All About Natural Fancy Pink Diamonds

Natural fancy pink diamonds are some of the most breathtakingly beautiful gifts of nature that one can behold. A fancy pink diamond engagement ring has become one of the most widespread choices for couples that want something more than the conventional colorless diamond for their engagement or wedding ring.

Hollywood celebrities are especially fond of these beautiful stones, and they are often seen on the runway. Ben Affleck may have started the trend when he presented Jennifer Lopez with a 6.1 carat pink diamond engagement ring in 2002. A few years later, Nick Cannon presented Mariah Carey with a 17 carat emerald cut pink diamond engagement ring, encrusted with 58 pink diamonds and flanked by two half-moon diamonds on either side. Penelope Ann Miller shined a little brighter than the rest at the 2012 Academy Awards, as she flashed her 3 carat pink diamond engagement ring for the cameras.

Location

Although small numbers of pink diamonds are mined all around the world, about 90% of all fancy pink diamonds are mined in the Argyle Diamond Mine in Australia. These Argyle Pinks possess certain vibrancy in their coloring that makes them unique even in the tiny niche of pink diamonds. So distinct is this coloring that a diamond expert could actually discern the origin of a particular pink diamond just by looking at it. These Argyle Pinks are sold yearly at the annual Pink Tender, where the luckiest of diamond merchants and collectors are able to get their hands on these valuable stones.

Cause of Color

Pink Diamonds are Type II diamonds, which means that their coloring does not come from impurities in the atomic structure of the stone such as particles of nitrogen or boron. Rather, their coloring (along with red and champagne diamonds) is believed to be a result of “Plastic Deformation,” a form of colored graining. In a nutshell, this is a structural change in the diamond’s crystal lattice cause by the immense pressure the diamond is subjected to during its formation. This internal structural change also changes the way that light is reflected from the diamond, resulting in the pink, red or brown coloring of those fancy colors.

Aside from the rarest fancy pinks, many pink diamonds are found with a number of secondary hues, such as brownish pink, purplish pink, and orangey pink.

Naturally, pure pink diamonds are much rarer than pink diamonds with secondary hues, and are therefore much more valuable. A highly saturated fancy pink or purplish pink is every collector’s dream, with price records for these beauties being set and broken so quickly it’s hard to keep up.
 

 

 

Famous Pink Diamonds

Fancy pink diamonds have been making auction headlines all over the world over the past few years. Some of the more famous fancy pink diamonds to have been sold are:

The 59.60 carat Pink Dream, known until recently as the Pink Star, but most famously before that as the Steinmetz Pink, is one of the most glorious diamonds known to exist. It took approximately 20 months for an eight-member team from the Steinmetz Group to cut the 59.6 carat Pink from the original 100-carat stone into its unique shape, an oval mixed cut with a step-cut crown and brilliant cut pavilion. It was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in November 2013 for $83 million USD.It was sold at an auction in Sotheby’s in November of 2013 for $83 million, the highest price ever paid for a stone at an auction. The stone is graded as Internally Flawless and Fancy Vivid Pink by the GIA, making it one of the most perfect diamond specimens to ever have been discovered.

The third largest pink diamond is the Princie Diamond, discovered centuries ago but recently sold for a whopping $39.3 million at a Christie’s auction in April of 2013. The diamond itself, originating in the Indian Golconda mines, is a specimen of beauty and excellence, weighing 34.65 carats, and graded Fancy Intense Pink by the GIA.

The Graff Pink diamond was sold at an auction in 2010 for the stunningly high price (unprecedented at the time) of $46 million dollars. Laurence Graff of Graff Diamonds recognized this stone as one of the most important fancy colored diamonds to have ever been discovered, and his hunch was proved correct on all counts when he purchased this stone. At 24.78 carats, and graded Internally Flawless and Fancy Vivid Pink by the GIA, this stone’s beauty and brilliance is surpassed by few. It has an emerald cut with rounded corners, and it is set in a platinum ring flanked by two shield cut colorless diamonds on either side.

The Darya-ye Noor, meaning “Sea of Light”, is one of the Crown Jewels from Iran, this diamond is well known not only for its large, 182-carat weight and size, but also its exceptionally rare pale pink color. It is believed to have been cut from the same stone as another famous diamond, the Noor-ol-Ein, from the Great Table Diamond, seen by the French jewel trader Jean-Baptiste Tavernier in a Golconda, India, mine in 1642.

Other significantly large and beautiful pink diamonds include:

The Agra Diamond, a light pink diamond weighing 32.34 carats and sold in 1990 for almost $7 million at an auction; The Graff Pink Orchid, a breathtaking marquise-cut 22.84 carat purplish pink diamond.

Investing in Pink Diamonds

With their soft, feminine coloring, pink diamonds have made their mark on the luxury goods market. They’ve become wildly popular with diamond enthusiasts and collectors and with the masses of wealthier consumers as well. This is has driven up their prices and desirability tremendously, making for great investment opportunity.