Well the count down is on to the famous Argyle Diamond Tender. Only a day to go! If you are thinking of putting a bid in, you will need to dig deep. This year’s tender has some really stunning and super rare violet diamonds and pink diamonds on offer. Violet diamonds and pink diamonds are very, very rare, and their price reflects this rarity. Pink diamonds are incredibly expensive, violet diamonds even moreso.
The most outstanding diamond in this year’s tender is a 2.83ct. oval cut violet diamond, the “Argyle Violet”. It is the largest violet diamond ever to come out of the Argyle mine. A truly stunning stone.
Uncut, the rough diamond was a whopping 9.17ct. It took around 80 hours to cut the diamond. A big, big task!
The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has assessed the diamond and has given it a colour grade of “Fancy Deep Greyish Bluish Violet”. The GIA regards this diamond as a “notable diamond”.
Violet Diamonds and Pink Diamonds are Extremely Rare
To give you an idea of just how rare violet diamonds are, in the 30 odd years of the Argyle mine’s operation, only 12 carats of violet diamonds have ever been on offer at the annual tender. This year’s offerings make up almost four of the twelve carats. The last significant violet diamond that was over one carat was on offer in 2008.
If that figure isn’t enough for you, how about these? For every million carats of rough pink diamonds produced by the Argyle mine, only one polished carat is offered for sale by tender. And how about this statistic? For every 25 million carats of rough diamond found at the mine, only one violet or blue diamond is suitable for tender.
Argyle Mine’s violet diamonds are the only known source of violet diamonds in the world. It is thought that they derive their colour from the presence of hydrogen and nitrogen in the diamond crystal.
This year’s tender has been available for viewing in Copenhagen, Hong Kong and New York. Inspection is by invitation only. The industry expects that the bids will be at a record level this year. The Argyle Violet diamond it is thought will fetch anywhere between two and five million dollars!
I wonder who will buy the Argyle Violet? And what will they do with it? A once in a lifetime job for one very lucky jeweller!
Beautiful Pink Diamonds
So maybe a violet diamond is out of the question for most couples. But you still want a bit of colour? Despite their cost, pink diamonds are very much in demand. Many couples choose to have pink diamonds in their engagement ring. They are especially pretty when used as an accent stone in either the ring band or halo.
For a very soft, feminine look, the combination of rose gold and pink diamonds is beautiful. Rose gold has had a resurgence in popularity in recent times. The softness of the colour of rose gold complements pink diamonds perfectly. Of course, pink diamonds will look incredible in any setting, whether it be white gold, rose gold, yellow gold or platinum. For more info on pink diamonds, please click on the following link: pink diamonds.
* Many thanks to Rio Tinto for the photos in this Article
