Editor’s Note
This article highlights the stark contrast in today’s gem market, where a historic pink diamond shattered auction records while classic white diamonds have seen a significant price decline. It underscores how rarity and provenance are increasingly driving value.
Twelve million euros for Marie-Antoinette’s pink diamond. This is the record price reached at auction at Christie’s on June 17 for this 10-carat gem with violet reflections. Yet another record broken by an extraordinary stone, which masks the collapse in value of more classic jewels. Since 2022, the price per carat of white diamond has fallen by 20%, calculates Paul Zimnisky, the leading American analyst in the sector. The trends vary depending on the stone’s color, size, shape, purity, but especially its origin: from the depths of the Earth or from a laboratory. In four years, the price of a carat of natural round-cut diamond has dropped from $7,085 to $4,260 (€6,040 to €3,632). A decline of 40%. Meanwhile, its synthetic equivalent, already cheaper, has lost half its value, falling from $1,740 to $850.
In 2020, however, the value of these stones was increasing.
reports Mr. Zimnisky.