By Sam Thomas

The 10 most famous Argyle Diamonds

03 June 2022

Sparkling blush beauties

Pink Diamonds – the sparkling blush beauties painstakingly and carefully unearthed from the rugged ranges of North Western Australia’s Kimberley.

They are extraordinary for their rarity, their singularity, their colour – and their availability is limited – both in kind and in time.

The vast majority have been gifted to the world by way of the Argyle Diamond mine, which has now ceased operations. In fact, the terms ‘pink diamond’ and ‘Argyle diamond’ are virtually synonymous.

Many pink diamonds – Argyle pink diamonds – have attained celebrity status. We take a look at some of the best-known roseate rocks and the 10 Most Famous Argyle Diamonds…

The Argyle Pink Jubilee

The most famous pink diamond produced by the Rio Tinto Argyle operation is the ‘Pink Jubilee’. The Pink Jubilee is the biggest rough pink diamond ever found in Australia. It weighed a whopping 12.76 carats in its rough state.

The Pink Jubilee was discovered in 2011. Initially, due to its size, it was estimated to be worth possibly $12,000,000 (over 1 million dollars per carat). Usually, items such as this would be sent for sale to the exclusive Argyle Pink Diamond Tender – the yearly, invitation only pink diamond sale which is the flagship annual event for the coloured diamond industry. Or for auction at Christies or Sotheby’s, and the imminent sale of the Pink Jubilee was certainly expected, as was excitedly reported at the time.

However, soon after there was hush-hush and no further news of the giant gem. It was a no-show at the Argyle Pink Diamond Tender and had not arrived at any auction rooms…

An ABC press release said that, “The pink beauty was recovered at the Argyle Diamond Mine in August 2011, and after undergoing a painstaking process to achieve 8.01 carats, a gletz prevented the Argyle Pink Jubilee from making the grade for the 2012 Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender.”

It emerged that, soon after during the cutting process in Perth, there was found to be a major internal fault line which was it was impossible to overcome. Called a ‘gletz’, this is a ‘feather’ – a visible flaw inside a diamond. This adversely affects the stone’s clarity grade and therefore – its value.

The owners took the decision not to divide it up into several smaller stones for sale, but rather to preserve its unique entity. Rio Tinto instead donated the diamond to the Melbourne Museum.

The managing director of Rio Tinto at the time, David Peever, stated that “The journey of the Argyle Pink Jubilee is a remarkable story of buried treasure, global excitement and the mysterious geology of the most concentrated form of wealth on earth.

Over 1.8 billion years in the making, the Argyle Pink Jubilee diamond is truly a priceless gem, which will become a permanent record of an important part of Australian mining history.”

The Argyle Phoenix

The Argyle Phoenix was a 1.56 carat dark pink or ‘red’ diamond. The Phoenix rose from the depths to fetch the highest price ever for an Argyle diamond, per carat.

The Argyle Dauphine

The Argyle Dauphine was another diamond in a deep pink colour, which set the world record for the highest figure to be paid for an Argyle pink diamond, in overall value. This favourite princess was a 2.51 carat fancy.

The Argyle Muse

The Argyle Muse) was a large 2.28 carat stunner – the largest fancy purple-red example to be offered at the famous Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender sale.

The Argyle Alpha

The Argyle Alpha was the biggest pink diamond to go for sale at the Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender. It weighed in at 3.14 carats. It was a vivid pink, emerald cut.

The Argyle Everglow

The Argyle Everglow was considered to be one of the most exquisite gems produced from the Argyle mine. It was a considerable 2.11 carats with a striking bright red colour. It was purchased at the 2017 Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender by the New York based diamantaire

Optimum Diamonds LLC. The exact figure they paid in not known, although it was in the millions, for the beauty which was described as ‘a once in a lifetime stone’.

The Argyle Avaline

The Argyle Avaline was offered at the 2017 Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender, alongside the Argyle Everglow. Avaline tipped the scales at 2.42 carats – was the biggest stone that year – and was snapped up by the international luxury jewellery house, Graff.

Collection

Argyle Loose Diamonds

As a proud Argyle Select Atelier, Paul Bram presents a collection of loose Argyle pink diamonds for sale that are beyond rare and breathtakingly beautiful.

Loose Argyle Pink Diamonds

0.51ct Round 6P, SI2

0.35ct Round 5PP, VS1

0.17ct Pear 6P, SI2

2x 0.20ct Round 5PP, SI2

0.24ct Round 4PR, VVS2

0.36ct Round 4PR, SI2

The Argyle Eternity

The Argyle Eternity featured as lot 1 in the most recent Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender. At 2.24 carats, it is a prize piece, and was sold to Hong Kong coloured diamond specialist, Kunming Diamonds. The director of the establishment, Harsh Maheshwari commented that,

> “It is an extraordinary opportunity and a privilege to be part of the history-making Argyle diamond mine. We are humbled to be custodians of these iconic rare jewels and are delighted to be part of their enduring legacy.”

The Argyle Infinite

The Argyle Infinite was also offered in the historic 2020 sale. The Infinite is a 0.70 carat oval Fancy Dark Violet-Gray diamond. This dramatic and romantic gem broke the record for a diamond in this category, to be produced by the Argyle mine and sold at the famous yearly Tender.

The Petite Suites

The Petite Suites were offered at the 2020 Tender as well. This was a highly curated collection of repeated sets of miniature gems. Each parcel was carefully designed to harmoniously bring the best balance between size and shape, clarity and colour. These were purchased by the well-known Australian jeweller, John Calleija.