Synthetic diamonds price free falling in HK June show

Dioptase · **Joined:** Thu May 28, 2009 4:13 am **Posts:** 234

The HK June show was pretty slow for us on the last day, so I had a bit of time to go downstairs in the diamond hall.

The lab grown section was actually still very busy. I visited one booth in particular, specialized in sizes from 5 to 9.99 ct CVD diamonds. And wow! The prices are really going downhill fast : H color VS1 stones were at US$99 per carat. G color VVS2 diamonds were at US$149 per ct. Cash terms only.

Last time I checked, at the beginning of the year, the prices of such CVD diamonds were still way above US$200 per ct.

At this point, I think it's only a matter of time before even the D,E,F colors, high clarity large CVD diamonds go below US$100 per ct. Maybe in a year or two from now.

dchallener · **Joined:** Mon May 26, 2014 9:42 pm **Posts:** 1045

Were those cut stones? (I assume they are, based on the clarity). So a 10 carat diamond for under $1000?

Dioptase · **Joined:** Thu May 28, 2009 4:13 am **Posts:** 234

Yes, they were cut stones. Sold with their IGI report. Besides the ubiquitous modern round brilliant, there was many different classic shapes to choose from : marquise, pear, emerald, radiant, oval...

The sales staff were handing you a huge printed excel spreadsheet, you told them which diamond you wanted to see and they picked it up for you from large storage boxes, organized in giant folders. It was genuinely impressiv to see.

This seller's inventory was stopping short of the 10 ct mark, but had a plethora of 8 and 9 caraters to choose from. I mean dozens upon dozens.

At $99 per ct, the large diamonds I checked had issues: some visible inclusions (dark spots, I suppose graphite), and noticeable graining. However, if you were willing to fork out a bit more, let's say $149 to $180 per carat depending on the color/clarity parameters, you could get yourself a really nice stone.

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