Purple diamonds make up less than 0.2% of all colored diamonds ever discovered in the world, which places them among the rarest types of colored diamonds in existence. Also included in this group are pink and red diamonds. All three of these colors are most frequently discovered in the Argyle Mine in Kimberly, Australia, which is owned by Rio Tinto. In this article, we will discuss a handful of these highly-coveted purple diamonds and where they originated from.
The Purple Orchid
The Purple Orchid has a color classification of fancy intense pinkish purple. The Purple Orchid was found at an undisclosed mine in South Africa, weighing in at 4 carats, making it among the largest purple diamonds ever discovered. After polishing, the diamond was unveiled as a 3.37 carat purple stunner with a VS2 clarity rating. The diamond was auctioned off at Hong Kong’s Jewelry and Gem Affair in September of 2014. The starting price for the diamond was set at $4 million, giving it an approximate price per carat of $1.2 million. As is frequently the case with colored diamond auctions, neither the final sale price nor the buyer was revealed.
The Argyle Violet
Rio Tinto debuted its 2016 Pink Diamond Tender on May 3, 2016. Among the 60+ stones that were a part of the annual tender was The Argyle Violet. The Argyle Violet is a 2.83 carat, oval-shaped purple diamond with a unique color classification of fancy deep greyish blue violet. Rio Tinto announced that this diamond was the largest natural violet diamond that has ever been discovered at their Argyle mine. In its original form, the diamond was 9.17 carats. The Argyle Violet took center stage at the 2016 Rio Tinto Argyle Diamond Tender as one of 5 featured stones. Results for the tender have yet to be released, but it has been noted that the 2016 sale set a new record for average price per carat since the tender inception back in 1984.
The Supreme Purple Star
The Supreme Purple Star is often regarded as the most famous of all of the purple diamonds. Many things make the Supreme Purple Star unique, one of which is the color-changing effect that the diamond has when viewed from different angles, making it appear crimson or purple depending on how you look at it. The diamond made its debut in London in 2002 where it was purchased by a seller who was unaware of its rarity. The Supreme Purple Star has never been revealed to the public, making its exact color classification, weight, and value a bit of a mystery. It is thought to weigh between 2 and 5 carats, but other than this, little is known of where it originated from and who currently owns the diamond. There is speculation that the estimated value of the diamond could range from $8 to $20 million. Perhaps one day the public will get to view this stunning example of the beauty of purple diamonds and more details will be revealed.
The Royal Purple Heart Diamond
The Royal Purple Heart Diamond also has a mysterious history of which little is known. The diamond has a color classification of fancy vivid purple and weighs in at 7.34 carats, which is believed to be the biggest cut and polished purple diamond in existence. As its moniker suggests, the diamond is fashioned in the shape of a heart, which was cut and crafted by the Julius Klein Diamond Corporation. The current location and owner of the diamond is unknown, nor is the current value of the diamond publicly known.
For more information on famous colored diamonds, see the links below: