Pricescope charted decreases in retail diamond prices for the majority of listed carat weights in September, though prices for polished diamonds were relatively stable according to reports from Rapaport and Idex (read below). Retail diamond price changes are based on Pricescope’s database of over 450,000 diamonds from retail stores.
Prices of polished diamonds are rising again, as the IDEX Online Polished Diamond Index increased by 1.0 percent to 132.6 in September compared to August.
For small and medium diamantaires in world’s biggest diamond cutting and polishing centre in Surat, there is little hope of recovery in the market until 2018.
As summer drew to a close, reports from retailers indicated that the economy had finally entered recovery mode. Sales figures were up, though not dramatically, and higher-ticket items, such as large solitaires and expensive designer pieces, were selling again.
An index that tracks the price of diamonds like the NASDAQ 100 follows the largest non-financial companies is slated to launch in the near future, with a diamonds-as-investment vehicle potentially not far behind.