The 23rd annual Rio Tinto Argyle Pink Diamond Tender is around the corner. Bidding officially ends in 25 days, in what is possibly the world’s most exclusive diamond auction. You cannot simply sign up to become a bidder, you have to be chosen by Argyle, and even then the list is limited to 100 bidders. As always, the exact location of the tender isn’t revealed to the bidders until the last minute for security reasons. All bids are confidential, and winners will be notified in person by representatives of Argyle in October. Of course names of the future owners and the amounts realized at auction will remain confidential. This year there are 65 diamonds that made the cut to become part of the tender. Argyle states that this year’s tender “…promises to be a vintage year for collectors. Many of the 65 Argyle Signature Stones on offer are deeper and more vivid in colour than previous years”. On the menu this year are “…a number of spectacular purplish reds, as well as deep pinks, and a rare gray-violet”. Argyle produces around 30 million carats of rough diamonds per year, and only around 8,000 carats of these end up being polished pink diamonds. Of these, just 65 carats were deemed suitable for this years tender.
As we all know, red and purple diamonds are the rarest of all diamond colors (purplish reds are unimaginably rare), with red diamond prices historically reaching $1,000,000/ct. Purplish red diamonds are even rarer than simple reds. According to JD Boles, Director General of the British Gemmological Institute, the stone now known as the Supreme Purple Star (a purplish red), stated the stone sale price of around $4,000,000/ct. They are after all the world’s rarest natural objects.
