A 70-carat white diamond from Canada’s Diavik mine led Rio Tinto’s first rough diamond tender of the year.
Comprising 124 lots of stones from the Argyle, Diavik, and Murowa mines, the tender of white and fancy-coloured rough was awarded to 44 companies.
“We were delighted with the bidding, the global nature of the successful bidders, and the final result,” said Patrick Coppens, general manager for the sales of all Rio Tinto diamond productions. “It speaks to the strong demand for our diverse diamond portfolio.”
Bidding for yellow, champagne, cognac, pink, and purple diamonds from all three mines was especially fierce.
“It was great to see the tender in both Antwerp and the highly competitive Israeli diamond industry,” said a spokesperson for Israeli diamond manufacturer, L & N Diamonds.
“Whilst we were delighted with our diamonds, the ultimate beneficiary will be the consumer when these diamonds will be transformed into beautiful jewellery for the major consumer markets around the world.”
