Diamonds may be forever, but the price is dropping fast. Naturally-formed diamonds are losing their value so quickly—26% less today in shops than two years ago—that one gemologist described them as a "waste of money." The fall is driven, among other things, by mass production of lab-grown diamonds, whose own value has slumped by three quarters since the pandemic.
"It's a bad time to buy a diamond," a London jeweller told The Guardian. "They'll probably be cheaper in a few weeks."
Natural diamond prices have collapsed to the lowest levels this century, according to Bank of America research, prompting widespread production cuts and mine closures.
The price of some diamond weights – carats – have almost halved from the high prices struck three years ago after the early pandemic spending splurge subsided.
Even the world's dominant diamond producer, De Beers, was forced to make rare price cuts late last year of between 10% and 15%.
Pour one out for the diamond mine owners! Conversely, it's a good time to be up to your neck in gold.
"Spot gold rose 0.1% to $2,753.19 per ounce," reported Reuters. "Prices hit a more than three-month peak on Wednesday."
Though $26.72 shy of the all-time high of $2,790.15 reached in October, it's up more than a third in a year. And unlike bitcoin, you can wear it, use it as a paperweight, or enchant it to make the best mining pick, so long as you're willing to accept sharply-reduced durability.
