NEW YORK, March 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Diamond Standard® announced today that it received regulatory approval to launch the initial offering of the Diamond Standard Bar.
Investors can purchase Diamond Standard Bars by visiting www.diamondstandard.co. Offered initially at $67,200, the price changes weekly with the market value of the diamond commodities, and will continue until $75 million worth are sold.
The Diamond Standard Bar is the world’s second regulator-approved, exchange tradable, fungible diamond commodity, after the Diamond Standard Coin, which launched in 2021. That offering was oversubscribed with $40 million in orders, versus a regulatory limit of $25 million. Since the launch of the Coin, their value has appreciated by 34%, and like gold, new Coins are sold at the market price.
The initial offering is a special one-time event. Proceeds from the sale are used to purchase a statistical sample of natural diamonds to discover their value along the earth’s “yield curve” of carat weight, color and clarity. This will establish the permanent index of the content to be contained in every Bar ever made. The diamonds will range from 0.76 to 2.05 carats each, to create Bars worth 10 times a Coin, which contains 0.18 to 0.75 carat stones.
Each 70mm by 35mm transparent Bar is engineered to be equivalent, and along with the diamonds it contains a wireless chip, enabling owners to authenticate, audit and trade this brilliant new asset electronically. The chip holds a regulator-licensed blockchain token, which is a receipt proving ownership. If the commodities are held by custodians like Brinks, owners can trade this token instantly, transferring the ownership of their Bar.
Half the Bars are allocated to the Diamond Standard Fund, an investment vehicle for accredited investors who prefer the convenience of shares versus holding commodities, often in IRAs. The fund is co-managed by Horizon Kinetics, a $7 billion investment company which manages INFL, a NYSE-listed ETF designed to benefit from inflation.
Unlocking investment demand for diamonds
Diamonds are the world’s most valuable hard asset by weight, and with an above ground value over $1.5 trillion, diamonds are worth more than all the world’s silver and platinum combined. But without standardization, diamonds had been out of reach to investors—until now.
“Investors hold at least 15% of the above ground supply of each precious metal,” said Cormac Kinney, Founder of Diamond Standard. “Now that they are available as a fungible Coin and Bar, we expect that to become true for natural diamonds as well. By participating early, you can ‘Invest Brilliantly’.”
Transparency and Oversight
The offerings of the Diamond Standard Coin and Bar are overseen by the Bermuda Monetary Authority, and they are approved as “Good for Delivery” by CFTC-licensed markets and clearing organizations. Soon, the Diamond Standard Coin and Bar can be delivered to settle futures contracts on MGEX via the CME Globex platform, and options on the MIAX Options Exchange.
Diamond Standard’s internal auditor is Deloitte. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) grades each diamond, and the International Gemological Institute (IGI) reinspects each diamond upon receipt. The diamonds are consolidated from eight gem labs around the world by Malca-Amit, a high value logistics firm. Upon assembly in the IGI New York lab, Brinks takes custody of the Bars, for storage in their precious metals vault in Delaware. Bar owners can take delivery directly, or from Brinks at any time.
The diamonds are purchased via transparent bidding on the Diamond Standard Exchange, from over 150 diamond vendors. Diamond Standard bids on millions of varieties of diamonds using an automated market-making system, raising bids until statistically valid samples of diamonds are purchased–forcing price discovery. The geological data is public, so anyone can verify the validity of any sample, and prove that each Bar is equivalent.
Over time however, Diamond Standard expects to source 85% of its diamonds from consumers, through Diamond Standard Recycling. As part of a commitment to ESG principles, the firm is projecting to generate a $1 trillion “social dividend” to the billion-plus consumers who own diamonds but are reluctant to sell them at a great loss.
About Diamond Standard Co.
Diamond Standard Co. is the creator of the world’s only regulator-approved diamond commodities. By unlocking diamonds as a market-traded asset, Diamond Standard helps investors to access a natural resource currently worth $1.5 trillion – more than all the world’s silver and platinum combined. A breakthrough hard asset that can be transacted as a blockchain token, the diamond commodity provides diversification, potential inflation protection, and a new store of wealth for institutional and individual investors, while bringing transparency and efficiency to the diamond supply chain. To invest brilliantly, visit www.diamondstandard.co.
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SOURCE Diamond Standard
