FOCUS 焦点 JNA May/June 2025 | 15 Round diamonds are bread-and-butter goods, but people are looking for new designs and concepts. This is where fancy shapes come into the picture. - Rishi Mundra, director of Hong Kong-based Stellar Group HK Ltd Demand for diversity Buyers are increasingly on the lookout for variety, hence the stronger demand for fancy shaped diamonds, according to Rishi Mundra, director of Hong Kong-based Stellar Group HK Ltd. The company, which has been around for 45 years, specialises in rounds and fancy shapes. Its major markets are Hong Kong, Europe and North America as well as the Middle East, which is a growing market for Stellar Group. “Round diamonds are bread-and-butter goods, but people are looking for new designs and concepts. This is where fancy shapes come into the picture,” explained Mundra. “Pears, marquise and ovals are doing well.” Kanav Birmiwal of Highend Collections Ltd in Thailand agreed, adding that fancy shapes are enjoying steady demand among a more discerning clientele. Fancy shapes afford customers more liberty and flexibility in designing standout collections, he added. Among the fastest-moving shapes are hearts alongside kites and triangles since these are quite distinctive. Highend Collections has clients in the US, the Middle East and Asia. Rajesh Samodia, managing director of Fine Gems Collection GmbH, shared this observation, adding that there is rising interest in even more unusual shapes like moon, hexagon, taper and kite, on top of the perennial favourites. Fine Gems Collection, based in Germany, mainly sells to jewellery manufacturers and designers in the US and Europe as well as Hong Kong. “The increase in demand for fancy shaped diamonds was exponential – about 300 per cent from two years ago,” stated Samodia. “Buyers are favouring fancy shapes both as side and centre stones. You can play around with fancy shapes. That is the beauty of it.” According to Mundra, non-conventional shapes, which are used as shoulder or side stones to accentuate larger centre gems, were not as common about two to three years ago. “Today, more and more clients are looking for these. We started off with tapered baguettes and trapezoids, but with increased demand, we gradually branched out to halfmoons, cadillacs, shields and bullets,” he explained. 228.31 Weight in carats of ‘The Rock,’ a pear-shaped brilliant-cut G-colour diamond of VS1 clarity, which sold for US$21.7 million at Christie’s Geneva in May 2022. The Rock is the largest white diamond ever offered at auction. “The Rock”的重量。这是一颗净度为VS1的梨形明亮式 切割G色钻石，于2022年5月在佳士得日内瓦拍卖会上以 2,170万美元售出。The Rock是拍卖会史上最大的白钻。 As buyers normally require two matching diamonds, a great deal of effort goes into procuring such stones. Prices are on the premium side, too. In general, fancy shaped diamonds command higher prices compared to their round counterparts. For instance, a GIA-certified 30-pointer SI round diamond could sell for US$850 to US$900 per carat while a similarly sized pear shape can cost a minimum of about US$1,050 to US$1,100 per carat, depending on the make and the fluorescence, noted Mundra. Ultra unique Some companies are upping the ante and going beyond the traditional shapes. In Dayagi Diamonds’ display windows are a sparkling assortment of innovative cuts not normally found in the market. A few examples are teddy bear, cloud, dog, rabbit and bat, among other special shapes. Based in Israel, Dayagi Diamonds has 83 years of experience in diamond manufacturing, with major buyers in the US and, to some extent, Europe and Asia. CEO and third-generation owner Yoran Dayagi said stepping out of the box stemmed from a desire to resonate with younger generations whose constant exposure to social media heavily influences their buying decisions. “As a diamond manufacturing company, we took things one step further,” remarked Yoran. “These fun fancy shapes helped us gain popularity on social media, creating a niche.”
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