A unique and expensive pink diamond is rare and can only be purchased at auctions or stock exchanges. To find one such mineral, it takes years of searching, sometimes it takes more than 10 years. The prices for jewelry with this jewel are so high that only a few can afford them. Pink diamond is one of the rarest colored jewelry delights.
Countries of origin
Diamonds of this color are rarely found even at auctions. The reason for this is the small number of places where they can be found.
There are only three countries where discoveries of pink diamonds were previously registered:
- Brazil;
- India;
- Australia.
These minerals are most often found in Australia in the Argyle diamond mine, which is owned by Rio Tinto. Next year the owner plans to stop operating the mine, which is why diamond prices have increased many times over. Read more about diamond mining →
What affects the cost?
Pink diamonds are rare in nature, and one is not like the other. These minerals are not cheap, but the cost of one stone may exceed the price of another of the same color.
What does it depend on:
- Color. It is important that the mineral has a natural color. On sale you can find stones that have been given color artificially. Such products are cheaper. When purchasing, be sure to request a certificate confirming the naturalness of the diamond.
- Hue. Depending on which color the hue leans towards, such as yellow or purple (due to inclusions), the price ranges from higher to lower. There are a total of 20 shades of different saturations. The main ones are Purple Pink (PP), Pink (P), Brownish Pink (BP), Pink Champagne (PC) .
- Saturation. Naturally bright stones are always offered at auctions at a higher price, they go away much faster, and the competition for them is as intense as possible. According to color intensity, stones are divided into Very Intense, Intense, Strong, Medium, Medium Light .
- Size/Weight Great luck - a diamond weighing more than 5 carats. Accordingly, the cost of such jewelry is unimaginably high.
- Defects. It's no secret that a truly expensive mineral should contain as few defects as possible. Very often inclusions are almost impossible to notice with the naked eye, so it is important that an examination be carried out. A professional jeweler, using a magnifying glass or microscope, will see all the inclusions and defects, based on which it will be possible to talk about a decent price. Diamond clarity and color scale →
A pink diamond simply cannot be sold without a certificate; if it is missing, you should be wary. It is imperative to request additional expertise from trusted jewelers.
BRIEF GEMOLOGICAL INFORMATION
Diamonds of soft pink color are a unique natural phenomenon.
- The structure of the gems is identical to the classic ones.
- Hardness on the Mohs scale is 10 points.
- It is the hardest mineral found in the earth's crust, making it extremely difficult to process.
- Pink diamond is an excellent semiconductor, although it is not used as such.
- Not affected by acids, but easily damaged by concentrated alkali.
Depending on where they are mined, the minerals have different shades of pink.
Pink diamond
Where are unusual gems mined?
There are 5-6 deposits in the world where pink crystals are mined.
- The largest mining site is in Australia. The Argyle mine is located in the north-west of the state.
- Flamingo-colored diamonds are also found in India, Africa and Brazil.
- In Russia, in the Yakut deposit, gems of a fashionable color are also found. But during processing they lose color, so they can hardly be called colored.
Pink diamonds make up 0.002% of the total gemstones mined.
How to Invest in Pink Diamonds
The price of diamond jewelry with stones of a delicate fancy shade is 2 or more times higher than usual. This is due to the rarity of the gems and rumors of the impending closure of the mine in Australia. Buying pink diamonds is considered a profitable investment.
We recommend: CAT'S EYE - a stone that does not exist
Quality criteria
To invest in pink diamonds, you need to choose quality stones and consult experts.
There are several factors that influence the price:
| Color | The color of the diamond must be natural. There are artificially colored diamonds on sale. Such minerals are cheaper. To make sure that the color is natural, you must carefully read the certificate for the jewelry. |
| Hue | Pure soft pink shades are extremely rare (single cases). Most often, yellow, brown, and lilac are mixed into this trendy color. Purple tint increases the price, while yellow and brown tints decrease it. |
| Saturation | The depth of color varies from barely noticeable tint to deep, rich color. Brightly colored specimens are extremely rare, so a certificate must be required. |
| Size | This indicator significantly affects the price. The larger the diamond, the higher the cost. Large specimens are sold at auctions for fabulous sums. |
| Defects | Damage to the structure reduces the value of the diamond. It can be difficult to detect defects with the naked eye, so an examination is ordered. |
| Cut | This factor also affects the cost. However, the cutting of such rare gems is trusted only to professionals of the highest class. Therefore, in all cases the result is impeccable. |
Pink diamonds are not sold without a certificate. You should be wary if the seller offers jewelry of unknown origin.
Price per carat
You can't buy sunset-colored diamond jewelry in a store. Sales are carried out by a diamond exchange or auction. Potential buyers line up for such diamonds even before the auction begins.
