The round brilliant stone was acquired by Brisbane collector Diosma ‘Di’ Fitzpatrick from the Argyle Mine, and was sold by tender organiser YourDiamonds.com for $2.2 million to an anonymous local buyer; the diamond carried an estimate of $1.5–2.5 million.
The previous record was established in April 2021 when auction house Leonard Joel sold a 25-carat white diamond, set in a platinum ring, for $1.125 million.
It is extremely rare to find Argyle pink diamonds above 1 carat.
Tim Goodman, CEO YourDiamonds.com and former executive chairman of Sotheby’s Australia, said, “I have never seen a diamond like this 2-carat round before. We had trouble placing a pre-tender estimate on the stone because we have been unable to find a precedent.
"This record-breaking price is very exciting for the Australian diamond industry, it is exciting for our client Ms Fitzpatrick, and of course it is exciting for us.”
John Chapman, chairman Delta Diamond Laboratory and a former Argyle employee, said the Fitzpatrick pink is one of the best round-cut fancy colour diamonds ever recovered from the mine.
It was cut from rough by veteran Argyle polisher Leo Smans in Antwerp, prior to the introduction of laser-cutting technology.
Public tender results
The YourDiamonds Public Tender of 37 Argyle pink diamonds – consigned from collections in Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide – closed on 1 July and was open to international bids.
The diamonds toured Sydney, Adelaide, and Perth and were viewed by members of the jewellery trade, private collectors, investors, and representatives from diamond firms in Europe and North America.
The tender had a pre-sale estimate of $11 million. Though the full results had not been made public at the time of publication, another tender stone from the Fitzpatrick Collection – a 1.48-carat fancy intense purplish pink heart-shape named ‘The Queen of Hearts’ – broke another Leonard Joel record to become the third-most expensive diamond sold in Australia.
Leonard Joel auctioned a 17.34-carat white diamond for $575,000 in August 2020; therefore, the Queen of Hearts diamond's final price would have been between $575,000 and $1.125 million.
Speaking to Jeweller in June, Fitzpatrick said, “The heart-shape was my favourite because it was, at that stage, the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen in the way of gemstones. It did remain quite a favourite, but then the 2-carat came along and that was another story!”
Commenting on the success of the public tender – the first of its kind worldwide – Goodman said, “There is now a viable and liquid way to re-sell these rare gems for a relatively tiny seller’s transaction fee... This development solves one of the old problems of lack of liquidity on the secondary market.”
Two further public tenders have been announced for November 2021 and July 2022.
More reading:
First 'public tender' of Argyle pink diamonds expected to break records
Australia’s ‘most expensive’ diamond ring breaks auction record
From birth to timeless legacy: The complete story of Argyle pink diamonds
Argyle tender breaks records during pandemic following pink diamond mine closure