Fancy Red Diamonds from Argyle Mine

Do you know what is the number of world population? It's more than 7 billion of people and it's constantly increasing. Let's write it in full — 7,000,000,000. Now compare it with 3. It looks like a tiny needle in a huge haystack, the contrast is vivid. This example was taken to illustrate how high the price for a product would be if there is an uncommonly small supply but an incredibly great demand. By the way, three is the number of fancy red diamonds presented at the Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender, the grand event where the most sought-after diamond gems are showcased and sold.

Argyle Diamond Mine belongs to Rio Tinto Group and is known as the largest supplier of pink and red diamonds in the world. However it doesn't mean that every second diamonds is red. The truth is, for the whole 30-years history of Argyle mine only, six diamonds were certified as Fancy Red, and now three of them will be introduced at the event. As you see, this is a big surprise and a huge honor for the organizers of the event, including Josephine Johnson, the Argyle Pink Diamonds manager. She believes that this is “a very special moment in time” to have these three rare gems together.

The highest spot of the sale is of course the largest Fancy Red diamond – 1.56-carat round gem named Argyle Phoenix. The color intensity is unique and in a way symbolic to represent the treasures that still lie underneath East Kimberley area.

Even though fancy reds are in the limelight during the sale, there are also other unusually beautiful diamonds of fancy colors. Among them is Argyle Imperial, a 3.02-carat fancy intense orangy pink diamond. It's a rare case to find such a diamond larger than 3 carats in size. Another uncommon exhibit is Argyle Celestial, a 0.71-carat blue diamond cut in a shape of a heart. Overall there are three blue diamonds, three fancy red diamonds and 64 pink diamonds at the 2013 Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender.

Briefly about what makes red diamonds look so red: Unlike other colored diamonds, where the color is caused by impurities, red diamonds consist only of pure carbon. The diamond gets its color from lattice deformation while other pink/red diamonds are still formed in the ground.