With the impending and much talked about closure of Rio Tinto’s Argyle mine in the remote Kimberley, Argyle Pink diamond prices are rising rapidly.
Mine production is forecast to end in 2020, existing stock is limited, and demand is growing strongly – all of which indicate the likely ongoing price appreciation for Argyle Pink diamonds. It makes sense then, that in recent years Argyle Pink Tender stones have become increasingly popular as investments.
While other diamond mines around the world occasionally produce pink stones, none do so consistently, nor do they feature the darker ‘cherry’ colours of the best Argyle stones. Argyle Pinks are valued slightly differently to other diamonds, where colour far out-ranks clarity and cut. Argyle Pinks are renowned for having inclusions and this is not an issue for serious buyers. Hugely valuable stones can be quite included, as long as the colour is strong.
The value of colour is so important in price considerations for Argyle Pink that collectors and dealers are starting to re-cut older, larger Argyle Pinks into smaller stones in order to seek re-certification and a higher valuation with a higher colour grade.
In addition to providing a range of certified Argyle Pink jewellery in the lower size and colour ranges, we have sourced several large and important Argyle Pink tender stones for international customers. We’re finding that it’s increasingly difficult to source 1-3 colour grade Argyle Pinks (P, PP, or PR) above 1ct locally – they simply don’t exist in the Australian market. The same is true of Red and Blue Argyles above 50 points.
More broadly, the world’s most expensive and sought-after non-Argyle diamonds are those with long histories and stories attached to their origin. As an example, famous diamonds from India’s Golkonda mine, which closed more than 200 years ago, are now highly prized collectors’ items. If we project to the future, Argyle Pinks seem certain to have a similar, but exponentially greater, provenance and appeal as genuine collectors’ pieces once the famous mine is closed.
