Super-rich still pay dear for rare diamonds

By David Brough

LONDON (Reuters) - The rapid rate of increase in wholesale prices of rare polished diamonds is unsustainable, but for now the growing number of super-rich are paying rising prices for top-tier diamond jewelry.

Charles Wyndham, founder of PolishedPrices, a leading index of wholesale diamond prices, said on Friday prices of larger, rare, near-flawless gemstones had shot up by roughly 200 percent over the past 18 months.

The surge has been driven by increased interest from a growing number of multi-millionaires in emerging markets, a shortage of rough diamonds, and the dollar's slide, he said.

Diamond jewelry prices have risen in tune with wholesale diamond prices, but fine jewelers like Graff and Cartier say demand is holding up well for top-tier diamond jewelry in upscale retail outlets on Bond Street in London and in New York.

"Sales are doing well -- Cartier is a high-end business and, therefore, better protected," Frederic de Narp, president and CEO, Cartier North America, told Reuters in June. He gave no figures. Cartier is a subsidiary of Swiss luxury goods maker Richemont.

High-end jewelers in London and New York are reporting increased traffic from foreign visitors, especially from commodity-rich countries in the Middle East, South America and eastern Europe.

The wholesale price of internally flawless 3-carat round polished diamonds has jumped to $100,000 per carat as of June 1, from $55,000 last December, according to PolishedPrices.com.

The world's rarest polished gemstones have experienced staggering price rises in recent months. Wyndham estimated 13-carat perfect diamonds now to be worth in excess of $200,000 per carat wholesale, an all-time peak.