With the permanent closure of the Argyle mine in Western Australia in November 2020, the supply of pink diamonds has come to an end. The exhaustion of the resource means we are set to witness a spike in inflated prices due to higher demand, so there has never been a better time to invest in a commodity like Pink Kimberley loose pink diamonds or pink diamond jewellery. Whether you’re a savvy investor and have experience with rare commodities like pink diamonds, or you’re just interested in learning more about this true geological phenomenon, then you’ll need the relevant information.

There are plenty of important factors when it comes to what to invest your money in, however, when grading pink diamonds, there are a few things to be aware of. First and foremost is provenance. It’s a well-known fact in the gemmological community that pink diamonds from the Argyle mine are the finest the world has to offer, often carrying twice the value of a comparable diamond from elsewhere. As such, when buying a pink diamond, it is essential that you rapidly establish its point of origin with certainty.

All pink diamonds sold by Pink Kimberley over 0.08cts are provided with this certification, giving initial and future buyers the confidence that they are getting a true piece of Australia’s gemmological history.

Many customers are familiar with the so-called 4 C’s of diamond grading – Colour, Clarity, Carat Weight and Cut. While all of these contribute to the value of any diamond, one factor in particular strongly affects the value of pink diamonds.

Colour is the most important factor when considering a pink diamond and a key driver behind customer decision-making. Pink diamonds can range in colour from pale blush pinks to deep reds and everything in between, with the more vivid tones sought out more fervently.

As an aspect of a stone, Colour can be broken down into three key attributes which when taken together ultimately determine the colour grade of a diamond:

• HUE - The dominant colour of the diamond
• SATURATION - The strength of colour
• TONE - The amount of lightness or darkness in the diamond

The hue of a diamond is a strong determinant of value. Stones of a certain hue are far more likely to attract a higher price than white stones, even where the white stone offers greater clarity or a more intricate cut. Within the field of pink diamonds, a wide variety of hues are recognised and valued based on their rarity. These hues and their corresponding abbreviation (where applicable) are in descending order of value:

• Red & Purplish Red
• Blue Violet (BL)
• Purplish Pink (PP)
• Pink (P)
• Pink Rose (PR)
• Pink Champagne (PC)

A stone’s saturation and tone are expressed together as its intensity. Intensity is expressed as one of nine levels that describe the depth and immediacy of the colour identified in the Hue field. These levels and their corresponding numeric value are :

1. 1 = Very intense
2. 2 = Intense
3. 3 = Strong
4. 4 = Medium
5. 5 = Medium Light
6. 6 = Light
7. 7 = Very Light
8. 8 = Blush
9. 9 = Light Blush

With the above in mind, let’s look at a real world example. Referring to the colour chart on our education blog, we can see a diamond labelled 1PP. This means that it has an intensity value of ‘1’ (Very Intense’) and a hue of Purplish Pink – making this an extremely valuable stone. As another example, the diamond 5PR has an intensity of Medium Light and a hue of Pink Rose.

Regardless of the physical characteristics of your chosen stone, we reiterate that the most vital choice you can make when selecting a pink diamond is to insist on Argyle.