It wouldn't be wrong to call them celebratory stones or showcase pieces. Over the years, diamonds have been able to make a good name and have stood a prominent status symbol and a big reminder to the world of a person's prestige and wealth.
However, reports incoming revealed that there had been fluctuations in its values in recent time. Going back to the 80s when the diamond was proclaimed to be forever, not long after the economic boom and domination of world market by DeBeers, diamond prices and values have ever since then reflected in different market variants.
Although, it's important to understand that the price range of diamonds is dependent on demand and supply. Same as the different prices of metals like silver, platinum, and gold, the prospective market for diamond flows and depends on demand for the stones as a single product.
The supply of diamonds tends to go up when new diamonds are discovered resulting to a natural fall in price. This brings us to the question: would it be wrong to tag diamonds as an investment? And how is its appreciation like? Does diamond appreciate with time? The answer to these questions is Yes.
Of course, the value will appreciate with time, and that makes it a huge investment. Although how quickly or how much the appreciation works is a complex question to tend to. Just like other items of high value, the price of diamonds will increase if inflation sets in. If a diamond was purchased in 1980, you shouldn't expect that same diamond to be the same price in 2017.
Now, whether inflation or its rarity might have caused it, a lot of factors constitute the change in price.
Investment Grade of diamonds
Talking about the 4C's that make up a diamond - color, clarity, cut and carat, it's important to understand that they all influence it's price. Take note of this; a diamond that seems to be rare would make the best investment, and the larger diamond is, the rarer it becomes in nature.
So, one way to know a rare stone is by checking it's carat weight. Although clarity and perfect color aren't something that can be seen easily, no matter how large the stone may be. What will fetch you maximum profit from selling at a higher price in the market is by Maximizing your diamond's rarity, cut, uniqueness and size.
A perfect diamond rarity is directly proportional to its value increase, both constituting the high demand for it and inflation rate. Stones that are not completely flawless and perfect are not so valued and rare, nor do they have high chances of appreciating with time.
Although, in the beginning, they will be of very high value, with time will depreciate. It's also important to understand that high-quality diamonds that can be invested upon aren't only the colorless stones, canary yellow, as most people call it fall under natural fancy colors and they are also considered to be of great quality and high investment. The variation in color will determine how fast they'll appreciate.
Red colored diamonds are the most occur in rare natural diamonds. Although pink and blue diamonds are shown in the images in this post also are very rare and are a great investment.
How to manage your Investment
There a lot of ways by which a buyer can ensure that a stone can maintain and increase its value with time. It's important that buyers take appropriate measures to guide their diamond investment, same as the way they'd protect their stock portfolio.
Make sure to get any diamond that hasn't been certified professionally by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) certified. No one is going to question your diamond after it gets certification from the most respected and accurate gemological laboratory in the world.
The certified stone will be given to an appraiser to estimate it's value, so you can judge future gains from values that have been appraised. It's important that the jewelry settings that's housing the diamonds must be clean always.
Also, make sure to remove any expensive jewelry material during rigorous activities like sports. Even though they are considered as the hardest naturally occurring mineral, this does not mean that they cannot be damaged.
If a diamond is hit in the wrong manner, it might result in a cut or crack of the stone. You should also stop packing too many diamonds together, as the stones have tendencies of scratching their selves. Improper storage or wear and tear might damage a diamond that has been certified to be flawless, and any damage on the stone will lower it's value.
Although, you can still cut a diamond that has been chipped, but do not forget that a stone with less carat weight means less value in the market.
