Priceless perfection: Argyle pink diamonds shine brightest in remote Western Australia desert
The Argyle Diamond Mine accounts for around 90 per cent of the world’s pink diamond supply and these stones command a high investment value
Not only do Argyle pink diamonds offer an intensity and range of colour that is unmatched by any other pink diamond, these diminutive diamonds, found in a remote desert landscape, are Australian treasures that command millions per carat.
The gemstone contains a miniature world, with hues that evoke its place of origin – the East Kimberley outback, more than 3,000km from Perth in Western Australia. The Argyle Diamond Mine accounts for around 90 per cent of the world’s pink diamond supply.
Of the approximately 130 million carats of rough diamonds produced in the world each year, less than 20,000ct are rough pink diamonds. The company’s “Tender” stones are one in a million, as for every
1 million carats of rough diamonds, only 1ct of polished stones are offered for sale.
They have more in common with rare, fine art than their colourless cousin, the white diamond, with a pink diamond 20 to 50 times more valuable. The gemstones’ complicated structure makes them harder to cut, and polishing can take three to four times longer than white diamonds, requiring highly skilled cutters who specialise only in Argyle pinks.
Just 0.1 per cent of the Argyle Diamond Mine’s production is pink – and a year’s worth of Argyle pink diamonds over half a carat would fit in the palm of your hand.
The best of these – in an offering of 63 precious finds from a year’s mine production, including 57 pink, four red and two violet diamonds, called the Chroma Collection – are on show in Hong Kong as part of Rio Tinto’s 2016 Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender.
