Rio Tinto has launched the final edition of its Beyond Rare Tender, a collection of rare coloured diamonds sourced from its now-closed Argyle mine in Western Australia and the Diavik mine in Canada, which is scheduled to cease production in 2026.
Titled Into the Light, this third and final instalment of Rio Tinto’s Art Series comprises 52 lots totalling 45.44 carats. It includes a mix of single stones and sets of pink, red, violet, yellow and white diamonds, representing some of the last production from the Argyle and Diavik mines over the past three decades.
Details of the Final Offering
The tender features six ‘Masterpieces’ – sets of diamonds selected to represent the production characteristics of the two mines. In addition, the offering includes 39 single diamonds and seven curated sets.
From Argyle’s final legacy inventory, the tender includes:
- One GIA Fancy Red diamond
- Twelve GIA Fancy Violet diamonds
- Seventy-six GIA Fancy Pink, Purple-Pink and Purplish Pink diamonds
From Diavik, two D-colour Flawless white diamonds are included – a 5.11 carat Emerald cut and a 3.02 carat Pear shape – both cut from the same rough stone. A 6.12 carat Fancy Vivid Yellow diamond is also part of the collection.
Tender process and presentation
The 52-lot collection will be presented to invited bidders in Hong Kong, Australia and Antwerp, with bidding closing on 20 October 2025.
Rio Tinto’s General Manager of Sales and Marketing, Patrick Coppens, said:
“It is hard to overstate the importance of this final collection from two extraordinarily beautiful places on earth – the East Kimberley region of Western Australia and the Northwest Territories of Canada. No other mining company in the world has custody of such an exquisite collection of diamond colours, shapes and sizes and we all pay tribute to the men and women who have worked so hard over many years to bring them to market.”
Implications for the trade
The conclusion of Rio Tinto’s Art Series Tender marks a shift in the supply of natural coloured diamonds. For jewellers, reduced output of Argyle-type pinks and related stones from Diavik indicates a further constraint in an already limited area of the market.
With no current alternative sources producing coloured diamonds at similar scale, jewellers may face increased sourcing challenges for natural pink, red and violet stones. As legacy inventories are gradually placed in private holdings, availability for retail and bespoke use is expected to become more limited.
