Diamonds Are They A Good Investment?

Diamonds: A Girl’s Best Friend

A common gift at engagements, weddings and other festive occasions, diamonds are certainly expensive and valuable - but not as an investment. Here’s why.

Falling Rough Diamond Prices

One reason why diamonds are a poor investment? The growing availability of rough-cut diamonds has pushed prices of rough diamonds down since 2011.

Falling Retail Prices 

At the retail end, diamond prices have been falling, though the final price depends on grading: colour, clarity, cut & carat. Gold, on the other hand, has been trending upward.

Mark-Up

Diamond jewellery comes with a huge mark-up: a sizable chunk goes towards the gold charges, another towards making charges and another as GST.

Only around 70% of the purchase value is of the diamond.

Poor Resale Value

Unlike gold and silver, diamonds don’t have the same resale value and there isn’t much transparency in the buy-back market. 

Size Matters

Since one parameter of grading is the carat weight, a large one-carat solitaire will be more expensive than a 25-cluster ring - so if you buy smaller-sized stones, you stand to lose out.

Wear Them - But They’re Not An Investment

You can purchase diamonds for wear, but downward price trends and an illiquid secondary market don’t make them a good investment.

Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully.