London-based mining company Rio Tinto will offer a 3.14-carat, vivid pink diamond at its Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender, the largest stone of its color in the history of the annual sales event.
The company’s Argyle mine in the East Kimberley produces more than 90 per cent of Australia’s diamonds, and is the only known source of pink diamonds in the world.
The gem, named the Argyle Alpha, is one 63 diamonds that, in total, weigh in at more than 51 carats in the 2018 Tender — a collection so rare it will never reach the open market.
Argyle Alpha
This year’s tender also includes the Argyle Muse, an oval-cut, 2.28-carat stone, which is the largest purplish-red diamond ever offered at the tender, and came from a 7.39-carat rough. A second diamond, cut from the same stone, will also be up for sale.
The other hero diamonds include the square-radiant-shaped, 1.29-carat, fancy vivid purplish-pink Argyle Maestro; the princess-shaped, 1.57-carat, fancy dark grey-violet Argyle Alchemy; the Argyle Odyssey, a round brilliant, fancy intense pink stone weighing 2.08 carats; and the radiant-shaped Argyle Mira, a 1.12-carat fancy red.
Rio Tinto will unveil the gems at a world exclusive preview in Sydney, and will also showcase them in Hong Kong and New York. Bidding for the diamonds closes on October 10.
Argyle Alpha
