Graff Pays $8.3 Million to Own 50 Carat Diamond for Third Time

Time and again, a certain 50 ct. D-color potentially flawless mega-rock keeps coming back to Laurence Graff.

The London diamond magnate purchased the top lot at Christie’s New York Dec. 10 Magnificent Jewels auction—a ring that he originally designed, featuring a 50.01 ct. rectangular-cut D-color potentially flawless diamond. He paid $8.37 million, or $167,400 per carat, said the auction house.

Christie’s sold the same diamond for $4.2 million in 2005, meaning in the intervening years its price has nearly doubled.

“This is the third time that I have owned this beautiful diamond and I am as thrilled today as I was the first time,” said Graff in a statement. “This is one of the finest D-color diamonds in the world and I am delighted to have it back again.”

The sale also set two notable records:

• An ultra-rare 3.15 ct. reddish orange stone—the largest such stone ever graded at the Gemological Institute of America—sold for $2.09 million, setting a new world auction record for a reddish-orange diamond, and a new per-carat record of $666,200.

• An 8.91 ct. sapphire sold for $1.37 million, or $154,000 per carat, setting a new per-carat record for a Kashmir sapphire at auction.

All in all, the sale realized a total of $32.5 million, with sell-through rates of 84 percent by lot and 86 percent by value.

www.jckonline.com

Different colored diamond jewelry options

Diamonds are available in a wide variety of colors. Find out the colors and background information here.
When you think of diamonds, you think of those gorgeous colorless stones adorned by most engaged and married women, right? But I bet you didn’t know that diamonds are available in almost any color, from blue to red, and white to almost black.


Colored diamonds are much rarer than the colorless versions. It is estimated that there is one colored diamond for every 10,000 colorless (or near colorless) diamonds. The reason why some diamonds are colored is quite simple. A colored diamond is colored as such because of the light refracting from substances contained within the diamond itself.
Below I have outlined the colors of diamonds, and some background information that I hope you will find interesting.

Different colored diamond jewelry options

Brown:
The most common color of diamonds. Romans adorned rings with them around 1AD to 3AD. Modern connoisseurs were not impressed with them, so they were slated for industrial use. In the 1980’s, they regained popularity when Australian marketers promoted these diamonds as “champagne” and “cognac” diamonds.

Red:
There was an auction of a red diamond in 1987. It has been said that an agent for the Sultan of Brunei purchased it for the amount of $1 million dollars. This one particular sale has heightened the interest in colored diamonds.
Yellow:
After brown, yellow is the most common diamond color. These stones are found in abundance in Africa, where they are known as Cape stones. “Canary” diamonds, which have the deepest and most intense color of any of the yellow diamonds, is the rarest of the yellow diamonds.
Blue:
Blue diamonds, which can also be grayish in appearance, are incredibly rare. They have been found in many areas of the world including India, South Africa, Brazil, Indonesia, and Australia. The most famous blue diamond is the Hope diamond, which has a reputation to bring bad luck to whomever owns it.

Black:
Typically found in Brazil, they can also be found in India and Africa. Many times black diamonds are artificially produced. When a low-clarity faceted diamond is irradiated, it turns a blue or green color, which appears to be black.

Green:
Although green diamonds are commonly found, the color is most always lost when the stone is faceted. The very thin surface layer of the green diamond, which produces its color, is shaved of when it is faceted. The famous green diamond, Dresden Green, is a 41-carat diamond that is well known for its apple-green coloration throughout the stone. It has been thought that it is of Indian origin, but many experts feel that it is from Brazil.

Pink, Red and Purple: Pink, red and purple diamonds are all closely related. The Argyle mine, in Western Australia, has become famous since the 1980’s for producing some of the highest quality of pink and red diamonds. Within just the last few years, it has been quoted that this mine received $1.6 million dollars for a top-grade pink diamond that weighed in at just under a carat. Violet and orange diamonds have also been found in the Argyle mine. These colors were not known to exist until found in Australia.

http://sleekgossip.com/

London's Graff Diamonds puts Hong Kong IPO on hold

London jeweler Graff Diamonds is putting its $1.5 billion Hong Kong initial public offering on hold because of the steep sell-off in global stock markets.

In a brief statement Thursday, Graff blamed adverse market conditions for the decision to postpone the IPO in the southern Chinese financial center.

"Consistently declining stock markets proved to be a significant barrier to executing the transaction at this time," the company said.

The jeweler, which gets half of its revenue from less than two dozen customers, would have been the latest in a line of foreign brands to go public in Hong Kong. Italian fashion label Prada SpA and luggage maker Samsonite International SA held IPOs last year while U.S. luxury handbag maker Coach Inc. launched a secondary listing.