The price of such stones on the exchange depends on the quality of the diamond and is about $80,000 per carat. However, at auctions the price increases exponentially, as serious competition begins at the auction.
The mystery of the origin
Scientists still do not give an exact answer as a result of what natural phenomena gemstones of this color are formed. The main version is the appearance of the shade as a result of “shock”. A volcanic eruption can be a shock to minerals, after which they change color and it becomes pink.
Geologists have found that the delicate color is contained only in some parts of the stone, while the remaining areas remain colorless. Due to the refraction of light through the internal edges, the human eye perceives pink as the full color of the jewelry.
Only the pink diamond has such a mysterious and unusual origin; other minerals get their color due to impurities (for example, bromine, iron). The absence of impurities in this stone makes it truly unique and amazing.
THE MYSTERY OF FANTASY SHADE
Pink diamonds belong to the class of fancy stones.
There are 4 hypotheses about the appearance of the rare color.
Pink dust
Temperature + pressure
The symbiosis of temperature and pressure inside the earth’s crust is the main hypothesis for the emergence of fancy stones. It is not known for certain what parameters are needed, but the effect on the diamond during its formation should be long-lasting.
We recommend: Precious mineral BLUE SAPPHIRE
Pink dust
Proponents of this hypothesis believe that during the formation of diamond, tiny dust of ferrous or manganese compounds enters the structure. These elements supposedly give minerals their salmon or red hue. After careful research, the hypothesis was not confirmed, but it was not completely refuted either.
Lamproite
The lamproite tube is a rare natural phenomenon. Occurs during volcanic eruptions under certain conditions that are still poorly understood. Lamproite is the unique material of this pipe that contains purple or powdery colored diamonds. On the Australian continent, the object of desire of many girls is mined in the lamproite deposit.
Space hypothesis
Some scientists believe that pink diamonds were formed when a celestial body fell. Experts explain this by saying that when a meteorite passes through the dense layers of the atmosphere, the high temperature causes the formation of minerals. This hypothesis has many contradictions, so it was not considered as the main one.
The scientific community tends to favor a set of theories. Gemologists suggest that some of the stones arose under unique conditions of temperature and pressure, while the rest were formed as a result of volcanic eruptions or the fall of celestial bodies. This explains the significant differences in color depending on the location of the deposit.
How to purchase and how much does it cost?
One thing is for sure, you can’t buy such a product in a store. Recently, those who want to get this miracle of nature into their collection have been lining up even before the diamond is discovered. Once it is found in nature, the owner is already known. This kind of purchase is much more expensive, but true connoisseurs believe that it is worth it. Some pink diamonds don't even make it to auction.
But still, items with stones of such a rare shade periodically appear at auctions, and then the fight for it begins. A diamond is a sign of wealth, and getting such a jewel is very important for people of high rank, because it is a sign of privilege.
If we talk about the price, it is very high. The average price per carat is now $80,000. But when this diamond is put up for auction, those who want to purchase it are ready to pay many times more. Depending on the quality of the product, the price per carat can rise to a million dollars. The record amount paid for such a diamond is $72 million.
Quality criteria
To determine the quality of fancy colored diamonds, as well as classic uncolored diamonds, the rule of four Cs is used. The beauty and value of a stone are assessed according to the following parameters:
- Purity. The more transparent the diamond, the brighter it plays and shimmers in the light. Some people believe that the inclusions found in colored diamonds are less noticeable. Indeed, the pink tint hides the presence of inclusions, but only the tiniest ones. If the stone has minor defects that are visible under magnification, this will still negatively affect its value. Purity is assessed in the range from 1 to 4 (according to the American classification - VS, VVS, SI1, SI2) - from the most transparent to a mineral with defects that can be seen with the naked eye.
- Color. Pink diamonds are unique and are sold in single copies. The gemstone costs $80 thousand per carat, and sometimes the price reaches $1 million. Each of these diamonds has a certificate issued by an independent gemological laboratory. It indicates whether the mineral has been subjected to “refinement” - a technological operation as a result of which its natural color has become more saturated and even. If the shade and brightness of the stone have been artificially adjusted, then its cost should be lower.
- Cut. When assigning a category to a diamond (from highest to commercial), experts evaluate not only the natural characteristics of the nugget. Great importance is attached to how masterfully the cut is performed. The cutter's skill fully reveals the luxury of a fancy diamond, making it sparkle and scatter with myriads of silvery-pink sparks. Jewelers have a special attitude towards colored diamonds. They are cut according to different rules, because light is refracted differently in a “colored” stone than in a colorless one.
- Weight. The weight of precious stones is measured in carats: 1 ct = 0.2 g. After cutting, the weight of the nugget decreases several times. Jewelers ruthlessly cut off the excess to give the diamond ideal proportions and dazzling shine. Finding a diamond larger than 5 carats is a real success, especially if we are talking about a pink crystal.
