$40 Million – the 2015 Argyle Diamond Tender Collection
July 1st, 2015 by Noam Flint
Every year, the executives of Rio Tinto’s Argyle Diamond Mine show off their year’s work at their annual tender. This year’s Argyle Diamond Tender began in Australia at the Sydney Opera House earlier this month. It displays naturally colored diamonds of every hue, but the shining glories of 2015 are the pink diamonds.
Argyle Pink Diamonds are Beuond Rare – by Rio Tinto (video below)
Located in Western Australia, the Argyle Diamond Mine is the world’s largest producer of pink diamonds. The mine’s manager, Josephine Johnson, stated that while pink diamonds make up only one percent of the mine’s total output, 90 percent of the world’s pink diamonds come from Argyle.
A Noteworthy Collection of Red Diamonds
One of Johnson’s favorite gems from the 2015 tender is the Argyle Shalimar - a round fancy intense pink diamond weighing 1.25 carats. It’s named for the exotic gardens in India, the Shalimar is an explosion of color.
However, the Argyle Shalimar is just one of the 65 diamonds that make up the 2015 tender. The “Connoisseur’s Collection,” as this year’s group was named, is comprised of 44 total carats and is expected to fetch an impressive $40 million in revenue, as reported by Business Insider. With the exception of the Shalimar, the rest of the collection sports ballet-themed names including three rare red diamonds – the Argyle Prima Diamond, a 1.20 carat fancy red pear-cut diamond, and the Argyle Allegro Diamond, a 0.79 fancy red diamond and the Argyle Aurora Diamond, a 1.47 carat Oval shaped fancy red diamond. This was done in respect to the mine’s partnership with the Australian Ballet.
Value in Rare Beauty
With price tags surpassing $1 million per carat, pink diamonds are some of the most valuable gems in the world. And since it takes a year from extraction to get each stone bid-ready, it is easy to see why they are currently about 75 times the worth of white diamonds, according to Johnson.
Alan Davies, an executive of Rio Tinto, suggested that diamonds purchased at the tender are rarely made into jewelry. These stones are treated more like art and often become part of special collections – an investment. So, although this year’s Argyle Pink Diamond Tender is an invitation-only event, those lucky enough to attend are in for a spectacular viewing. Davies called the 2015 selection one of the most beautiful outputs in the mine’s history.
The collection will travel from Sydney to Hong Kong, New York and Perth before it closes on Oct. 21.
Then, all that is left is to watch for the closing prices… Care to take your guess?
