Tiffany and Co. Acquires the World’s Final Collection of Rare Argyle Pink Diamonds
Tiffany’s new collection of Argyle diamonds will likely be the last the world will ever see, an appropriate sendoff for a legendary diamond mine.
Tiffany & Co. has announced that it has acquired a final bespoke curation of rare pink diamonds from Australia’s now-closed Argyle Diamond Mine. The Argyle diamond mine is located in Australia’s East Kimberley region, a remote area of Western Australia. The infamous mine was open from 1983 until November 2020, when it closed due to the exhaustion of resources. It remains virtually the only significant source of pink diamonds in the world, accounting for at least 90% of pink diamond discoveries. While mining at Argyle has ceased, Argyle collected a small cache of diamonds that were unearthed at the location. In early 2022, Argyle approached Tiffany & Co., exclusively offering the House this unique collection of remarkably rare diamonds. This is the first time that Argyle has curated a collection named in honor of a jeweler. The choice to approach Tiffany & Co. reflects the House’s position as a jeweler that could be entrusted with such a special collection.
“We are delighted that this collection of rare Argyle Pink™ Diamonds, with their extraordinary Australian provenance and a story that began one and a half billion years ago, is now entrusted to the unrivaled craftsmanship of Tiffany & Co.,” said Sinead Kaufman, Chief Executive, Rio Tinto Minerals.
“This extraordinary collection of 35 Argyle Pink™ Diamonds showcases the range of colors that Argyle diamonds are famous for, including Fancy Intense Pink, Fancy Intense Purplish Pink, Fancy Vivid Pink, Fancy Vivid Purplish Pink, Deep Pink, and the rarest of all—a Fancy Red diamond,” said Victoria Wirth Reynolds, Chief Gemologist, Tiffany & Co. “Not only are they incredibly rare, but these diamonds also align perfectly with our Diamond Craft Journey initiative, whereby we provide our clients information on the provenance—or the region or countries of origin—for every newly sourced, individually registered diamond that we set in jewelry.”
Reynolds shared exclusively with Only Natural Diamonds that “Argyle Pink™ Diamonds from its inception also recognized the importance of diamond provenance, aligning with Tiffany & Co.’s belief that a diamond is not only measured by its extraordinary rarity and beauty but that consumers care that the diamond they are buying has been responsibly mined and sourced. Careful custody from the mine to the market is one of the most important hallmarks of Argyle Pink™ Diamonds and Tiffany & Co.”
In celebration of this historic acquisition, the House will present the incredibly rare Argyle Pink™ Diamonds to select clients for a limited time starting in early spring 2023 at global Tiffany High Jewelry events. The pink diamonds will also appear in carefully curated capsule collections and potentially in future Blue Book high jewelry creations. No one knows yet exactly what will happen with these diamonds. One person could commission a single extraordinary piece using them all or a suite of one-of-a-kind high jewelry pieces, each going to different homes. The world will wait and see.
Among the 35 Argyle Pink™ Diamonds acquired by Tiffany & Co., three are over 1 carat—a rarity within a rarity since the unique combination of extreme pressure and temperature required to form these diamonds means they are typically much smaller than 1 carat in size. Every diamond within the Argyle Pink™ Diamonds: The Tiffany Collection will have both a Tiffany Diamond Certificate and an Argyle Pink™ Diamonds Certificate.
Pink diamonds are among the rarest and most valuable diamonds in existence. The Argyle mine’s fame and reputation for natural diamond colors and hues not found anywhere else mean pink diamonds with guaranteed origin from Argyle are the most valuable of all. The closure of the Argyle diamond mine suggests that the world has lost its primary source of pink diamonds, causing prices to soar. Notably, in late 2022, the 11.15-carat Williamson Pink diamond shattered auction records when it sold for $57.73 Million, the highest price ever paid for a diamond per carat. Tiffany’s new collection of Argyle diamonds will likely be the last the world will ever see, an appropriate sendoff for a legendary diamond mine.