The best settings for pink diamonds are white gold and platinum. Such noble metals do not distract attention, but only shade and emphasize the exquisite color of the stone.
The most famous and most expensive diamonds
Here are some of the most valuable diamonds of this shade.
"Pink Clark." The diamond size is 9 carats; in 2012 it was sold for more than one and a half million per carat. This product is considered the most expensive of those sold in America. The cut is cushion. The item was sold as a gold ring.
"Perfect pink." An amazing specimen weighing more than 14.23 carats was sold at auction in China. A rectangular stone adorns a white gold ring; transparent diamonds weighing more than one and a half carats are placed on either side of the main stone.
"Martian Pink" Another stone that was sold at auction in China for $17.5 million. The buyer of this jewelry wished to remain anonymous; to this day there is no information about who owns this rare mineral, unique in its color. The cut is round, the weight is 12 carats. “Martian Pink” became the largest representative of its kind of this form. The name of the jewel was given in honor of the expedition to Mars to study its surface.
"Pink Graff" . A British collector purchased this item at auction for $46.16 million. The mineral was named in honor of its owner, Laurence Graff. The weight of this piece of jewelry is almost 24 carats; it is one of the rarest delicate-colored diamonds of its type.
The list ends with the most expensive, most amazing and luxurious stone - “Pink Star” . This is the largest diamond of a delicate shade, which weighs 59.6 carats. In 2013, the stone was auctioned for $83 million, a record price. But a year later it turned out that the buyer was not able to buy the jewelry, and another person purchased the stone for himself for $72 million.
Read also about blue diamond →
Pink diamonds: a luxury only available to millionaires
Representatives of the world of luxury increasingly prefer jewelry with colored precious stones, which have noticeably replaced colorless diamonds. Fancy diamonds are the most expensive stones in the world. The first place in terms of rarity and price is occupied by red specimens. Blue, orange and pink diamonds reign at the top of the ranking. The latter will be discussed today.
The mystery of the origin of pink diamonds has not been fully revealed. There are several hypotheses for the origin of pink stones. One hypothesis is that the pink diamond was the result of a unique combination of factors. The smallest difference of 1 degree in temperature and 1 bar in the pressure of intra-earth processes over thousands of years created this unique color.
Another hypothesis says that the amazing shade of rose is obtained due to the ingress of various impurities, dust, and deposits into the mineral, including ferruginous and manganese ores.
More than 90% of pink diamonds come from Australia's famous Argyle mine. Finding a pink diamond in other parts of the world is equivalent to the chance of winning double the lottery in one day.
Problems with the extraction of valuable specimens began a long time ago. Mine reserves have been depleted. And at the end of 2022, Rio Tinto announced that it intends to completely close the mines, since, according to some estimates, there are only about 150 pink stones left in them. After such a statement, it is not surprising that the price of pink minerals will only increase.
Most pink diamonds sell for $80,000 per carat. But factors such as color, clarity, cut and weight play a huge role here. The most valuable shades are considered to be the intense pink stones Fancy Intense and Fancy Vivid.
The most expensive piece of jewelry with a pink diamond is the “Pink Star” ring, with a stone weighing 59.6 carats. Now the jewel is in the Sotheby's auction collection and is offered for $72 million. If the purchase occurs, it will be the largest transaction among single diamond purchases.
But this is far from the largest pink diamond ever found. The record holder is Daria-i-Noir, which means “sea of light” in Persian. The 182-carat stone is kept in the Central Bank of Iran and is one of the royal treasures. Scientists suspect that it was previously only part of an even larger mineral, weighing 242 carats.
One of the most expensive pink diamonds in the world is the diamond mined and cut in Russia - the “Ghost of the Rose”. The stone was found in Yakutia in 2022. In 2020, the diamond was sold at auction in Geneva for $26.5 million! The buyer decided to remain anonymous. In terms of its weight, its quality, its purity, this is an absolutely rare thing. Experts say that such specimens usually end up in private collections. Selling such a stone is easy, despite its fairly high cost, but finding and purchasing such a diamond is incredibly difficult.
Celebrities love pink diamonds. Not long ago, Anna Kournikova was given a ring with a huge 11-carat pink stone by her loving husband, Enrique Iglesias. The decoration cost the singer 11 million dollars.
The Queen of Great Britain also has an incomparable brooch in the shape of a daffodil flower with a 23.6-carat pink diamond. Canadian doctor John Williamson gave the unique stone to Elizabeth as a wedding gift in 1947. And in 1953, a flower brooch was made from it. The author of the jewelry was the jewelry house Cartier.
