Rio Tinto’s 2021 Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender of the rarest pink and red diamonds has achieved top results, with record-breaking prices across individual lots and the overall collection, according to the Australian miner.
 
The 2021 diamond selection, named The Journey Beyond, included the last diamonds unearthed during the final year of operations at Australia’s Argyle diamond mine, which closed in November 2020.

“The diamonds were fiercely contested around the world in a series of virtual and face-to-face viewings,” noted Rio Tinto, which saw double-digit price growth with 19 successful bidders from nine countries during the tender. 

Australian jeweller and Argyle Pink Diamonds Select Atelier, Calleija, won Argyle Eclipse™, a 3.47-carat radiant shaped fancy intense pink diamond as well as Argyle Bohème™, a 1.01-carat radiant shaped fancy red diamond. 

Other hero lots from the 2021 Argyle Pink Diamonds collection were snapped up by long-standing bidders, with Argyle Stella™ and Argyle Solaris™ going to Singapore and Argyle Lumiere™ to the US.

Almost the entire world’s supply of rare pink, red and violet diamonds come from Rio Tinto’s Argyle diamond mine. 

Rio Tinto also sold its entire 2021 Once in a Blue Moon Tender collection, comprising 41 lots of carefully curated Argyle blue and violet diamonds, to a single bidder – Hong Kong-based fancy colour diamond specialist, Kunming Diamonds. The Argyle mine sporadically produced small blue and violet diamonds in an array of shades.

Despite the mine’s closure, Rio Tinto said it is retaining the Argyle Pink Diamonds™ brand. The company also owns and operates the Diavik diamond mine in Canada. It recently signed a joint exploration deal with Endiama, the national diamond mining company of Angola.