Anyone Ever Consider Diamonds As An Investment?

Hey Junior,
I as well am sorry to hear about your mothers passing. To answer your question with what information I have...

I have a new client I am working with who specializes in Diamond Investing. The type of diamonds they focus on for investment purposes are fancy colored ones such as pink, yellow and blue.

I would think that these are the most rare, hence why they are good as an investments.

You can learn more by checking out the site here: *** Link removed by the Staff ***

I wish you the best!

Deep red diamonds fetch prices higher than deep blue diamonds.
But natural red diamonds are so extremely rare that they're mostly unavailable, like 1804 US dollars.

If you are going to invest in diamonds, like anything else, you have to know what you are doing.

I suspect that most of us in the CCF know something about coins, but very few us us would be savvy enough to invest in diamonds, and know what they are doing.

I am a gemcutter. I facet sapphires.

I have a couple of diamonds, both cut and uncut. However, I DO NOT know enough to be able to invest in diamonds in a knowledgeable way. That does not stop me from owning them. They are an integral part of my gem species collection. I have about 200 faceted unset stones.

Diamonds and coins have some things in common:
1. They both can be graded and slabbed by a third party.
2. To be a successful investor, you have to know your market.

I don't have the skill of a diamond grader and I haven't put in anywhere enough time or effort in, to understand the diamond market.

Perhaps I may be a little more skillled in the coin category.

DVCollector:

My favourite gem material to cut is Australian yellow sapphire. You can expect to loose about 2/3 of the material off a rough piece of stone to yield a nice clean faceted stone, cut to refractive index laws.

I have a few books on mineralogy, crystallography and gem faceting, and a couple on jewelry, courtesy of my father's estate. I also have a couple of authorative books on the diamond industry.

If you cut to yield maximum carat weight from rough, still expect to loose half of the rough weight. That is what the cottage industry does in Sri Lanka does.

A very large proportion of World production of small diamonds is currently cut by small businesses in India.

Most of my sapphire rough has come from the Anakie area of Central Queensland, and I have purchased the material from traders who regularly visit there. I can't justify a return trip from Sydney on expense grounds.

I have, however successfully fossicked for some nice small blue sapphires from a place called Nullamanna, which is about 20 kilometres northeast of Inverell, in New South Wales.

You say that you have mined for sapphires. Where have you been digging? Yogo Gulch, I have heard, can yield some nice, but small stones. Is this site still active?

Sorry, I can't produce reasonable pics. at the moment, my camera is not good enough. Some current mobile 'phones are better than my camera! I will be spending around $1000 or so on a good camera and a new computer around mid next year.

Detection of diamond fake material is relatively easy, if you have the right equipment.

By far the most common diamond stimulant is cubic zirconia, which, to be honest, is a very reasonable gem material in it's own right, provided it is marketed that way.

Almost all natural diamond, except for one scarce type, is a good conductor of electricity. Cubic zirconia is an electric insulator. Two simple contact probes on either side of the stone, with a voltage across them, will very quickly distinguish between suspected cubic zirconia and a diamond. You don't need to take the stone out of the setting for this test.

Gold and silver are better and much more liquidable.

I have never heard of Moissonite has having an investment potential.
Interesting stuff, worth looking up elsewhere on the 'Net for those who are interested.