Photos here of  a Natural Fancy Vivid Yellow Diamond, a Fancy Fancy Intense Purple-Pink Diamond and a Fancy Blue Diamond are the copyright protected property and courtesy of Rock Diamond Corp.

For the most part, no. If you have a 1ct round diamond solitaire and you try and sell it as an individual, you’ll find it hard to even break even. You will more than likely take a loss. So if you’re thinking standard issue princess or round diamond for investment purposes, you’re going to be unhappily surprised when you can’t sell it because there are a ton of colorless diamonds out there just like them. Color D, internally flawless of an enormous size might be an exception.
    
However, I have noticed a niche category where the investment value rises substantially.

And that is natural fancy colored diamonds. In working with a diamond dealer who deals mostly in natural colored diamonds, I’ve noticed even diamonds in the lower X-Y light yellow range have substantially risen in value over the last 5 years. Although I would not consider an X-Y Light Yellow an 'investment diamond', I would consider it a good value.

What about the social conscientiousness regarding diamonds? That story has been blow up way out of proportion and 'hollywooded up'. Ninety five percent of the gem quality rare pinks come from the Argyle mines located in Australia, not Africa as Hollywood movies would lead you to believe. There are simply countries where anything considered a rare or rich resource will get exploited.

If you are considering a diamond as an investment, go for the more saturated and rarer colors.

Those are the diamonds that will rise in value. Red is the rarest color and impossible to find. Blue is next followed by pink diamonds. From there, I would be guessing. It may be vivid orange or vivid yellow diamonds. I would guess a vivid orange diamond is rarer. And then there are chameleon diamonds, ones with almost neon green fluorescence that might or might not prove to be solid investment diamonds. But one thing is for sure, you don’t run across any of these saturated colors every day even if you happen to be a natural fancy colored diamond dealer.

So what am I saying here? I’m telling you that diamonds are usually more for enjoyment than investment. But considering economic circumstances we are in now, it is probably a more solid investment than others. If this is something that interests you, a good dealer would help you find a diamond that would increase in value. But it's not a sure thing like a bond investment. And while probably not a savvy investment for the regular Joe, it can be a tidy investment for someone who has connections to broker it should they want to sell it later. It would be the type of person who would know who to go to in order to sell a rare painting or a Ming vase.

This kind of investing is not for the faint of wallet.

A rare vivid blue diamond can cost millions even now. But what about smaller vivid yellow diamonds as investments-- the ones the regular folks might be able to swing? The answer is, I don't really know but I've seen them rise steadily in value. They are not something you have to keep in a safe but you can enjoy with no worries of wear and tear. Diamonds are hard substances and nicks and scratches are rare in most cuts. At least this is an investment you can wear and enjoy.

In the 5 years I’ve worked in the industry, I have yet to see a blue or pink diamond drop in price at any point. Not even so much as a slight dip down. Even pinks with a touch of brown in them have gone up. And I can’t say that I see a lot of fancy vivid or rare colors coming back in for trade up. A few fancy yellow diamonds have. But even that is a small number of trade ups.

So like any investment, enter it with caution, arm yourself with a trustworthy dealer and make sure you have an understanding of the process of cashing in this investment at a later date.