Pink Diamonds Are Trending—Why?

Harsh Maheshwari, executive director of Kunming Diamonds, tells us everything we need to know about pink diamonds

Mining group Rio Tinto’s final Argyle tender collection, titled The Journey Beyond, of 70 rare pink, red, blue and violet diamonds from its Argyle mine in Australia has resulted in the most significant set of record-breaking results in its 38-year history.

Mining ceased at the Argyle Mine in November 2020 and its closure has caused speculation over the secondary market for its pink diamonds, given prices have appreciated by about 500% over the last 20 years.

Here, executive director of Kunming Diamonds Harsh Maheshwari tells us everything we need to know about these precious stones.

Above Harsh Maheshwari, executive director of Kunming Diamonds (Photo: Kunming Diamonds)

They are really rare

"Before its closure last year, the Argyle Diamond Mine supplied approximately 90% of the world’s pink diamonds. A whole year’s worth of production fits into a single champagne flute, making these diamonds the rarest of the rare."

They are very expensive

"Some medium-quality pink diamonds attract prices 20 times higher than their white diamond equivalents. The record auction price for a pink diamond is currently US$71.2 million, which was set by the Pink Star."

They haven’t been around that long

"Pink diamonds are the youngest diamonds to exist at roughly one billion years old. White diamonds typically take between one and three billion years to form, which is approximately 25% to 75% of our earth's age."

They are difficult to polish

"Pink diamonds take three to four times longer to polish than white diamonds. Craftsmen have compared polishing a pink diamond to cutting knotted wood, whereas polishing a white diamond is similar to cutting butter—a much easier task in comparison."

They are small

"Only 3% of the pink diamonds that were produced by the Argyle Diamond Mine are over one carat while 85% are below 0.15 carats, which is less than 3mm in diameter."

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Topics

Pink Diamonds Jewellery Kunming Diamonds