What happened in the diamond market in 2017?

14 Jul 21

What were the general trends?
Which records were broken?
What about buying diamond online?
What are the projections for 2018?

With the new year around the corner, it’s the perfect moment to evaluate the past year. Lots of thing happened on the diamond market, but what exactly? And how can we use these trends to make predictions for 2018?

What were the general trends?

The prices for yellow diamonds stagnated last year, with a strong counterweight of the blue and pink diamonds. In 2017, there were record-breaking amounts at auctions and general price rises on the diamond market. The demand for both colours continues to rise, while there are hardly any new finds. At the auctions, existing items were sold instead of new ones.

The investment diamond in particular turned out to be popular in 2017. The value of diamonds as an alternative raw material investment appears to break through worldwide, that’s why diamonds with high investment values in particular did well in the diamond market.

Which records were broken?

A total of nine world records for diamond prices were broken at auctions. Five of them were prices per carat, the remaining amount was for the price per stone. Many of them were coloured diamonds. The records also reflected the rising interest in the diamond market from growing economies such as China. Two record breakers, a blue and a pink, were sold in Hong Kong.

What about buying diamond online?

Buying diamond online was also on the rise in 2017. In 2016, online diamond store Blue Nile was sold for $ 500 million, this year followed R2Net, the owner of the James Allen website, for $ 328 million. These purchases prove the boom in e-commerce and show that the diamond industry is not lagging behind in digitization. Especially buying diamonds online and then visiting them in the physical store or vice versa are popular methods.

Buying online diamonds may remain taboo for some, but the past year proves that online and offline have a nice interaction.

What are the projections for 2018?

Projections for 2018 are difficult. The diamond market has been enjoying the intrinsic value of raw materials for years, but other factors have emerged in recent years. Especially the rise of e-commerce and the popularity of coloured diamonds make it difficult to make a substantiated projection for the upcoming year. The Global Diamond Industry Report predicts a stable increase for rough diamonds until 2030, but says little about changes in the market of polished diamonds.

Which trends were still visible in 2017? Which projections can the diamond expert make? Get advice on your diamond investment from the experts at BNT Diamonds.

About Fabienne Rauw

BNT Diamonds Antwerp

Fabienne, manager of the German market is able to guide every client with finding the right jewel. She takes care of most of the German orders, but also takes other task on her plate. Thanks to her six years of experience at BNT Diamonds she acquainted well with the product and the marketing around it. Her degree in PR ensures that BNT Diamonds is well presented across all media channels. For anyone looking into a new investment opportunity, Fabienne is the perfect guide in this process. No question will be left unanswered, and she will help you every step of the way.

With this article, BNT Diamonds strives to inform you thoroughly about investing in diamonds. No investment can be guaranteed to be without risk or fully according to your expectations. That is why we recommend to research the risks and aspects of investing in diamond properly to ensure that you make the right choice for your portfolio.