Some of the large coloured diamonds that have brought in multimillion-dollar prices at auction in recent years.
“There have been fewer super-high-end sales in the past few years than what you saw 10 years ago, and that is just a statement of fact,” says Quig Bruning, Sotheby’s head of jewellery for the Americas and for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The reasons for the drop vary, from fewer elite buyers and a dearth of “wow” stones to collection hoarding, oversaturation, and a growing knowledge of prices.
However, the number of exceptional blue, pink and yellow diamonds on offer is just one of the aspects that have changed at high-jewellery auctions over the last decade. Data on coloured diamonds that have been placed in the top 10 at Christie’s and Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels sales since 2016 have shown some surprising trends over the years.
A whopping nine coloured diamonds that made the top 10 in 2016 nabbed prices higher than US$20 million, while a further three raked in more than US$10 million. Those included the Oppenheimer Blue, which sold for over US$70 million, and the Steinmetz diamond, which brought in more than $30 million. A year later, 10 stones topped the US$10 million mark, with the CTF Pink Star beating US$70 million and a 14.54-carat fancy-vivid blue breaking US$50 million.
However, by 2023, only four coloured diamonds realised prices above US$20 million, and in 2024, the closest contender was a pink that fetched just over US$13 million. And it’s not just price that marked the decline, but volume as well: 44 pinks, blues and yellows made the top 10 a decade ago, while only 28 did so just nine years later.
What’s causing the decline?
One of the major problems is simply that these large, impressive stones are in limited supply, according to Bruning.
“Ten years ago, we were routinely having US$100 million sales, and now we’re routinely having US$50 million sales, and that’s driven in large part by a dearth of those top stones,” he says. “You have a lack of supply due to rarity, and those that own them are not selling.”
Max Fawcett agrees, observing that miners have been recovering less top material these days and that the diamonds already in collections are unlikely to see the light of day any time soon. “Those goods will likely take years to resurface [at auction], which is good,” says the global head of jewellery for Christie’s. “If things come back up too quickly, it’s very bad for the market and puts real downward pressure on prices, which is not good for anyone.”
Another reason for the decline is a lack of buyers. As the market changes, collectors’ hunger for coloured diamonds has faded.
“You had this interesting bubble around 2016, at the peak of the coloured-diamond craze, and that market has matured over the past 10 years,” elaborates Bruning. Today, “the finite number of buyers you have for US$30 million-plus diamonds have often already bought their amazing blue or pink or yellow and tend not to want another one.”
He also points to waning interest on the part of Far East buyers, who once comprised a majority of the market for big, expensive stones. A movement toward the $5 million-and-below price point, where coloured diamonds are more liquid, is another factor he cites, as is the rise of the Middle East as a target collector for high-end items. – rapaport.com
