GLOBAL INVESTMENTS

GLOBAL INVESTMENTS

A Rock-Solid Opportunity to Make Profits of 100% or more in the Next 18-36 Months Colored diamonds are the world’s most concentrated form of wealth. A colored diamond portfolio worth millions of dollars fits inside an envelope and can easily be transported in your coat pocket. They can be transported quietly and legally, and sold globally in most major cities.
These facts alone make colored diamonds worthy of consideration by sovereign individuals seeking discreet investment opportunities. But colored diamonds are also hot investments.
Since formal records were first kept at the beginning of the 1970s, prices for the highest grades of colored diamonds have increased in value by an average of between 10%-15% per year, with rarer colors and higher grades enjoying the greatest appreciation. In addition, this appreciation has statistically been non-correlated to the stock and bond markets, an important consideration for investors seeking a diversified portfolio.
And, price appreciation is increasing. “The market for natural colored diamonds is very strong at the moment and prices have risen by 25% within the last year,” says Andrew Coxon, vice president of De Beers in London. If that pace continues, an investment in natural colored diamonds today could double in value in the next 36 months. In addition, because of a major development in the colored diamond industry I’ll describe momentarily, that pace could pick up considerably.
A Major Development All diamonds are relatively rare. But colored diamonds are far scarcer than white diamonds. Indeed, for every 10,000 carats of diamonds mined, only one carat will be a fancy colored diamond. That rarity has appealed to persons of wealth and discretion for centuries. Indeed, many of history’s really famous diamonds, including the Hope Diamond and the Tiffany Diamond, are colored diamonds.
Some of today’s most popular colored diamonds are the purplish pink and pink diamonds from the Argyle mine in Australia. Until the mine opened in 1985, pink diamonds were almost unknown, and today, this mine accounts for over 90% of the worlds pink diamond supply. However, less than 0.1% of the mine’s output are rare pink diamonds. Indeed, one year’s Argyle production fills a small truck, but the pink diamonds fills only half of an ashtray!
The best pink diamonds came from the alluvial deposits; the watery areas surrounding the Argyle mine. However, Argyle’s owner, Rio Tinto, shut down alluvial diamond recovery in 2003. As a result, the quality of the pink diamonds coming out of the mine since then has gradually and consistently gone down. Recently, Rio Tinto announced that it will shut down all open-pit operations at Argyle in 2008 and convert the facility into an underground mine.
Experts agree that with underground mining, there will be fewer quality stones, average sizes will continue to decrease and the supply will drop by at least 40%. All of these factors are likely to lead to a substantial increase in pink diamond prices.
Real world auction results support this conclusion. Pink diamond prices continue to achieve record prices at the world’s auction houses with prices consistently above US$100,000/carat for high-quality stones. • April 1998 New York Christie’s 539 Oval 1.02 Intense purplish Pink, US$58,529/carat • December 2004 New York Sotheby’s 351 round 1.23 Intense purplish Pink, US$143,089/carat
Fierce Competition Since the end of 2004, momentum has continued to build in the pink diamond market. Each year, Argyle sells its production of pink diamonds via a sealed bid process. At its 2005 sale, 60 Argyle pink diamonds were on offer. While the quality of some of the stones was lower than in previous offerings, competition was fierce, with minimum bids starting at US$100,000 per carat. Every stone sold.
With demand for colored diamonds continuing to grow and pink diamonds becoming very scarce, experts predict pink diamond prices will significantly outperform the historical averages over the next five years. According to colored diamond expert Stephen Hofer, author of Collecting & Classifying Coloured Diamonds, “Supply is down and will decrease further, demand is up significantly and as a result prices are going to continue to go up, especially for the highest graded stones, such as the intense and deep pinks.”
The Safest Way to Buy What’s the safest way to participate in this lucrative market? Colored diamond expert Stephen Hershoff, of Pastor-Genève bvba, has three suggestions to improve your chances for profits: 1. Purchase colored diamonds from a specialist dealer. White diamonds are much more common, and most diamond dealers only occasionally handle colored diamond transactions. When they do, they purchase or sell the stones to or from a colored diamond specialist, resulting in needless additional costs. 2. Buy only certified diamonds. This protects you against purchasing counterfeit diamonds or stones that have been artificially colored. Certificates issued by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and the High Diamond Council (HRD) in Antwerp, Belgium or a Stephen Hofer Report should accompany any purchase. 3. View colored diamonds as a mid-to-long-term investment. For best profits, hold them for at least five years.