No doubt, the world’s pink diamond supply is dwindling drastically with the impending closure of the Rio Tinto Argyle mine later this year.

But recently, some very special pink material has been unearthed by Russian diamond miner Alrosa, which is the world’s largest producer of rough diamonds in carats, accounting for more than a 26% share of the global market.

Just this week, Larry J. West, the owner of New York’s prestigious L.J. West Diamonds, added a 6.21 ct. cushion-cut fancy intense pink-purple diamond to his world-class inventory of the highest-quality pink diamonds.

The stone was discovered and polished by Alrosa and originates from Yakutia, a region in northeastern Siberia located partly within the Arctic Circle.

“As global production declines, pink diamonds will become rarer and thus more valuable,” West said in the sale’s official announcement. “This is the first diamond from Russia that I have bought directly from Alrosa. It possesses excellent characteristics and will certainly take a worthy place in my collection.”

But the question is: Are there more where that came from?

“Siberia has a lower quantity [than Western Australia’s Argyle mine] but is still a somewhat consistent production of a mix of purple and pink color diamonds,” says Scott West, executive vice president of L.J. West. “This low but consistent quantity should continue, and because Siberia is so big there is the potential to find new mines, which could have a different production of goods.

“The area has its own unique and beautiful colors, and we feel collectors will continue to discover and covet its stones not because they are similar to Argyle but instead because they are special in their own right.”

Alrosa is developing a reputation for producing pink diamonds quite regularly, including the 14.83 ct. Spirit of the Rose that made headlines last year.

And even though the Spirit of the Rose is more than twice the size of this latest treasure, the size of this purple-pink is noteworthy, considering that Argyle tends only to produce stones of up to 4 carats, with very few specimens exceeding 2 carats. “They also have a tendency to be of SI or I1 in clarity,” says Scott. (L.J. West’s newest acquisition has a clarity grade of VS1.)

And the color is really what distinguishes the gem as exceptional. “This diamond has the color of a lilac flower, and purple and violet are actually the most rare colors for diamonds in the world,” says Scott.

 

Top: New York–based diamantaire L.J. West announced its acquisition of this fancy intense pink-purple diamond, which hails from an Alrosa mine in Siberia. Its size, lilac color, and high-clarity grade qualify it as a rare find. 

 

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