realisation of Sciens Coloured Diamond Fund III
…the fund was completely realised with a 25% net return, over a 26 month purchase period…
Launched in Q4, 2017 and originally comprising 7 diamonds of 15.33cts, fund III included a 1.20ct, Fancy Vivid Green, Round Brilliant cut and a 1.14ct Fancy Red, Modified Rectangular cut, both of which are considered to be amongst the rarest stones on earth. Also included within the fund were three fancy blue diamonds and two fancy pink diamonds.
Since inception, the fund has predominantly outperformed the stock market and far exceeded bonds, gold and colourless diamonds.
With one stone already sold, the fund was completely realised during Q1 2020 with a 25% net return, over a 26 month purchase period, representing NAV.
Argyle Pink Diamonds releases one of it’s final collection Tenders.
Named One Lifetime, One Encounter, the Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender is expected to be one of its final collections before the mine’s eventual closure.
Comprising 62 loose diamonds, weighing 57.23 carats, this year’s Tender also includes additional Petite Suites - 12 sets of small pink, red, blue and violet diamonds, collected over the past five years and weighing 13.90 carats.
Within the loose stones, there are six hero diamonds including the Argyle Eternity – weighing 2.24 carats, it is the largest fancy vivid round brilliant diamond ever offered at the Tender, and the sixth largest Fancy Vivid diamond of any shape.
Arnaud Soirat, chief executive Rio Tinto Copper & Diamonds commented that “Rio Tinto’s Argyle Mine is the first and only ongoing source of rare pink, red and violet diamonds in the world. We have seen, and continue to see, strong demand for these highly coveted diamonds, which together with extremely limited global supply, supports the significant value appreciation for Argyle pink diamonds”
Amma Asset Management currently holds one Argyle diamond, a 1.14 carat Fancy Red, Rectangular Brilliant shaped diamond.
The Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender 2020 Heroes
Courtesy Argyle Pink Diamonds, Rio Tinto
Internally Flawless 7.16 ct Fancy Intense Blue Diamond Sells For Over $3.8m
Christie’s New York, Magnificent Jewels auction on July 29, saw two impressive fancy coloured diamonds centre stage including an internally flawless 7.16 carat fancy intense blue pear modified brilliant-cut diamond ring, which sold for $3,855,000, and a 7.65 carat VS2 fancy light purplish pink pear modified brilliant-cut diamond ring, which after some spirited bidding sold for $819,000, well above its high estimate.
Several other gemstones achieved notable prices, including a sapphire ring of 53.48 carats, which sold for $615,000 and a sapphire and diamond necklace that sold for $325,000.
Courtesy Christies
Fancy coloured diamonds remain strong during economic downturn
On the 10th July 2020, during one the first live auctions to be held by Sotheby’s Hong Kong, since the lifting of lockdown, a 4.49 carat fancy vivid pink heart-shaped diamond ring and a 5.04 carat fancy vivid blue heart-shaped diamond ring sold for a combined $18.6 million.
The vivid pink was internally flawless, set on a white gold ring and flanked by two pear-shaped diamonds and achieved more than $8.1m.
The vivid blue diamond with VS2 clarity, mounted on a platinum ring and flanked by two pear-shaped diamonds achieved more than $10.5m.
Also sold at the auction were several other, but less important, fancy coloured diamonds from yellows, through to pinks, blues and greens.
The auction represents the first significant sales of fancy coloured diamonds since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic at the beginning of 2020. The positive results are not only encouraging but also confirm the class’s ability to remain strong during economic downturns.
Are Argyle pink diamonds about to shoot up in value asks South China Morning Post
Rio Tinto’s Argyle mine in Western Australia, has dominated the pink diamond market, producing 90 per cent of the worlds supply, for the last 40 years. Nearing depletion and with imminent closure expected before the end of 2020, the price of these rare pink diamonds is expected to skyrocket.
Pink diamonds are mostly purchased for investment purposes with a view to resale. With returns exceeding the stock markets, yields have produced around 10 per cent each year or 500 per cent over 20 years. Conversely collectors acquire and hold onto these alluring stones because of their exceptional rarity and beauty and have proven themselves to pay extraordinarily high prices. In 2017, a 59.6ct fancy vivid pink diamond named the ‘Pink Star’, sold at auction in Hong Kong for an astounding US$68.7m.
Whilst not the rarest of fancy coloured diamonds, pink diamonds remain a popular choice for jewellery lovers and with production of the Argyle mine down to zero, prices are expected to increase substantially.
Amma Asset Management currently holds 6 pink diamonds totalling 13.48 carats and with a current value in excess of $11m.
