Mexico’s proposed higher mining royalties could block nearly $7bn in investments
The Mexican government proposed raising mining royalties under the argument that metal prices have risen in recent years.
Until now, investors looking for safe-haven assets used to turn to gold or Treasuries. Not anymore. A Singapore-based exchange began trading Tuesday a new standardized diamond product that aims to become one of the most-sought shelters from global risks.
The credit card-sized package of diamonds, named Diamond Bullion, also seeks to remove some of the main obstacles for trading precious stones — the subjectivity of their value.
Diamond Bullion is a credit card-sized package of diamonds sourced at wholesale prices on the Singapore Diamond Investment Exchange.
Launched by the Singapore Diamond Investment Exchange (SDiX), the new product is designed to store and display investment-grade polished gems sourced at wholesale prices on SDiX and issued in standard denominations of about $100,000 and $200,000 each.
“Until now, there was no way people could invest in diamonds in the form which is equivalent to investing in gold,” Alain Vandenborre, executive chairman and founder of the exchange said in a statement. “A diamond has absolutely zero correlation with any other asset class, whether it’s commodities, bonds, equities. It’s a store of wealth, it’s a hedge against volatility and you need that in your portfolio.”
Each Diamond Bullion card contains a chip that allows immediate valuation based on exchange trading and instant authentication, which is crucial as synthetic diamonds have no resale value.
They also have a mark, developed by the International Institute of Diamond Grading and Research (IIDGR), which is part of Anglo American’s De Beers Group, to further ensure their authenticity.
Not only investors will be able to trade their diamond bullions globally, but they’ll also get real-time pricing data via the SDiX website or the SDM mobile app.
As Singapore Diamond Mint Company chairman Francis Yeoh put it, Diamond Bullion is designed to be the ‘Gold Bullion’ for diamonds, “an investment that can be passed on to future generations for years to come.”
2 Comments
Altaf
People who are uncomfortable with diamond facts wont go for it. People with diamond know how will also hesitate to buy them because each diamond is different. 100 diamonds of exact 1.00 carat weight vary in value 100 ways based on the color, clarity, types of imperfections in each gem, florescence and many other diamond exclusive facts. In fact there is no agreement on perfect dimensions. The diemnsions considered perfect by GIA may be considered fat belly by other certifying agency. In such scenario, how can a set of diamonds be sold for a standard 100 grand or multiples of such? Comparing to gold, every one knows what is the price of a 24K gold on that day. How do you know the price of a 1 carat diamond on that day? There is no universal pricing formula.
I prefer to buy a diamond in the market after discussing, bargaining.
C Gilroy
Mining.com seems to be allowing blatant commercial content without any disclaimer. This article has no place except for on an advertising page. Further, it has many self-serving statements and outright lies. First, a lack of subjectivity in the pricing driven by the price – from where? – the seller!! Second, saying that synthetic diamonds have no resale value. From what I am seeing, and the diamond industry has this totally wrong, is that the millenials would rather buy a synthetic stone than a mined one, because of the environmental impact of mining. I can see the end of newly mined diamonds within a generation.