What Makes Kimberley Pink Diamonds So Special?

If you want to buy Argyle pink diamond jewellery, you’ll need to be ready to pay a premium. These stones are more special than most, with a dazzling deep pink hue whose intensity can’t be found anywhere else in the world—a testament to the amazing Kimberley landscape. They’re also complicated structures, making them harder to cut and polish versus other precious stones, even if the process is done by expert craftsmen. 

With only a handful of pink diamonds added to the world’s supply every year, jewellery made with these gems is much more coveted and are investments that can only become more valuable with time.

What Are Kimberley Pink Diamonds?

Kimberley pink diamonds are precious stones that have a unique pink colour. They were formed around 1.5 billion years ago at a depth of 160 kilometres below the earth’s surface and were first discovered in the East Kimberley region in Australia (about 3,000 kilometres from Perth) in the 1980s.

In 1983, Rio Tinto opened the Argyle mine in the area, which soon became one of the largest diamond suppliers in the world. Pink diamonds only made up less than 0.1% of their mining hauls; still, the Argyle mine contributed up to 90% of the world’s supply of pink diamonds during its operation.

Why Kimberley Pink Diamonds Are So Special

Why are diamonds so expensive? The gem commands a high price tag due to several reasons, including rarity, demand, and a mega-successful marketing campaign by the De Beers Group. Kimberley pink diamonds can even be more costly, with prices reaching up to twenty times more than their equivalent in white diamonds. Here are some reasons why these coloured gems are so special:

Rarity

There are only a few coloured diamonds that are extremely rare as naturally occurring stones, and the Kimberley pink diamond is one of them. An entire year’s supply from the Argyle mine fits in the palm of a hand, and it’s said that there are only 500 tender-quality gems left to be found here.

The Argyle mine was closed in 2020 after further exploration was deemed uneconomical. This means that supply will continue to dwindle, and it’s predicted to tighten even further as the remaining diamonds are sold and current owners recognize their rare value, holding on to them instead of putting them back into circulation. Low supply and high demand will keep the prices of Kimberley pink diamonds at a premium.

With the Argyle mine ceasing operations, where are pink diamonds found today? Brazil, Russia, Siberia, South Africa, Tanzania, and Canada still produce pink diamonds; however, none of them can compare to the quality of the gems that came from Kimberley.

Delicacy

It takes a lot to mine diamonds–the process requires special equipment, expert miners, cutters, and craftsmen, with months, even years, of work needed to harvest commercial-grade stones suitable for jewellery. The same is true for Kimberley pink diamonds. Sometimes, these coloured gems are even harder to harvest, taking up to four times the time and effort it would for other diamonds.

Colour

Pink diamonds are revered for their exceptional colour, but the ones from Kimberley are even more awe-inspiring, with a deep pink tone and a fine clarity that remains unchallenged. This doubles their value versus comparable stones from a different site. Additionally, Kimberley pink diamonds are more alluring because they do not derive their colour from impurities (as other coloured gems do). Instead, their pink tint is from a sort of seismic event that has altered the stone’s molecular structure.

Because these are coloured gems, pink diamonds don’t follow the usual grading system for colourless diamonds. Instead, they’re grated to a system developed by the Argyle itself, allocating each common colour family an initialisation (PP for Purplish Pink, P for Pink, PR for Pink Rose, and PC for Pink Champagne), plus a number denoting its intensity from one to nine, with one being the highest.

What to Look for in Pink Diamonds

Colour is the most important characteristic to consider in pink diamonds. The more intense and pure the pink is, the rarer the stone—and therefore, the most valuable, sought after, and expensive it will be.

Much like other diamonds, however, you must also pay attention to the clarity, cut, and carat of the stone. The more flawless, sparkly, and heavier the gem, the more costly it will be.

The Best Kimberley Pink Diamonds From Holloway Diamonds

Holloway Diamonds holds a collection of the best Kimberley pink diamonds from the Argyle mine that you can choose to be the star of your next piece of jewellery. Contact us today to help you wow everyone with an intensely pink rock that’s sure to impress!