Foreign companies are seeking to cash in on rising investor interest in China, the world's second biggest economy, and to raise their brand profiles with the country's rapidly expanding pool of newly wealthy consumers.

In a prospectus filed earlier with the Hong Kong stock exchange, Graff outlined plans for a strategic expansion in Asia, focusing on China. Plans included opening shops this year in Hong Kong, Macau, Shanghai and Hangzhou as well as Tokyo. The company also intends to open five more stores in 2013, most of them in Asia.

The company said that demand for diamond engagement rings is rising sharply in China, where ownership levels are still far from rates in the U.S. and Japan.

Graff's decision to yank its IPO appears to have been made overnight as markets in the U.S. and Europe tumbled on intensifying fears over the European sovereign debt crisis and China's slowing economy. Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index ended 1.9 percent lower Wednesday and is down nearly 15 percent in the past three months.

Hong Kong newspapers still carried ads on Thursday from the company detailing plans to sell up to 311.2 million shares for as much as 37 Hong Kong dollars ($4.76) a share. That means the deal would have raised up to $1.5 billion.

Founder Laurence Graff, who opened his first two stores in London in 1962, has earned a reputation for dealing in large stones. In 2010, Graff paid $46 million at a Swiss auction for a 24.78-carat "fancy intense pink" diamond, which he immediately named "The Graff Pink."

Last year, the company earned nearly half its $755.6 million revenue from just 20 customers.

-http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-05/D9V3GBO80.htm

Colored Diamonds: Stones with Brilliant Profit Potential

Demand for colored diamonds is surging and prices are rapidly following the upward trend. According to Leibish Polnauer, President of Leibish & Co, a five carat yellow diamond is currently selling in the range of $75,000-$100,000, and notes that this is a 40 percent increase over last year’s prices. Gem Diamonds (LON:GEMD), whose Ellendale mine supplies Tiffany & Co. with yellow diamonds, announced that in the first quarter of 2011, it sold the jeweler these stones for an average of $3,379 per carat compared to $2, 545 per carat during the first quarter of 2010.

Interest in colored diamond prices and the profit potential of the stones is extending beyond producers and industry consumers to an expanding number of individual diamond investors. Leibish & Co maintains a special inventory of investment grade colored diamonds and confirms an increase of profit-focused clientele. Sean Dunn, Vice President of J.R. Dunn, reported a similar trend. Tight supply and growing demand, especially in emerging countries, are increasing prices throughout the diamond industry.

However, colored diamonds are much rarer than white stones, therefore a surge in interest is difficult to accommodate. High-end US consumers have come back to the market, said Dunn. “But demand in Asia is simply outstripping supply,” he adds. “Our inventory often sells faster to international clients. Some fly in willing to pay prices above retail. They take the diamonds overseas and sell them for even more.” Both India and Hong Kong are considered hot markets for colored diamond activity.

Before investing

Predictions for growth and longevity in the colored diamond market are highly optimistic. However, there are a number of things to consider before getting into this game. Foremost, is the forewarning that these investments are not for everyone.

Leibish says colored diamond investing is for people with liquidity and a long term view. According to Dunn, demand allows some people who bought diamonds in 2010 to sell them for decent returns now, something that hasn’t always been done. By his own account Polnauer says, Leibish sold an intense 4 carat yellow diamond about a year ago. The jeweler offered to buy it back at a 20 percent premium and the client refused. It’s all about the stone a person possesses, which is why Polnauer says an investor must study this market.

Dunn further stresses that investing in colored diamonds is a gamble. He also highlights the fact that some stones definitely offer a much higher probability of attractive returns, but, there is never a guarantee. “Generally, smaller stones (a carat or less) are harder to capitalize on. But there are exceptions.” Australian pinks are considered extremely rare and blues also tend to be placed in the rare and desirable categories. These stones may warrant investment at smaller sizes. Another thing, says Dunn, is that investors should avoid stones with undesirable characteristics.

Individuals who want to avoid venturing unguided into this market may want to consider the Novel Diamond Fund. The first of its kind, the newly launched fund specializes almost exclusively in the investment of colored stones. In an interview with Bloomberg, Alan Landau, CEO of Novel Asset Management, explained that the fund will focus on diamonds valued at $1 million or more. Investors will, therefore, be able to enjoy the historically high returns in this type of investment which have thus far been enjoyed mostly by those in the industry.

Instead of the buy and hold strategy common among funds of other types, Landau said this fund is going to exploit a spread created by buying at wholesale prices and selling at retail. Although open to new investors now, the fund is scheduled to close in October. Landau told Bloomberg he expects major institutions to catch on to the diamond investing trend and move into this market. Polnauer told Diamond Investing News, he expects colored diamonds to be like gold… experiencing drastic price increases over the span of a few years.

By Michelle Smith – Exclusive to Diamond Investing News