Natural, red colored diamond

Sothesby’s plans to auction off a rare, red diamond ring on April 12. The sale will feature antique as well as contemporary jewelry, but the most highly anticipated piece from the auction is this rare red diamond. It is the first of its kind to be offered up in public auction in Australia.

The diamnd is a 0.82, fancy-grade purple-red Argyle diamond. The platinum ring in to which it is set features fancy-grade blue diamonds on either side and all three gorgeous stones are surrounded by brilliant-cut white diamonds. This antique ring is valued at 700,000 to 1million Australian dollars and is accompanied by a letter from Argyle Diamonds which attests to the rarity of the thing.

Argyle Diamonds, according to their website, “is one of the worlds largest suppliers of diamonds, producing approximately 20 million carats each year from its operations in the East Kimberley region, in the remote north of Western Australia. The Argyle Diamond Mines Joint Venture (ADMJV) was established in 1982 to own and finance the Argyle mine. The development and operation of the mine is governed by a State Agreement. Argyle Diamonds is 100 per cent owned and managed by Rio Tinto Limited.

Argyle commenced mining its main ore body in 1985, and has since produced more than 760 million carats of diamonds.”

According to a Sothesby’s press release, “less than a handful of red diamonds have been discovered.” To many diamond connoisseurs, a red diamond is nearly priceless, a belief which makes this upcoming auction all the more exciting.