Bids Close Today on the Beyond Rare Tender: an Exceptional Collection of Rare Fancy Color Diamonds
Gary Roskin
Roskin Gem News Report
On October 17th, Rio Tinto announced a new exclusive sales event, the Beyond Rare Tender, featuring a rare collection of diamonds produced from Rio Tinto’s Argyle and Diavik diamond mines.
We have been following and covering the Argyle Pink Diamonds Tenders for decades, so we know that the importance of these tenders lies in the details. We asked for more, and we are excited to report back to you an exclusive look at what was included in this extremely important tender!
The Beyond Rare Tender
Known as The Beyond Rare Tender, the inaugural collection showcased 48 lots of exceptional polished diamonds, including legacy inventory of pink and red diamonds from the Argyle diamond mine (now closed) and yellow diamonds from Rio Tinto’s Diavik* diamond mine.
ctw. = carat total weight
Sinead Kaufman, Chief Executive of Rio Tinto Minerals, announced, “The Beyond Rare Tender is a new chapter for Rio Tinto’s diamonds business, and a testimony to the ongoing demand for highly collectible natural diamonds.”
Knowing that the Argyle Pink Diamond Tenders have played an historic role in the finite life of an extraordinary deposit, Kaufman noted, “Rio Tinto has a rich history of innovative diamonds sales and marketing events and this carefully curated collection of rare jewels will be in strong demand by the world’s finest jewellers, collectors and diamond connoisseurs.”
Following the Global Market
Patrick Coppens, General Manager of Sales and Marketing for Rio Tinto’s diamonds business, proudly announced, “I am delighted to host this carefully curated collection of beautiful coloured diamonds in Geneva and Antwerp. Europe is an important destination for our diamonds and both Geneva and Antwerp have played an integral part in the market development of our coloured diamonds over the past four decades.”
“The market fundamentals that drive value appreciation for Argyle pink and red diamonds have never been stronger – a combination of severely constrained supply, with the closure of Argyle, and unwavering global demand for truly scarce gems.”
The Details
Titled The Art Series, this invitation-only event takes its inspiration from the art world, each polished diamond an extraordinary natural work of art with an esteemed provenance and a captivating story of rarity.
The first collection of The Art Series comprises 87 diamonds, weighing 29.96 carats in total, and includes a rarified offering of 11 perfectly matched pairs of coloured diamonds, and 30 exquisite single diamonds, including one remarkable Fancy Red Argyle diamond.
Heidi Creech, Business Development Manager for Rio Tinto’s diamonds business, pointed out that, “The Beyond Rare Tender is an important element in Rio Tinto’s ongoing commitment to the Argyle Pink Diamonds brand, as it continues to uphold the mesmerizing beauty of Argyle’s pink and red diamonds together with their beautiful birthplace, status and mystique to ensure the brand integrity of the one true source of rare pink diamonds.”
The Masterpieces Described
In speaking with The Roskin Gem News Report, Creech revealed that, “the 35 diamonds in our seven curated ‘Masterpieces’ were carefully selected to achieve the most harmonious composition of shape and colour.” (see images below)
Matching Pairs
We were also interested in the sizes of the eleven (11) matching pairs (22 diamonds). Creech noted that, “the largest of the matching pairs are 0.22 ct. and 0.23 ct. respectively (0.45 ctw.) with the smallest of the matching pairs weighing 0.15 ct. each (0.30 ctw.)”
How Big is Big?
“The largest diamonds of the collection are from our Diavik Diamond Mine,” says Creech, “each a Modified Cushion graded Fancy Intense Yellow by the GIA. The diamonds weigh 3.56 cts. and 3.22 cts. The largest single diamond from the Argyle Diamond Mine is a 0.68 ct. Fancy Vivid Purplish-Pink Radiant Cut.”
The color grade, Fancy Vivid Purplish-Pink is probably one of the most sought after colors in the diamond world. Vivid describes the highest saturation, while Purplish-Pink describes a highly desirable hue. The combination of the two in a well-cut diamond is heart-stopping. – gr
How Small do they Go?
Now that we know the largest diamonds in the Tender, what are the smallest diamonds? “The smallest single diamond from the Argyle Diamond Mine is a 0.14 ct. Fancy Red Round Brilliant,” says Creech, ” – the only GIA graded Fancy Red in the collection.”
You might say that 0.14 ct. is quite small. However, being included in an important tender such as this should remind us all just how incredibly rare it is to have a Fancy Red diamond – no matter what the size (or weight). – gr
Facts at a Glance: The Masterpiece Collections
Masterpiece 1: Collection of ten Fancy Vivid Purple-Pink and Purplish Pink Ovals between 0.15 and 0.25 carats.
Masterpiece 2: Collection of six Fancy Vivid Purplish Pink and Purple-Pink Pears between 0.14 and 0.32 carats.
Masterpiece 3: Collection of five Fancy Vivid and Deep Purplish Pink Radiants between 0.30 and 0.41 carats.
Masterpiece 4: Collection of five Fancy Vivid and Intense Purplish Pink Round Brilliants between 0.17 and 0.50 carats.
Masterpiece 5: Collection of two Fancy Vivid Purplish Pink Pears between 0.20 and 0.22 carats, with a 0.37 carat Fancy Vivid Purplish Pink Oval.
Masterpiece 6: Collection of two Fancy Vivid and Deep Purplish Pink Pears of 0.29 and 0.31 carats, with a 3.56 carat Fancy Intense Yellow Modified Cushion.
Masterpiece 7: Collection of two Fancy Vivid Purplish Pink Radiant cuts of 0.30 and 0.31 carats, with a 3.22 carat Fancy Intense Yellow Modified Cushion.
*Each Masterpiece is accompanied by bespoke art created by Western Australian artist Sam Price, inspired by the surreal synchronisation of earthly events that led to the birth of Nature’s most exquisite works.
Inaugural and More
With this Tender being “the inaugural collection,” we asked just how many collections Rio Tinto intends to host.
“We hope to curate further collections,” noted Creech. “However, the composition of future collections will vary as our remaining inventory of Argyle Pink Diamonds reduces – but all of that remaining inventory is extraordinarily beautiful and unmatched in terms of rarity.”
And we are looking forward to seeing more. – gr
*The inclusion in the inaugural Beyond Rare Tender of two Fancy Intense Yellow diamonds from Rio Tinto’s Diavik diamond mine, located beneath a frozen lake in the Barren Lands of Northern Canada, is a beautiful counterpoint to the pink and red Argyle diamonds from the remote East Kimberley region of Western Australia. Yellow diamonds make up less than one percent of Diavik’s production, a rarity in a diamond mine otherwise known for its highly coveted white diamond production.
