May 11, 2022

Pinks rise 1.3% to lead fancy color diamond price gains in Q1 2022

The Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF) today announced the results of the Q1 2022 Fancy Color Diamond Index (FCDI). Prices of Fancy Color Diamonds continued 2021’s positive trend and rose by 1.0% across the board. The general increase was led by Pinks at 1.3%, with Yellows following at 0.7% and Blues showing nearly no change.  

The Fancy category and Fancy Intense in all colors, showed an increase of 1.3% and 1.2% respectively, outperforming the Fancy Vivid segment at an increase of 0.6%.

Pink: Pink diamonds' general price increase of 1.3% was mainly driven by the Fancy category, which increased by 1.7% in the 1 and 2 ct. weight categories, with 2 ct. Fancy Intense rising 3.5%, 2 ct. Fancy Vivid increasing 3.2% and 1 ct. Fancy Intense climbing 2.9%. Larger weight categories also exhibited significant price increases, with Fancy Vivid 10 carat and Fancy Intense 3 carat leading this color category, both rising 2.2%. 

The only two pink categories whose prices decreased this quarter were the Fancy Vivid 3 carat and the Fancy 8 carat, each with a 0.3% decrease.

Blue: Fancy Blues showed overall stability in Q1 (rising 0.1%) in all weight categories. Fancy Intense diamonds rose 0.5%, outperforming Fancy Vivid and Fancy grade saturations. The only two categories that fluctuated more than one percent were: Fancy Intense 2 carats, which climbed by 1.3%, and Fancy 3 carats, which fell by 1.3%. 

Yellow: The Yellow category rose by 0.7% in Q1, mostly due to appreciation in the Fancy Intense grade (1.1%). Across the board, diamonds above 5 carats rose more than diamonds below this weight (1%+ compared to less than 1%, respectively). Fancy Intense 8 carat stood out with an increase of 2.5%. The weakest performance in Q1 was noted in Fancy Vivid 1.5 carat, which declined in price by 0.5%.

FCRF Advisory Board member Eden Rachminov explained: 

"The results of the index reflect pre-boycott prices on Russian diamonds. Since this boycott, the supply of yellow diamonds has dropped dramatically. The price increases also took place while China has been under a harsh lockdown. Once their Covid policy will dissolve and Chinese diamond lovers will return to the market, we will witness a burst in demand for luxury goods and fancy color diamonds in particular, followed by an additional significant price increase. “

Category Q1/22 vs. Q4/21
3M
Q1/22 vs. Q1/21
12M
All Fancy Color Diamonds 1.0% 2.5%
All Yellow Fancy Color Diamonds 0.7% 1.9%
All Pink Fancy Color Diamonds 1.3% 2.8%
All Blue Fancy Color Diamonds 0.1% 1.7%

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 the major global trading centers – Hong Kong, New York, Geneva, and Tel Aviv.