In 1896, the gold standard skeptic William Jennings Bryan declared that politicians “shall not crucify mankind on a cross of gold.”
But a new startup is hoping that he would have felt differently about a cross of diamonds.
The Diamond Standard Co. is trying to create a diamond equivalent of the gold standard — and to get people to invest in the gem, it’s launching its own, diamond-only fund on the New York Stock Exchange.
Right now, diamonds are like Russian Roulette
Their prices see huge swings, largely because the value of a given diamond is usually a guess.
While gem-heads have tried to create a uniform metric of value through the “4Cs” — cut, color, clarity and carat weight — there are a ton of other factors that go into the price, like the fluorescence of a diamond.
Because of this subjectivity, the average spread between the buying price and sale price of a diamond is 10% to 40%.
A possible solution: Diamond Standard coins
The company is using an algorithm to assign standard values to all sorts of tiny diamonds. Then it groups them together into individual coins.
That way, each coin is worth the same — and you can know exactly what you’re buying if you invest in the fund.
Want a piece of the action? The Diamond Standard is selling its first round of coins — 5k at $5k a piece — on September 28.
