Red Diamond For Sale

The Argyle Diamond Mine in Australia is famous for being the world’s premier source of pink colored diamonds but it is also the premier source of the few red colored diamonds known to exist. To say that there is only a small number of true natural red colored diamonds is no exaggeration. The number diamonds certified as red is estimated to be less than twenty so it is rare that a red diamond is seen in public, let alone available for sale.

Bruce Robinson Jewellers in Brisbane, Australia recently purchased a red diamond at the 2006 Argyle Pink Diamond Tender, which featured 65 exceptional colored diamonds. While the purchase prices for the diamonds at the tender are confidential, the red diamond is now for sale and expected to demand a very high price.

The 0.54-carat brilliant-cut red diamond, named “The Lady in Red” measures only 5.13 mm and is I1 in clarity meaning it has inclusions visible to the unaided eye. The diamond was a 1.46-carat rough diamond crystal and was cut and polished to its current 0.54-carat weight. In spite of its small size, this diamond will probably be price well over $2 million.

Red diamonds are extremely rare. The last red diamond sold for almost $1 million twenty years ago. Because of their rarity and beauty, several red diamonds are among the most famous diamonds.

Perhaps the most famous of the red colored diamonds is the Moussaieff Red, a 5.11-carat ruby-red diamond making it the largest red colored diamond in the world. Discovered by a farmer in Brazil in the 1990s, the internally flawless 13.90-carat rough crystal was cut by William Goldberg Diamond Corporation. The rare red stone was later sold to the Moussaieff Jewelers for a rumored $8 million.

The second largest red diamond is simply known as Red Diamond and is an emerald cut weighing 5.05 carats. Its current location is unknown.

Another famous diamond is the De Young Red, a 5.03-carat round brilliant that is the third largest red diamond in the world. The De Young Red is on display at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC. At one time it was mistakenly sold as a red garnet because the stone’s subtle brown hue give it an appearance more like a garnet than a rare red colored diamond.

The Hancock (Halphen) Red is an extraordinary deep ruby red making it exceptional among the reds even though it is smaller in carat weight at 0.95-carats. In the 19th century, Edwin Streeter, a diamond dealer in Paris bought the extraordinary red known as the Halphen Red. The stone disappeared from public view and was never seen again. Almost a century later, a collector in England purchased a 0.95-carat red diamond, The Hancock Red, named after its owner Warren Hancock. While there is no proof the two diamonds are in fact the same, the rarity of red diamonds makes it likely they are the same. The purplish-red diamond sold for $880,000 ($926,000 per carat) at Christie’s in 1987.

Time will only tell what will happen to “The Lady in Red” that is currently for sale in Brisbane.

GIA Expands Diamond Dossier Services

This month the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) expanded services associated with its Diamond Dossier diamond-grading report. The Diamond Dossier service now provides diamond grading for diamonds ranging from 0.15 to 1.99 carats. Previously, the Diamond Dossier was limited to diamonds up to 0.99 carat so this expansion will mean a larger number of diamonds in the 1.00 to 1.99 carat weight range will now have the GIA number laser inscribed, which is a feature of every diamond with a GIA Diamond Dossier.

While the laser inscription is a valuable feature for consumers, diamond shoppers need to be aware that there is no plot map of diamond characteristics with any of the Diamond Dossier reports. Diamond shoppers will have to rely on retailers and appraisers to examine the diamond under a microscope to assess the inclusions in terms of durability and visibility.

For example, feathers that cut across the pointed corners of princess-cut diamonds can be a hazard during the setting process with the result being a broken corner. Without the plot map showing the type and location of inclusions, the diamond shopper must rely on someone with a microscope and diamond experience to identify problems before they happen and hopefully before the purchase.

The GIA, like other laboratories, grades clarity based on viewing the diamond from the top. Sometimes inclusions are difficult to see with magnification from the top (higher clarity grades) but can be visible to the unaided eye when viewing the diamond from the side.

EGL Announces Light Performance Measurement

The EGL USA laboratory recently announced that beginning in July, they will offer a new 360º Diamond Report that presents the traditional industry specifications and measurements for a diamond but features a new measure of light performance.

In addition to the new light performance measure, EGL USA’s 360º Diamond Report assigns a new overall grade for visual appeal. This new grade, called the Diamond’s Natural Attraction (DNA), is a composite of twelve characteristics; seven for cut and proportion, two for polish and symmetry, and three related to the new light performance.

The 360º Diamond Report service utilizes direct light-performance developed specifically for EGL USA by ImaGem Inc., a company specializing in technology for grading and identifying gems. ImaGem’s systems combine advanced optics, imaging technology and proprietary software to automate and integrate diamond grading.

I will be provide addition feedback on EGL USA’s 360º Diamond Report as the service is implemented and we have a chance to evaluate this new entry into the cut grade competition between the diamond grading laboratories.

Teenage Girls Finds 2.93-carat Diamond

When walking in a field of diamonds, it pays to keep your eyes open and alert. That was definitely the case for Nicole Ruhter of Butler, Missouri who recently discovered a 2.93-carat light-brown colored diamond at Crater of Diamonds State Park. Walking the path that hundreds had walked, she noticed a little shine and a “broken pyramid” shape sticking out of the ground.

Nicole, her parents, grandparents, brother and sister has spent the day digging but Nicole’s sharp eyes made her the lucky one. As is the custom for larger diamonds found at Crater of Diamonds, the finder names the diamond. In Nicole’s case, she decided on “Pathfinder Diamond” because of finding it on the path. She plans to keep the diamond for a while and then will probably get it appraised and offer it for sale.

The 2.93-carat diamond was the largest of the 332 diamonds found at Crater of Diamonds so far this year. On average, park visitors find about two diamonds per day at Crater of Diamonds State Park, which is the world’s only diamond production area where the public can keep the diamonds they find.

US Patent for Holloway Cut Adviser

Australian diamond appraiser, Garry Holloway, developed the Holloway Cut Adviser (HCA) system in 2000 as a tool for assessing diamond cut in terms of Brilliance, Fire, Scintillation, and Spread (size relative to weight). On July 31, the United States’ Patent & Trademark Office issued patent No. 7,251,619 to Holloway for his computer-implemented method for evaluating loose round diamonds.

The Holloway Cut Adviser has become a useful tool for diamond shoppers trying to determine which loose round diamonds have the best cut based on a few diamond specifications. The tool is particularly useful for online diamond shoppers who are trying to sort through a large number of diamond specifications to determine which one to order.

The HCA system takes four input factors (typically Depth Percentage, Table Percentage, Crown Angle, and Pavilion Angle) and returns ratings for Light Return, Fire, Scintillation, Spread, and a composite rating for Total Visual Performance. While the HCA system only accounts for 17 of the round diamonds’ 58 facets, these are the most important for the diamonds light performance and appearance.

At Diamond Source of Virginia, we use the Holloway Cut Adviser as a final filter in recommending round brilliant cut diamonds to our clients. First, we seek diamonds that meet our client’s requirements for color, clarity and budget. Then we seek GIA cut grades of Excellent or Very Good. Finally, we use the HCA to find the best of the best before we order the diamond in for our inspection. Since we started using the combination of GIA and HCA grades, we have not been disappointed with a single diamond in terms of brilliance and sparkle.

The diamond shopper’s quest for the best round diamond requires a careful balancing of many factors including color, clarity, millimeter size, cut and price. The cut aspect is critical to a diamond’s appearance and is often the most difficult for a shopper to evaluate. The Holloway Cut Adviser has proven to be a valuable tool for filtering out underachieving diamonds based on specification available in advance of purchasing.