D FL diamonds are the rarest and most expensive white diamonds out there.
Most of our readers are very familiar with the value of D FL goods, but it will be useful to get a perspective on what is their total share of the market.
In terms of the number of goods sized below 10 carats, D FL stones represent about 0.25% of all the available diamonds, and account for 2.5% of the total value. Limiting our view to Round stones only, shows that about 1.2% of the total value is in D FL diamonds, and looking at Fancy shapes we get to a whopping 4.3%. D FL stones are valuable indeed.
For our analysis today, we will focus on Rounds only, and consider 70 and 90-pointers, 1ct, 1.5ct and 2ct stones.
First, let’s have a look at the price trend – where is the market going?
The picture is really interesting if not dramatic. The one carat stones are showing a lot of action. Since the beginning of the summer, we have been witnessing a meteoric rise in 1ct D FL prices (an almost 50% growth), reaching the peak by the end of September and starting to cool off and stabilize in October. Seventy-pointers grew by about 30%, plateauing in October, and 90-pointers showed a modest but steady growth of around 6%.
In 1.5ct stones there was a lot of volatility, with prices going up and down from week to week, with a slight upward trend. On rarer and more valuable 2ct goods we observed a rollercoaster behavior with prices going 6% up in early June, then additional 9% up in mid-July, only to drop by 14% during September and stabilizing close to early July prices in October.
So, how did the price hikes influence the time it took to sell the stones? With prices starting to go up in June, our data shows that the average time to move a stone grew significantly as well.
Apparently, as the prices were growing rapidly, it was more difficult for the buyer to make a decision. For all the sizes under consideration, average sales time reached its peak in July. Then, as the prices stabilized and the market acclimated to the new price levels, decision times returned back to May levels and in some cases even lower. The obvious conclusion is that when the prices are stable, it is easier to make buying decisions than when they are going up.
Now, let us look at UNI Scarcity Index as it changes together with price and supply movement, on the example of 1ct D FL goods.
The UNI Scarcity Index was high already in May and reached its peak in June, when the prices only started climbing, indicating that price hike will continue into the following months. During July and August the supply started to catch up, and the price growth was slowed down in August and September. The low UNI Scarcity Index in July and August reflected the growth in supply that surpassed growth in price.
Our conclusion is that the D FL market is reaching safe haven after the storm it went through in the summer. The available supply has grown to where supply and demand are more in balance and the prices have stabilized or are better than expected – which should provide the buyers with a great buying opportunity. Happy shopping! D FL area is certainly a wonderful area of long-term emotional investment. No matter the size, the prices will fluctuate but are always trending in the positive direction when considering D FL as a long-term purchase.
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Disclaimer: The information in this report is based on UNI’s data repository that contains actual pricing and availability from over 90 manufacturers and wholesalers around the globe, with combined value of over $1.5B. The information is provided as-is, without any warranties express or implied