Colored Diamonds, Both Mined and Lab-Grown, on Display in HK
At the Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair, Alrosa is showing the lots from its first color diamond auction, while another Russian company is presenting the world’s largest lab-grown yellow.
This 11.06-carat fancy deep purple-pink diamond is the centerpiece of Alrosa’s first auction of natural color diamonds, which is slated to take place online beginning Sept. 19.
Hong Kong—Two colored diamonds said to be record holders are currently being showcased at the Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair.
At the September edition of the jewelry trade show, Alrosa is presenting an 11.06-carat fancy deep purple-pink cushion-cut diamond that it said is the largest diamond of its color ever graded by the Gemological Institute of America.
The purple-pink stone is one of 250 polished diamonds included in “True Colour,” Alrosa’s first auction of natural color polished diamonds. The sale is scheduled to take place online beginning Sept. 19 and results will be shared later this month.
The sale is part of a larger push by the company to become a major producer and supplier of the rare and increasingly expensive stones, with Deputy CEO Yury Okoemov calling this first auction a “stepping stone to our goal of taking [on] the colored diamond market.”
Alrosa plans to hold one to two colored diamond auctions a year going forward.
Other diamonds in the True Colour auction include an oval-shaped vivid orangey-yellow diamond that’s 15.11 carats and an 11.19-carat cushion-cut fancy vivid yellow.
This 15.11-carat natural fancy vivid orangey-yellow diamond is one of 250 natural color diamonds being auctioned by Alrosa in Hong Kong. It is oval shaped with a clarity grade of SI2.
This 11.19-carat cushion-cut fancy vivid yellow diamond is also part of the sale.
Alrosa’s emphasis on color in Hong Kong is the latest in a series of moves by the miner to market its diamonds, both colored and colorless, more heavily.
Cutting the largest of the stones, a 51.38-carat diamond, was a first for the company and Alrosa’s Pavel Vinikhin said at the time that the cutting of the stone “gives a start to a new stage in the development of Alrosa’s cutting division that will actively develop polishing of extra-large and colored diamonds.”
New Diamond Technology created this 10.06-carat fancy intense yellow octagonal step-cut diamond using the HPHT process. The St. Petersburg, Russia-based company said it is the only 10-carat fancy intense yellow lab-grown diamond in the world. Alrosa is not the only Russia company that brought a record-setting stone to Hong Kong.
Diamond grower New Diamond Technology (NDT) said it is showcasing a 10.06-carat fancy intense yellow diamond grown using the high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) process. The SI clarity, octagonal step-cut stone is the only known fancy intense yellow lab-grown diamond of this size, NDT said.
The International Gemological Institute’s lab in Antwerp graded the diamond, which will be available for viewing at the company’s booth, 3B18, AWE Hall 3. It will not be available for purchase, however, as NDT said Thursday that the stone already has been sold, but declined to disclose the price.
Based in St. Petersburg, NDT has grown a number of large diamonds using the HPHT process, including the 10.08-carat fancy deep blue graded by the GIA in 2016 and brought to the September Hong Kong show that same year.
Rio Tinto, meanwhile, announced Thursday morning that it will have the 63 diamonds in its 2018 Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender in Hong Kong for viewing in conjunction with the show.
Among the stars of this year’s sale is the 3.14-carat emerald-cut “Argyle Alpha” (pictured above), which is graded as a fancy vivid purplish-pink.
The mining company also announced that it is bringing to Hong Kong a one-of-kind necklace set with a 5.25-carat Muzo emerald and two Argyle pink diamonds totaling 1.77 carats.
Michelle Graffis the editor-in-chief at National Jeweler, directing the publication’s coverage both online and in print.
