The ‘Impossibly Rare’ – Unveiling of Argyle Violet Diamond

May 4th, 2016 by Noam Flint

The Argyle Diamond Mine is making splashy noise with latest rare diamond offering.

Argyle Violet Impossibly Rare DiamondThe ‘Impossibly Rare’ Diamond – 2.83 carat Violet Diamond

The mine, famous for its beautiful red and pink diamonds has unveiled its 2016 savior. Normally we hear about an exciting pink or even more so about a rare red diamond being the star of the yearly tender, only this year, the star changes color; violet.

the media started making noise the second Argyle folks announced the offering. An oval shaped GIA certified 2.83 carat Fancy Deep Grayish Bluish Violet Diamond.

Impossibly Rare Discovery

Argyle announced that the rough was found in mid 2015 and weighed 9.17 carats. After the polishing was finished, the loss of rough was equal to 69%, much higher than typical loss of 40%-60%. there is a possibility that they tried to get a pure color intensity without any secondary or tertiary color involved which would have been the ultimate goal of a collector.

The Argyle Violet Diamond in the RoughThe Argyle Violet Diamond in the Rough

Another interesting fact is the rarity of violet diamonds – the diamond’s main color. While some consider violet diamonds as a “niche” within purple diamonds, they are far rarer. Argyle has only produced 12 carats in total in the last 32 years. it is incredible that in 1 year it produced 23.6% while during the previous 31 years it produced the remaining 76.4%.

An Unknown Value & Spectacular Estimations

Many news media outlets and other various online diamond website had jumped on the bandwagon and made similar announcement as quickly as possible. one of the disturbing announcement was focusing on the potential value. Having produced just 12 carats of such color, would make it possible to assess its value, especially when Argyle itself never discusses the Bids or results of its tender, which is exactly what kept prices on the rise.

The Argyle Violet Diamond

While I doubt anyone can look at the above picture and say that The Argyle Violet is not breathtaking… Let’s remember one thing for sure: “beauty is in the eyes of the beholder”. Meaning only collectors, who collect based on color rarity and uniqueness can and would appreciate such rarity. It cannot be properly assessed in dollar values. Ultimately the true value is what the wining bidder actually pays for it. It is quite clear in Rio Tinto’s Media release. No financial projections are given. One news media predicts it will get at least $4 million valuation another stated $1 Million per carat. Being one of a kind I won’t be surprised if it reaches these values, though I really wonder how they got to these numbers… (especially considering that it’s clarity wasn’t even disclosed yet).

It sounds quite exciting though, and while it will soon start its worldwide viewing road show, we will have to wait until the end of the year to know what this beauty will actually sell for. I am also wondering who are the other peers in the top few lots that Argyle normally likes to talk about at every tender. Will there be many other similar diamond colors, or even sizes. we shall find out soon enough.

* Images by Rio Tinto. Full news release here