How rare are Fancy Colored Diamonds? Of the approximately 147 MILLION carats of diamonds mined annually, less than 2000 carats of diamonds will get a “Fancy” designation from GIA, the worlds leading authority in diamond grading. Only 1 in 10,000 diamonds is a "Fancy" diamond.
The demand in this sector is vastly outstripping the supply and it’s only going to get worse (or better, depending on how you look at it). As of now, the USA is the largest consumer of diamonds, with 50% of the worlds diamonds being sold there. China will soon overtake the USA as the largest consumer and will continue to dwarf all other countries in diamond consumption as wealth is being accumulated at astronomical levels within the country. Therefore, the more the Chinese invest in rare diamonds, the higher the values will go.
Fancy coloured diamonds have a proven track record of growth over 40+ years, averaging 20-25% annual increases and have never seen a decrease in value. In fact, values are starting to see exponential growth over the last few years.
The Argyle diamond mine in Australia is responsible for over 90% of the supply of Fancy Pink, Red, Yellow, Champagne, Cognac, etc.... colored diamonds in the marketplace. Only 5% of the stones mined are of gem quality, considerably fewer are graded as "Fancy" colors. Argyle production has dropped 83% since it's peak in 1994 and is scheduled for closure at the end of 2020! Supply is dwindling while demand is soaring, it's the perfect storm.