London: Rio Tinto has launched its 2024 Beyond Rare™ Tender, the second in its Art Series offering, showcasing 48 lots of extraordinarily rare masterpieces of nature from its diamonds business.
Titled Colour Awakened, this collection is headlined by seven “Old Masters”, notable historic diamonds from the Argyle Diamond Mine that operated from 1983 to 2020.
The Old Masters comprise seven round brilliant cut, pink and red diamonds, ranging in size from 0.60 carats to 2.63 carats. All unearthed from the mine over a decade ago – in one case, as far back as 1987 – each diamond has been carefully retrieved from private vaults and handpicked for inclusion in this year’s tender.
In London at the launch of this invitation-only event, Sinead Kaufman, Chief Executive of Rio Tinto Minerals, said, “No other mining company in the world has custody of such a kaleidoscope of coloured diamonds. Four years on from the closure of the Argyle mine, our Beyond Rare Tender platform is a testimony to the enduring prestige of the Argyle Pink Diamonds brand, the quality of production from our Diavik mine, and the ongoing demand for highly collectible natural diamonds.”
In addition to the Old Masters, the Art Series 02 includes legacy inventory of pink, red and violet diamonds from the Argyle Diamond Mine, together with white and yellow diamonds from Rio Tinto’s Diavik Diamond Mine in the Northwest Territories of Canada.
In total there are 76 diamonds, weighing 39.44 carats, comprising:
Seven Old Masters, including one Fancy Red diamond;
32 exquisite single lots of pink and violet diamonds, including one Fancy Purplish Red diamond; and
A rarified offering of nine carefully curated diamond sets, two sets including a 2.47ct Fancy Intense Yellow diamond and a 4.04ct D colour diamond respectively, each from Rio Tinto’s Diavik Diamond Mine in Canada.
The 48 lots will be showcased in London, Australia, Singapore and Belgium, with bids closing on 18 November 2024.
Patrick Coppens, General Manager of Sales and Marketing for Rio Tinto’s Diamonds business, said “Each diamond in the Art Series 02 is a beautiful story of esteemed provenance, careful custody and transformation into rare works of art. This curated collection of exceptional gems will be in strong demand by the world’s finest jewellers, collectors and diamond connoisseurs.”
