Bling sting: Heist reflects new interest in diamonds

In a brazen European tarmac heist on Monday, eight armed robbers took off with $50 million worth of diamonds.

While the jewels have been valued for centuries for their strength and beauty, the heist comes at a delicate time for the diamond industry, as some hope the gems will become the next trend in commodity investing.

In December, the first diamond-based exchange-traded fund hit the market, and more are in the works.

ETFs are investment funds that trade like stocks but which often track an index. They've also become popular vehicles for investors seeking to make plays in gold, wheat and other commodities.

The attraction for gold and diamonds isn't only skin deep, however. Investors increasingly are putting money into gold and other commodities as a way to diversity into investments that aren't linked to the U.S. equity market. 

Now, fund managers want diamonds to become the new gold. Less than a decade ago, the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) introduced the concept of buying ownership into the fund's physical gold holdings, stored in guarded vaults. The SPDR Gold Shares now has about $68 billion in assets under management, making it one of the country's largest ETFs.

The first diamond-based fund, the ISE Diamond/Gemstone ETF (GEMS) comes from PureFunds, an exchange-traded fund provider. While not buying up diamonds directly, the fund invests in firms that produce and sell the jewels, such as Harry Winston (HWD) and Signet Jewelers (SIG). 

More diamond-based funds are in the works. IndexIQ, a fund manager that offers hedge-fund strategies, is working on an ETF that invests in actual diamonds. The fund plans to hold "one-carat, gem quality diamonds of readily available, industry-standard diamonds in common use among diamond dealers." 

"Diamond is the last uncommoditized commodity, and so it’s drawing in many organizations,” IDEX Online editor Edahn Golan told The New York Times last year. 

But diamonds offer some unique challenges. For one, it's difficult to establish consistent pricing for the gems, given the variety of quality and cuts. The diamond industry has also been hurt by the taint of "blood diamonds," or diamonds mined in a war zone. 

And then there's the huge industry domination by De Beers, which maintains a market share of 40%, according to the Times. 

As for the diamond robbers, no arrests have yet been made. While they stole at least 120 packages of the jewels, worth $50 million, that's just a fraction of the $51.9 billion in diamonds traded in Antwerp last year, according to the Times.

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