Sourcing

Rio Tinto Selling Smaller Pink Diamonds from Argyle

SourcingSep 10, 2019

Rio Tinto Selling Smaller Pink Diamonds from Argyle

The “Argyle Pink Everlastings Collection” features 211.21 carats of pinks from the soon-to-close mine.

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The Argyle Pink Everlastings Collection features 64 lots containing multiple pink diamonds, with each lot accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.

Sydney—Rio Tinto launched a new diamond collection Monday, a grouping of smaller pinks it will sell alongside the top diamonds from its soon-to-close Argyle mine in Western Australia.

The “Argyle Pink Everlastings Collection” features 64 lots of multiple pink diamonds weighing 0.14 carats and under, with a total weight of 211.21 carats. The collection represents 2 percent of the mine’s annual pink diamond production.

It is the first time Rio Tinto has offered a collection in conjunction with its annual Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender, driven by demand from high-end jewelers for smaller pink diamonds, a company spokesperson said.

Rio Tinto expects less than 100 carats of similar-quality material to come out of the mine before its closure in 2020.


Lot 5 of the collection, featuring 29 diamonds weighing a total of 2.51 carats


Each lot in the collection will be accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.

Vivienne Becker, jewelry historian and writer whose books include “Carnet by Michelle Ong,” said in a press release the collection will “feed the unstoppable demand from designers and jewelers who appreciate the finite rarity of these beautiful gems.”

“We are delighted to offer for the first time ever this unique collection of rare Argyle pink diamonds, destined to be in strong demand by the world’s finest jewelers,” Alan Chirgwin, Rio Tinto Copper & Diamonds vice president of sales and marketing, said in the release.

Rio Tinto debuted this year’s Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender, its annual sale of the best and biggest pink, red and violet stones, in July.

The collection, titled “The Quest for the Absolute,” featured 64 diamonds weighing 56.28 total carats.

The Quest will be one of the last sales of its kind, as it is likely the shuttering mine will produce enough diamonds for only one or two more tenders after this year, the Rio Tinto spokesperson confirmed.  

The Pink Everlastings Collection will be tendered alongside the larger pink diamonds in the Australian city of Perth, Singapore London and New York.

Bids are slated to close Oct. 9.
Lenore Fedowis the associate editor, news at National Jeweler, covering the retail beat and the business side of jewelry.

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