World of the Bizarre

Ridiculously rare violet diamond unearthed

By T.K. Randall
May 4, 2016 ·  14 comments

The Argyle mine is well known for its unusually colored diamonds. Image Credit: CC BY-SA 2.0 Swamibu Regular white diamonds are an incredibly valuable and sought-after commodity, but in the Argyle Diamond Mine in the remote north of Western Australia, miners have long been finding diamonds imbued with an unusual pink or red hue which are typically worth up to 50 times as much.

Every once in a while however something even more spectacular is unearthed in the form of a violet diamond - something so rare that only a relatively small amount of them have ever been found.

One such diamond, which was discovered back in 2015, will be taking center stage at Rio Tinto's annual pink diamonds showcase next month - an event for which only 12 carats of polished violet stones have ever been produced in more than three decades.

This 2.83 carat violet diamond is so rare it's practically priceless https://t.co/2qBTKfAFCi pic.twitter.com/7HALk5jrvV

— TheJournal.ie (@thejournal_ie) May 3, 2016

"Impossibly rare and limited by nature, the Argyle Violet will be highly sought after for its beauty, size and provenance," Rio Tinto Diamonds general manager of sales, Patrick Coppens.

It isn't clear exactly how diamonds like this one acquire their unusual coloration however it is thought to be something to do with a molecular structure distortion during their formation in the Earth's crust.

Pink diamonds, which make a regular appearance at the show, are worth up to $2 million a carat.

Source: Discovery News | Comments (14)

Tags: Violet Diamond