Natural Pink Diamonds!!

DIAMONDS! These precious gems from mother nature are a symbol of everlasting love and commitment, captivating us with their Shine, Brilliance and Fire!

Diamonds that lie outside the “White Colour” range, are known as Natural Fancy Colour Diamonds. These diamonds are extremely rare and valuable; they come in a range of colours like Blue, Green, Orange, Green, Pink, Red, Yellow and Brown, amongst the Natural Fancy Colour Diamonds, PINK DIAMONDS are the second rarest colour found!

Ladies and gentleman allow me to take you through yet another journey to discover the rare, romantic, and mesmerising PINK DIAMONDS.

Video Credit: Chris Magnay.

Let’s begin by understanding where are these diamonds found:

• More than 90% of the world’s supply of Natural Pink Diamonds come from the Argyle Mine in Western Australia.
• In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Kollur and Agra mines in India that produced natural and impressive pink diamonds, Darya-i-Noor, Nur-Ul-Ain, Shah Jahaan diamond.
• Less than 1% of the Argyle mine’s output are pink diamonds; for every one million carats of rough diamonds mined at Argyle, only 1ct of pink diamonds is suitable for selling.
• Pink diamonds fall under the category of Type IIa diamonds.
• Instead of the usual kimberlite pipe where most of the world’s diamonds are found, the Pink Diamonds at the Argyle Mine are sourced from a volcanic lamproite pipe.

How are Pink Diamonds formed and what causes their colour?

• Pink Diamonds are sourced from a volcanic lamproite pipe instead of the usual kimberlite pipe, where most of the diamonds are found.
• Mostly, naturally-coloured diamonds are created with trace elements interacting with the carbon atoms. However, pink diamonds have never been found with trace elements.
• These deposits are formed at deeper, hotter levels of the earth’s crust than a typical pipe, which coalesces around 100 miles below the surface, requiring more time and greater force to push through to the mantle.
• The colour is caused by a distortion in the diamond’s crystal lattice, created by intense heat and great pressure from all directions (non-isotropic stress) after the stone’s formation in the earth. This distortion displaces many carbon atoms from their normal positions and alters the qualities of the light reflected by the diamond. It is this special configuration of the molecules that allows us to observe the stone as PINK!

Famous Pink Diamonds:

Images 1: The Princie diamond or the Fancy Intense Pink Diamond, is a cushion-cut 34.65cts pink diamond that originated from the Golconda mine. The provenance of the gemstone says it was first recorded in the holdings of Nizam of Hyderabad.
Image 2: The Agra Diamond is the fifth-largest pink diamond in the world and dates back to the 15th century India. The diamond originally belonged to the family of the Rajah of Gwalior, who was slain in battle when the Moghuls conquered the city of Agra, for which the stone is named. Originally 46 carats has been recut twice, now as a modified cushion-shape and weighs 28.15 carats. Top pictures by Christie’s before latest recut, bottom pictures by the Al Thani collection after latest recut.

Cutting and Polishing procedure of Pink Diamond:

• Due to the unique composition structure of Pink diamonds, they take around 3-4 times longer to cut than a White Diamond.
• Cutting and polishing an Argyle pink diamond requires special wheels as they are harder to cut due to their composition. A false move can destroy the colour of the diamond, making it a responsibility of the cutters to bring out the best Pink in the Diamond.
• Many Pink diamonds lack an intense pink colour, which can be intensified by careful consideration of both the cut and diamond shape chosen.

The brief polishing procedure of Pink Diamonds.

Video Credit: Argyle Pink Diamond

What determines the colour of a Pink Diamond and different grades in a Pink Diamond.

The colour is determined by the following:

• HUE: Primary and Secondary colours.
• SATURATION: Distribution of colour.
• TONE: Darkness of the colour.
• The shade of a pink diamond is graded according to its intensity and strength of colour. In addition to its main hue, pink diamonds can have a secondary colour or overtone, such as purple, brown or orange.
• The GIA grades pink diamonds on the following scale:
  Faint: Very Light: Light: Fancy Light: Fancy: Fancy Intense: Fancy Vivid: Fancy Deep or Fancy Dark.

Evaluating the intensity of a pink diamond is quite difficult, as each Fancy colour grade is a range in itself. Just like in all fancy colour diamonds, the more vivid intensity pink diamonds are far rarer than the less vivid. The ideal pink diamonds are generally considered to be those which exhibit pure pink colour;( those without a secondary hue) although purple-pink diamonds are generally very highly regarded as well. If the diamond has a secondary hue of colour, such as brown, its value is likely to decrease.

Rarity and the Value of Pink Diamonds.

• Natural Pink diamonds are very rare and hence, Expensive. With every million carats of rough diamonds mined, you get only 1 ct of Fancy Pink Diamond. Evidently.
• These diamonds cost up to 20 times the price of Natural White Diamonds. For instance, a one-carat Pink diamond can cost from $100,000 up to $1 million. The price of the diamond is based on Colour Intensity, Cut, Clarity, and Shape. The higher the intensity of the colour, the higher their value. However, only a handful of these can be categorized as Fancy Intense or Fancy Vivid.
• The fondness of the collectors and celebrities for PINK stone explains the higher price value of these diamonds. Their desire to own the rarest and the most unique diamonds in their collections; and investors seeking for opportunities to invest their money in a rare, high-value asset which increase with time, make Fancy Pink Diamonds best choice for it.

Image 1: The current world record for a most expensive gemstone sold at auction belongs to the 59.6 cts Fancy Vivid Pink diamond named the Pink Star. Credit Sotheby’s.
Image 2: The Williamson Diamond Brooch, with a 23.60 cts Pink diamond, polished from 54.5 carats rough; considered the finest pink diamond ever discovered. The stone was founded in October 1947 at the Mwadui mine in Tanganyika, by Dr John Thorburn Williamson, who gave it to Princess Elizabeth for her wedding in 1953. Cartier London set the diamond into a jonquil flower-shaped brooch. Credit Pinterest.
Image 3: “The Argyle Empress Necklace” by Chowtai Fook High Jewellery embellished with 43cts of Argyle Pink Diamonds. The diamonds are surrounded by thirty-five Imperial Jadeite beads.

A few tips to keep in mind when investing in Pink Diamonds.

• When choosing your treasure, it is essential to consider Cut, Colour and Clarity
• Understand the different shades in Pink Diamonds to be sure the kind of intensity of Pink Diamond would you desire. The richness in colour along with saturation and tone are very important factors.
• The colour of a pink diamond along with carat weight has the greatest impact on the price, be clear about the budget.
• Always buy a certified stone from a reliable source, that proves its authenticity.

With all these wonderful insights, I close my article on Natural Pink Diamonds! Until then Keep Shining bright with these rare gifts from nature!

PINK is the New Black !!

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Credits: Robb report Blog; Capetowndiamondmuseum Blog, Asteria Blog, Wikipedia, Museums Victoria blog, Argyle Pink Diamonds.