Resale Value

When you buy natural diamonds, you are often being informed that natural diamonds can maintain their values. Is this true?

Natural diamonds that could be re-sold, are usually one carat or above, fall within certain ranges of colour, cutting and clarity, with certificates that are issued from reputable certification organisation. However, even all these conditions met, natural diamonds can only be re-sold for 50-60% of its original price. Therefore, saying “natural diamonds is value-maintaining” is not accurate.

Although lab-grown diamonds have no resale value, the price of lab-grown diamonds is only 10% of natural diamonds. For example, a 60% resale price of a 1-carat natural diamond means a loss of about HK$20,000, but this amount is already enough for buying four pieces of 1-carat lab-grown diamonds.

Millennials are gradually becoming the main consumer group. Their consumption pattern is different from elder generation. Natural diamonds are considered to be too luxurious for them. They would rather spend their budget in other categories such as traveling abroad and famous branded clothings or handbags.

In fact, most ladies rarely resell their engagement rings or diamond jewellery, so resale value should not be the main consideration when you buy diamonds. If you spend HKD50,000 to buy a one-carat natural diamond, but a lab-grown diamond of the same quality only costs you a few thousand dollars, then why don’t spend the extra cost in a more meaningful way?