So who/what is the Diamond Cellar…
I should speed up my timeline for a 2ct branded MRBPricing today may reflect the supply-demand dynamic created by Covid-19, but I believe it also reflects the enduring value of diamonds. Interestingly, as the lab grown diamond niche grows, it seems to make natural diamonds more distinctive and valuable by comparison. Today’s market may seem high today but in the future we may see current pricing as a great buying opportunity.
These have been some trying times in many businesses. I will keep my comments to the diamond industry, although many segments of the jewelry world have been similarly affected.
Covid-19 has disrupted lives around the world, much worse in many countries than it has been here in the States, and we suffered greatly here too. The mines around the world were closed for months, some of them will never reopen. This hurts the world-wide supply at a time when the supply of natural diamonds is already dwindling as older mines play out and new ones are not being found.
Cutting houses around the world were also shut down, further reducing the availability of new production to diamond vendors around the world. Crafted by Infinity’s team was able to work for a while, not able to work, able to work, not able to work, etc., etc., etc.
In India cutters were told to go home and many had to walk for hundreds of miles as they could not take public transportation at the time they were released. Some died on the journey and not just from Covid-19. It may take years to bring the houses back online and fully staffed.
With clients not coming into bricks and mortar stores, many of them went out of business during the past year. Online stores enjoyed strong demand as money was not being spent on travel and vacations. The problem for these stores was procurement of inventory, especially for those dealing in better cuts. There is still a huge overhang of stones cut for weight retention rather than beauty.
There is the apocryphal story of the Chinese blessing, which is also claimed to be a curse, “May you live in interesting times.” My Chinese friends tell me there is no such Chinese curse, however I am of the opinion that we do live in VERY INTERESTING times, and I for one am so glad that I do. I see this as a great time to learn about markets as natural diamond prices continue to rise, especially in the larger sizes, while lab grown prices continue to fall as technology improves and brings down the cost of production.
It may well be that in a year or two, we will all look back wistfully at today’s pricing and wish we had been prescient enough to have bought a few buckets full of them. I have been in the market since a one carat D-Flawless went for $2,500 per carat at wholesale. I once bought a light pink 0.99 ct pear shape cut by C.A. Kiger that was stunning and sold it three days before Beniffer happened and the price I sold it for was about a quarter of what I could have bought it for a mere few weeks later and even then it was a bargain compared to what I would have to pay for it today.
Pricing today may reflect the supply-demand dynamic created by Covid-19, but I believe it also reflects the enduring value of diamonds. Interestingly, as the lab grown diamond niche grows, it seems to make natural diamonds more distinctive and valuable by comparison. Today’s market may seem high today but in the future we may see current pricing as a great buying opportunity.
These have been some trying times in many businesses. I will keep my comments to the diamond industry, although many segments of the jewelry world have been similarly affected.
Covid-19 has disrupted lives around the world, much worse in many countries than it has been here in the States, and we suffered greatly here too. The mines around the world were closed for months, some of them will never reopen. This hurts the world-wide supply at a time when the supply of natural diamonds is already dwindling as older mines play out and new ones are not being found.
Cutting houses around the world were also shut down, further reducing the availability of new production to diamond vendors around the world. Crafted by Infinity’s team was able to work for a while, not able to work, able to work, not able to work, etc., etc., etc.
In India cutters were told to go home and many had to walk for hundreds of miles as they could not take public transportation at the time they were released. Some died on the journey and not just from Covid-19. It may take years to bring the houses back online and fully staffed.
With clients not coming into bricks and mortar stores, many of them went out of business during the past year. Online stores enjoyed strong demand as money was not being spent on travel and vacations. The problem for these stores was procurement of inventory, especially for those dealing in better cuts. There is still a huge overhang of stones cut for weight retention rather than beauty.
There is the apocryphal story of the Chinese blessing, which is also claimed to be a curse, “May you live in interesting times.” My Chinese friends tell me there is no such Chinese curse, however I am of the opinion that we do live in VERY INTERESTING times, and I for one am so glad that I do. I see this as a great time to learn about markets as natural diamond prices continue to rise, especially in the larger sizes, while lab grown prices continue to fall as technology improves and brings down the cost of production.
It may well be that in a year or two, we will all look back wistfully at today’s pricing and wish we had been prescient enough to have bought a few buckets full of them. I have been in the market since a one carat D-Flawless went for $2,500 per carat at wholesale. I once bought a light pink 0.99 ct pear shape cut by C.A. Kiger that was stunning and sold it three days before Beniffer happened and the price I sold it for was about a quarter of what I could have bought it for a mere few weeks later and even then it was a bargain compared to what I would have to pay for it today.
Pricing today may reflect the supply-demand dynamic created by Covid-19, but I believe it also reflects the enduring value of diamonds. Interestingly, as the lab grown diamond niche grows, it seems to make natural diamonds more distinctive and valuable by comparison. Today’s market may seem high today but in the future we may see current pricing as a great buying opportunity.