Brilliant pink: the origin of the stone

Colored diamonds are valued incredibly high not only because of their unprecedented rarity, but also because of the beauty. Brilliant pink is one of the most incredible phenomena, the rarest variety among all colored diamonds. Scientists still do not know for sure the true reasons for this coloring of stones.

This mystery not only does not stop, but also spurs the interest of investors, traders, jewelers. The demand for these stones at the largest auctions of the world is growing with years.

Scientific hypotheses

Scientists know that the reason for coloring nuggets in different colors is the presence of chemical impurities. They absorb light, accumulate it and give it a certain shade. For example, a yellow diamond owes its color to nitrogen molecules, and blue color is obtained thanks to boron. But why the diamond is pink, nobody knows. The fact is that it has no impurities in its composition, its formula completely coincides with the formula of transparent diamonds of pure water. This prompted scientists to think that a unique color is a consequence of a certain seismic effect, which at some point was subjected to the breed. According to this hypothesis, seismic activity is the reason why the molecular structure of the diamond changes, which gives it a characteristic color. The theory of seismic impact has not yet found scientific confirmation, numerous studies are continuing, but so far it has not been possible to say exactly why the diamond is pink. And this unique stone continues to delight and attract those who are not at all somewhat alien to jewelry and mineralogy.

Extraction

Brilliant, the pink shade of which remains unique even with the development of modern technology, is mined in the west of Australia. The largest deposit in the world is the Argyle mine. And even at this deposit it remains a rare find. In total, prospectors manage to find several diamonds of this shade per year.

Trying to discover the mystery of the pink color of diamonds, experts are looking for answers to many questions. Some of them are related even to the history of the origin and development of our planet.

It is known that the formation of most diamonds began billions of years ago. Exploring these stones, one can learn a lot about the history of the Earth, because they are a kind of "time capsule."

Research

Australian pink diamonds have been studied in detail at the molecular level. Trying to detect the presence of impurities that affect the pink color of the diamond, scientists subject the stones to mass-spectrometric analysis. As a result, no impurities were found. Spectrometric measurements of this conclusion are fully confirmed.

Another interesting experiment was conducted. The diamond was exposed to a focused ion beam, as a result of which a depression was made on its surface. The scientists extracted silver from it, which was also examined. The result was the discovery that the diamond pink is not complete, but fragmentary. Geologists call this phenomenon twin planes and claim that they are the result of volcanic activity.

Records

Only a couple of decades ago, these stones were interested only by geologists. Jewelers did not consider pink diamonds as interesting.

Today, everything has changed. The record holder at a cost is Graff Pink - a pink diamond, whose photo is famous all over the world. His weight exceeds 24 carats, which is a real miracle. After all, and so quite rare stones are almost not so huge.

It was sold in Geneva in 2010 with an auction of Sotheby's for $ 46 million. To date, it is considered one of the most expensive gems in the world.

The absolute record holder is the stone "Pink Star", framed in a ring. Its weight is 59.6 carats, and the cost for which the buyer agreed to buy it at the Sotheby's auction, reached 83 million dollars. This made him the most expensive stone in history. However, later it became known that the buyer did not pay for the purchase, and the auction bought a unique diamond back for $ 72 million.

The most expensive jewelry with pink diamonds

The ten most expensive rings in the world with precious stones include products with colored diamonds.

Among them, an engagement ring with a pink diamond by Anna Kournikova, presented to her by starry groom Enrique Iglesias. It is crowned with a teardrop shaped stone weighing 11 carats. Experts estimate the ring at 6 million dollars.

Vivid Pink by Graff - the famous gold ring, adorned with a pair of transparent and one pink diamond weighing 5 carats. The color of the stone is very delicate, with mother-of-pearl overflows, and the unique cut emphasizes its saturation and depth. The cost of this ring is $ 10.8 million.

"Superb pink" - a rectangular diamond at 14.23 carats. He was sold at an auction "Christies" for 23.2 million dollars. The gem is framed in a ring of white gold, and its deep color is set off by a pair of transparent diamonds weighing 3.4 carats.

"Pink Clark" - another ring-record holder, which once belonged to Huguett Marcel Clarke, an American millionaire. In 2012, it was sold at an auction "Christie" for 15.7 million dollars. A unique pink diamond with a cut of the kushon is framed in gold. The new owner of the legendary ring was Brett Stettner, owner of the house Stettner Investment Diamonds.

The famous gem with the sonorous name "Martian pink" weighing 17 carats has a rare round shape and an amazing cut. This stone was purchased by an anonymous buyer for $ 17.4 million at Christie's auction.

Pink diamonds in the jewelry art

Not all such stones leave auction for fabulous sums. Famous jewelry houses offer customers wonderful jewelry, framing unique diamonds in a decent frame. Often, these jewels are used by such famous jewelers as "Tiffany", "Chopard", "Cartier", "Bulgari".

It is believed that only precious metals of the highest standard are suitable for these stones, therefore jewelers combine platinum, white or pink gold with diamonds.

But even if the ring contains a very small stone of a unique color, the cost will be hundreds of thousands of dollars per carat. This is due to the huge purchase price for the rarest pink diamonds.

Prospects

Experts say that decoration with a real natural pink diamond is not just a beautiful thing and not even a status acquisition, but also a competent investment.

These stones will grow in value. A special jump in demand for pink diamonds and diamonds occurred after the announcement of Rio Tino, the owner of Australian copies, that he intends to close the mines by 2019.