NDC launches Fancy Colored Diamond Report

Reading Time: 8 minutes As the world’s most prestigious and visionary maisons prepare to illuminate Paris Couture Week with their dazzling creations featuring the rarest, most exquisite, fancy color diamonds, the world’s spotlight is on the astonishing discovery of an extremely rare purple diamond at Canada’s Diavik mine. The find is so exceptional that it’s already being hailed as one of the most significant in recent memory, electrifying the industry and fueling a surge of interest. The excitement doesn’t end there. June 2025 saw a string of record-breaking sales for fancy color diamonds, including the nearly $14 million auction of the legendary Marie-Thérèse Pink diamond at Christie’s New York and a standout $1.5-2 million fancy pink diamond ring at Sotheby’s. Adding to the buzz, Lauren Sánchez has been hitting headlines with her dazzling pink diamond jewelry estimated to be worth millions of dollars at her recent Venice nuptials to Jeff Bezos. Against this backdrop, a new report is set to redefine our understanding of these incredible gems. Just released by the Natural Diamond Council (NDC), in partnership with Choron Group and the Fancy Color Research Foundation, the Fancy Color Diamond Report offers a front-row seat to the allure of these sparkling tributes to the wonders of nature. With contributions from the world’s leading fancy color diamond experts, collectors, auctioneers and retailers, the report reveals the secrets of their formation, their rich and storied legacy, and their meteoric rise as a symbol of wealth and artistry. For centuries, through their extreme rarity, value, and dazzling beauty, fancy color diamonds have been an integral part of the highest quality craftsmanship and contributed to exquisite high jewelry. Sparkling facts from the report The report delves into the secrets behind each exquisite color, examines their rarity based on extensive research, analyses their value factors, showcases the auction appeal, features top curated exhibitions, and brings us back to some of the most notorious fancy color diamonds.

• The most prized hues are red, pinks, blues and greens
• Only a handful of red diamonds larger than two carats are known to exist
• Fancy color diamond prices have grown at a compound annual rate of 5.7% over the past 20 years, according to the Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF)
• The chameleon effect is a phenomenon where the color of diamonds changes temporarily when kept in darkness or gently heated

“These are exciting times where bold creativity and colorful, rare beauty takes center stage,” says David Kellie, CEO of the Natural Diamond Council. “This is why we decided to continue our Diamond Report series with a beautiful edition focused on these rare gems. Through our vast network of partners and industry experts, we wanted to provide a go to guide on fancy color diamonds for press, retailers, and passionate consumers alike. Fancy color diamonds are the ultimate expression of passion, desire, personal style and enduring value – no two are ever the same. We’re not talking about just jewels, we’re talking about a vibrant legacy of Earth’s ultimate power and beauty.” The unstoppable value of fancy color diamonds  Chromatic gems continue to command record-breaking prices and inspire awe. The past two decades have seen fancy color diamonds outshine the entire market, with prices skyrocketing by a staggering 205% since 2005. Pink diamonds have soared by 393.5%, blue by 242.4% and yellow by 49.3%1 – a sign of their rarity and insatiable global demand. “While global trade anxieties have created caution across luxury sectors, the fancy color diamond market remained impressively composed. The data shows a contained, strategic repositioning. It speaks to the market’s growing maturity and the defensive appeal of vivid color diamonds,” said Roy Safit, CEO of the Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF). Cutting for color When cutters decide on how to cut a rough diamond into a polished gem, they seek to maximize appeal and value. For fancy color diamonds, that means making the color as bold and beautiful as possible. “Fancy color diamonds are an ultra-rare and highly esteemed segment of the market that demands a profound understanding of craftsmanship and gemology. With decades of technical expertise, Choron works closely with collectors, investors, and luxury brands for the full spectrum of fancy color diamonds. Backed by a global network and a strong presence in key markets, we continue to set benchmarks in the trade of fancy color diamonds, transforming nature’s rarest creations into timeless works of art,” says Anshul Gandhi, CEO of Choron Group, one of the world’s leading fancy color diamond manufacturing and trading companies. Putting fancy color diamonds on the map  Over the past 150 years, discoveries have revealed additional sources of fancy color diamonds. But, even today, only a handful of diamond mines produce these exceptional gems, and they still make up just a tiny fraction of total diamond output. The report’s topology reveals the global hotspots where fancy color diamonds have been discovered, including Canada, Botswana, South Africa, Sierra Leone and Australia. Auction appeal Color diamonds may represent just a tiny share of global diamond production, but they command massive attention – especially on red carpets, at exhibitions, and in major auctions. Fancy Deep, Fancy Intense, and Fancy Vivid have become the stars of the auction world, prized as both striking jewels and valuable investments. That excitement continues to build. 2024 saw a string of standout color diamond sales, and 2025 is already shaping up to be another big year. Highlights include: The Mediterranean Blue, a 10.03-carat, VS2 clarity Fancy Vivid blue cushion modified brilliant diamond, was sold for $21.4 million at Sotheby’s Geneva in May 2022. This translates to a staggering sum of $2.1million/carat. Sotheby’s High Jewelry sale in New York in June 2025 represented the whole rainbow of colors in which natural diamonds can form. In addition, to the 5.02-carat fancy pink diamond ring (est. $1.5 – 2 million) there was the 2.02-carat Fancy Vivid blue diamond (est. $1.4 – 1.8 million), an incredibly rare Fancy green-blue diamond ring weighing 2.61 carats (est. $250,000 – 350,000), and a 26.19 carat Fancy Vivid yellow diamond and diamond ring (est. $750,000 – 1 million). [Sotheby’s Jewelry Auction: June’s Best Diamond Offerings]. The 10.38-carat Marie-Thérèse Pink diamond, linked to France’s Queen Marie Antoinette and newly mounted by JAR, just doubled its pre-auction estimate at Christie’s New York also in June 2025 for nearly $14 million [Marie Antoinette’s Pink Diamond Just Sold For $14 Million]. Of course, the legendary CTF Pink Star, a 59.60-carat, Fancy Vivid pink, internally flawless diamond, fetched the all-time record-breaking sale at $71.2 million at Sotheby’s Hong Kong auction in 2017 acquired by the leading Chinese jewelry house, Chow Tai Fook. “A vivid pink diamond this size is a total freak of nature. There are very few important pink diamonds over 20 carats. It is less likely that we will see more important sizable pinks,” shares Tom Moses, Executive Vice President of the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). As Paris Couture Week commences, expect to see abundant rich colors on the runways and red carpets as the top maisons showcase their new, exquisite, gem-encrusted fine jewelry collections. Download the full report here.