Rio Tinto pink diamonds fetch record prices

SYDNEY - The annual sale of Rio Tinto's rare pink-hued diamonds attracted unprecedented interest with at least two of the stones fetching record prices of over $2 million, the mining giant said Monday.

The 2013 Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender of 64 red, pink, and blue stones drew a record number of bids over $1 million from established markets such as Japan and Australia as well as emerging markets China and India.

The highlight was the Argyle Phoenix, a 1.56 carat gem and one of three Fancy Red diamonds on offer, which sold for more than $2 million to a Singapore-based jeweller, the highest per-carat price paid for any diamond ever produced from Rio's Argyle mine in Western Australia.

The exact price was not disclosed due to client confidentiality.

Another record was set for the Argyle Dauphine, a 2.51 carat Fancy Deep Pink diamond, which also sold for more than $2 million, to a US-based dealer.

Rio's Pink Diamonds manager Josephine Johnson said the prices reflected "increasing demand from the world's top jewelers, designers, collectors and connoisseurs."

"These fabulous flukes of nature are a good news story in the mining industry at the moment," she told AFP.

"There was a lot of interest from our established markets such as Australia, the United States, Japan, and Europe but also China and India, where there is now very strong demand."

A pink diamond is usually worth about 50 times more than a white diamond, although a 118.28-carat white diamond broke a world record earlier this month when it fetched more than $30 million at a Hong Kong auction.

Given the rare pink stones are only offered once a year and demand is high, previews were held in Sydney, New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Perth earlier this year to allow clients and experts to see the gems and make offers for individual diamonds.

The Argyle mine produces virtually the entire world's supply of pink diamonds, with the red seen as the pinnacle of the color scale.

It is not known how the diamonds acquire their rose tinge but it is thought to come from a molecular structure distortion as the jewel forms in the earth's crust or makes its way to the surface.

"We are delighted with the results for the 2013 Tender collection which are a reflection of their rarity, provenance, and global reach," said Rio Diamonds managing director Jean-Marc Lieberherr.

"The Argyle ore body is extraordinary and after 30 years of production it continues to produce the world's most coveted diamonds."

source: interaksyon.com

Perfect colorless diamond auctioned for record $23.5M

GENEVA - A new colorless, pear-shaped diamond weighing 101.73 carats raked in a record 23 million Swiss francs ($23.5 million, 18.5 million euros) at a Christie's auction in Geneva late Wednesday.

The price, which does not include tax or commission, is the highest ever paid for a flawless colorless diamond, according to the auction house, which had hoped the gem would go for $30 million.

"Twenty-three million (Swiss) francs! Your last chance! Twenty-three million, sold!" Francois Curiel, the head of Christie's jewelry division shouted, clinching the deal before some 150 people gathered for the auction at a luxury Geneva hotel.

Including tax and commission, the total ticked in at $26.7 million, Christies said after the sale of the stone, which is the largest diamond in its category ever to go under the hammer.

The American Institute of Gemology has handed the gemstone the top colorless grade "D" and the best clarity grade, "flawless", which is characterized by its "absolute symmetry", according to Christies.

In the rough, the diamond was 236 carats when it was extracted from the Jwaneng mine in Botswana, before it was meticulously sculpted for 21 months, Christie's said.

Wednesday's auction marked the first time the rock goes on sale, and the buyer will have the privilege of naming it.

Wednesday's sale marked the highest price ever paid for a flawless colorless diamond at auction.

The previous auction-price record-holder in this category was the 84.37-carat Chloe round diamond, snapped up at a Sotheby's auction in Geneva in 2007 by Guess Jeans founder Georges Marciano.

A diamond merchant sold the new diamond, the centerpiece of Christie's traditional May jewelry and luxury watch sale, but it was not immediately clear who the deep-pocketed buyer was.

In the "colorless, flawless" category, the reigning world champion in terms of size is meanwhile the Cullinan Diamond, a gem weighing 530.2 carats that is part of the British crown jewels.

Last November, Christie's sold the 76-carat Archduke Joseph Diamond, in the initially flawless category a notch below flawless, on auction in Geneva for $21.5 million.

And in May 2011, a heart-shaped 56-carat diamond was auctioned off for $10.9 million.

The Elizabeth Taylor Diamond, which is in the same D-colour category but weighs in at only 33.19 carats, was meanwhile sold for $8.8 million on auction in New York in December 2011.

source: interaksyon.com