Diamond is the New Gold as Prices Soar in 2012 | Biltmore Loan Arizona| CHURINGA RUBY JEWELRY

class=”text-uppercase mb-5 text-yellow-sea innerpage-title”>Diamond is the New Gold as Prices Soar in 2012

They say that diamond is the new gold, especially this year. Like gold, which had a surprising resurfacing when the new millennium hit with no break in the wave seen in the horizon, diamond prices are also on the rise. In people’s minds diamond has always remained valuable.

There is always a demand, largely in the form of engagement rings but also as a way to win a girl’s heart. And when you say diamond, whether you’re buying or selling, there is always an image of it as being costly. Although diamonds is mostly thought of as an aesthetic accessory much like gold, it is as much an investment property like real estate, shares in the stock market and currencies. This is why market investors are closely monitoring the surge in prices.

With the volatility of the stock market prices and real estate still a worrying territory to get into, investors are setting their sights on diamonds.

China and India

One of the reasons for the surge in prices is the great demand of middle class in China and India. In the past, gold was the favorite in China. But as Eddie Tam who runs the hedge fund CAI Global said, “Gold no longer satisfies status demand, you need bling, you need something shiny, you need diamonds.”

With the growing population of the middle class Indians and Chinese, the appeal of diamonds have widened as well. Expectations over this price rise can extend to 2020, market analysts predict.

In Hong Kong, shops that buy and sell jewelries have been marking up their gold jewelries by 10%. But with diamonds they’re able to sell them 3 to 5 times the original price. In a report by De Beers, this Chinese enthusiasm for diamonds began in 2010  when there was a 25% increase in diamond jewelry sales.

Blood Diamond

One factor being considered as well is the ban of importing diamonds from Africa, specifically Kimberly. There is a boycott of buying diamonds from this large importer as the diamonds there are said to fund armies and warlords that violate human rights especially the Sierra Leone conflict. Dubbed “Blood Diamonds”, these stones are said to be tainted with victims’ blood.

Mordechair Rapaport of the Rapaport Group described this embargo as, “When a guy gives a woman a diamond and someone was killed for it, it is not worth anything.”

Because of this, with no imported diamonds coming in, diamond buying and selling in the States is being done within the country. This short supply and great demand aided in raising its prices. And as China and India are eating up into the US diamond market, the surge came into a full circle.

Selling diamonds

They say this is the perfect time to sell your diamonds. With the country still reeling from the effects of unemployment, selling your jewelry is a way to tide over the aftermath of the recession. It is also said this is the perfect time to buy diamonds. With the prices on the rise, and is predicted to rise some more, this is the best place to put your money in.

This has always been the crux of investment: whether to buy or sell when the prices are high. But whatever the case may be, De Beers may be right, whether as an investment or an heirloom, when they created the slogan, “Because a diamond is forever.”

Img c/o Pixabay.