Presidents Corner - Diamonds Stock - Equity Markets or Fancy Pink Diamonds?

Mandy Drury was standing in front of the big board of about 450 stocks at the CNBC studio. All stocks were heavily in the red. The market was down over 200 points. There was an air of nervousness as we were witnessing the worst selloff in the market in four months.


The market seemed to be paying homage to the 25th anniversary of Black Monday, the 19th of October, 1987, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) dropped by 508 points to 1738.74 (22.61%).


I thought, nothing out of the ordinary had transpired - General Electric and McDonald’s missed analyst expectations, notwithstanding that they still reported respectable earnings. It was Google though that really made people sit up and take notice by delivering an unexpected blue eye to the market.


I was personally punished by Google, as we are a virtual brand and Google is our most important promoter. Google committed a grave sin by missing the earnings estimates of the gurus. They reported USD14 billion in revenues for the 3rd quarter with a net income of USD2.18 billion - a magnificent quarter by anyone’s standards… except the analysts.


Google even did the prudent thing by buying Motorola and preparing for challenges from mobile, thereby planning a shift for their business relative to tomorrow’s market. Apparently the analysts did not like Google's strategy of running their own race and not pandering to the short-term whims of the market. Obviously the analysts understand the market better than Google, that’s why they now have market capitalization of USD220.8 billion.


In our SEO strategy we are following a similar trend. The future growth in Internet sales is hidden in smartphones. Companies must make the preparations today in order to still be able to compete tomorrow.


I was invited by CNBC to answer the question of whether diamonds, specifically fancy color diamonds, can be an alternative investment to stocks. I was told that smart operators know how to play the market. However, my impression was that at the moment, the market was playing with all these so called smart operators...


 A photograph of the Argyle Tender Stones 2012

The 17 Argyle Pink Diamond Tender stones that LEIBISH won in this years tender. Photographed immediately after they arrived at the office


It is a well known secret that fancy color diamonds outperformed the DJIA in a big way, so we were ecstatic when we were formally notified shortly before my arrival in New York by Rio Tinto that LEIBISH had won 17 stones in the Argyle Pink Diamond Tender 2012. ‘17 tender stones - it was unbelievable news!’ We had won 25% of all stones offered at the 2012 Argyle Tender.


 Leibish and Shmulik photograph with Argyle Tender Stones 2012

Leibish & Shmulik Polnauer photograph with the 17 diamonds won in the Argyle Pink Diamond Tender 2012 moments after their arrival to the office


Argyle pink diamonds are the hottest items in the industry, and for every stone we won, we have many customers waiting.

Standing in the CNBC studio watching the senseless hysteria about the market correction of barely 2% I felt really fortunate. Our pink and yellow diamonds are a hit around the world and are being discovered by the biggest stock market players as a wise investment.


LOT 57 - The Argyle Allure

0.33 carat, Fancy Gray-Violet Argyle Diamonds


LOT 4 

0.29 carat, Fancy Purplish Red Diamond

LOT 7

0.61 carat, Fancy Vivid Purplish Pink Argyle Diamond 

LOT 8

0.29ct Fancy Intense Purple-Pink Diamond 

LOT 28 

0.53 carat, Fancy Intense Purplish Pink Argyle Diamond

LOT 29 

0.59 carat, Fancy Intense Purple-Pink Argyle Diamonds

LOT 41 

0.56 carat, Fancy Intense Pink Argyle Diamond

LOT 46

0.58 carat, Fancy Intense Pink Argyle Diamond 

LOT 48

0.50 carat, Fancy Intense Purplish Pink Argyle Diamond


LOT 54

1.04 carat Fancy Purplish Pink Diamond

LOT 56

1.04 carat, Fancy Purple-Pink Argyle Diamond

LOT 60

0.33 carat, Fancy Gray-Violet Argyle Diamond

LOT 61

0.56 carat, Fancy Dark Violetish Gray Argyle Diamond

LOT 62

0.25 carat Fancy Violet-Gray Diamond

LOT 63

0.25ct Fancy Dark Gray-Blue Diamond

LOT 68

0.31 carat, Fancy Blue-Gray Argyle Diamond

LOT 70

0.56 carat, Fancy Blue-Gray Argyle Diamond


The stock market and its analysts, as a rule, act like sheep. There are very few leaders and a host of followers. Irrespective of the underlying financial facts, one company is deemed to have sinned and all the companies are led to the slaughter.


It is almost like basic training in the army where the recruits must run the circuit in 60 seconds. Even if 29 of the 30 recruits did it in time, everyone is punished if the 30th recruit finished a second slow. The commander shouts, “You cannot do it in 60 seconds, now you will try in 50.” Obviously all 30 recruits give their ‘heart and soul’ while trying to run the circuit in 50 seconds. None of these negative sentiments roiling the financial markets are present when buying or selling fancy color diamonds or jewelry.


I prepared a lovely intense yellow heart shaped diamond ring for Amanda. I wanted to place it in front of her together with a 10 ounce gold bar and certificate for 100 shares of General Electric stock and ask her, “if given the choice, which would be best to own. Which one would you choose?”

 1.54 Carat, Fancy Intense Yellow, Heart, VS21.54 Carat, Fancy Intense Yellow, Heart, VS21.54 Carat, Fancy Intense Yellow, Heart, VS2

An enchanting Pave diamond ring in Platinum and 18k Yellow Gold. This stylish ring is set with a 1.54ct Heart shape Fancy Intense Yellow VS2 center diamond, which is surrounded by 30 Round Brilliant Collection color diamonds.





Best regards,

Leibish

Leibish Polnauer

Leibish Polnauer, President and Founder of LEIBISH Fancy Color Diamonds

Popular Articles View more articles
Article Image

As you might imagine, we often receive calls from jewelry appraisers seeking to know the replacement value of fancy color diamonds purchased years back.

Article Image

Legendary French jeweler Jacques Cartier was a master at mixing materials in contrasting shapes and colors which became synonymous with his brand. This extraordinary

Article Image

Luxury is part of magic. I often hear that luxury is about selling dreams. But I actually think luxury is not about dreams but rather it’s about magic. Luxury