Rio Tinto’s second Beyond Rare™ Tender: The Art Series 02 has delivered solid results, demonstrating sustained market appetite for scarce natural fancy colour diamonds with a unique provenance.

Titled “Colour Awakened,” the collection comprises 76 diamonds in 48 lots, including a legacy inventory of pink, red and violet diamonds from the Argyle Diamond Mine, together with white and yellow diamonds from Rio Tinto’s Diavik Diamond Mine in the Northwest Territories of Canada. For the first time, the collection also featured seven Old Masters, notable historic diamonds from the Argyle Mine.

Continuing the success of the inaugural event in 2023, bidding for the carefully curated collection resulted in a broad geographic spread of 12 successful bidders from Australia, Europe, Japan, Hong Kong, the Middle East, Singapore and North America.

Sinead Kaufman, chief executive of Rio Tinto Minerals, said, “The continued strong global interest in highly collectible natural colour diamonds and the resulting value creation reflects their stature as works of art to be treasured for future generations.”

Lot 40 comprising a 4.04-carat pear-shaped white diamond from the Diavik Diamond Mine, together with two extremely rare pear-shaped violet diamonds from the Argyle Diamond Mine, was acquired by Danish luxury jeweller Hartmanns, who in turn, will collaborate with Argyle Pink Diamonds Icon Partner™ Glajz to craft an heirloom piece of jewellery.

There was also strong interest across the North American market, led by US jeweller and renowned fancy colour diamond specialist, J FINE. Owner Jordan Fine commented, “We have a long relationship with the beautiful Argyle Pink Diamonds™ and we see strong ongoing market demand for the truly rare – irreplaceable fancy colour natural diamonds with impeccable provenance.”

Almost the entire world’s supply of rare pink and red diamonds come from Rio Tinto’s Argyle Diamond Mine, which ceased production in November 2020. With 37 years of Argyle production in global markets, Rio Tinto continues to manage the Argyle Pink Diamonds™ brand through sales of remaining inventory, secondary market platforms, certification processes and creative collaborations with Argyle Pink Diamonds Icon Partners™ and other renowned jewellers.

Rio Tinto is also the majority owner and operator of the Diavik Diamond Mine in the Northwest Territories of Canada. Rio Tinto earlier signed an exploration joint venture agreement with Endiama, the national diamond mining company of Angola, to evaluate the Chiri kimberlite in the Lunda Sul Province of Angola.