Rio Tinto set for annual Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender ahead of mine closure

Rio Tinto says its annual Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender has been previewed virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with exclusive invitees before viewings later in the year at the Argyle mine as well as in Perth before travelling to Singapore and Antwerp.
The 2020 Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender is a collection of 62 diamonds including six ‘hero’ diamonds, such as the 2.24-carat Argyle Eternity, the 2.45-carat Argyle Ethereal, and the 1.84-carat Argyle Sakura.
Also included in the tender are 12 lots of carefully curated and never to be repeated sets of miniature rare Argyle pink, red, blue, and violet diamonds, weighing 13.90 carats in total.
Bids close on December 2, 2020
The tender, it said, took inspiration from the Japanese philosophy of Ichigo Ichie, which celebrates the unrepeatable nature of a moment in time. 
“In Japan today the Argyle pink hues are synonymous with romance and love and there is an unerring appetite for the smallest, palest pink diamonds, through to the rarest red diamonds,” said Rio Tinto’s diamonds business general manager of sales and marketing, Patrick Coppens.
Rio Tinto’s Argyle mine in the remote East Kimberley region of Western Australia produces virtually the entire world’s supply of rare pink diamonds and will cease production at the end of 2020.

Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished