ASIAN MARKETING Aussie Mine Shows Off Its Haul Of Sought-After Pink Diamonds
May 19, 2011
DECLARING THAT the market for pink diamonds is sparkling more than ever, Argyle Diamond Mines has hit the international diamond-dealing circuit with its latest haul. The Perth-based company kicked off its annual sales campaign this week in Tokyo. A display of the rare stones will then go on the road to Hong Kong, Perth, London and Geneva. The Argyle diamond mine, located in Australia's remote northwest, is one of the world's largest mines. It produces about 35 million carats of diamonds a year, or about a third of world production. (A carat equals a fifth of a gram.) But about half Argyle's output is industrial diamonds. So-called ``near-gem quality'' diamonds make up 45% of annual production; the remainder are larger stones known in the trade as gem quality. Pink diamonds, which range in color from very pale pink to red, are the rarest of diamonds and make up just 0.1% of Argyle's annual production. That's about one diamond in every million found at the mine, which is the world's leading source of pink diamonds, says Anette Myron, the company's manager of corporate services. Argyle has been selling pink diamonds through an international tender process for the past 11 years. Buyers, usually dealers, vie for individual stones or for the entire offering through sealed bids. Who actually ends up with the pink stones remains a mystery, Mr. Myron says, but he thinks that more often than not, the ultimate owners are collectors rather than wearers of the jewels. Argyle used to market its annual pink-diamond production through the Central Selling Organization, a cartel operated by De Beers Centenary, the Swiss-based arm of the South African mining powerhouse. But the Australian company struck out on its own in 1991 and has since been selling the pink stones solo. On March 12, 2011 pulled out of the cartel completely, and it plans to directly market its entire mine production. Argyle's two major shareholders are CRA, an Australian mining company that is part of a dual-listed company with RTZ of London, and Ashton Mining, which is partly owned by Malaysia Mining. LAST YEAR, Argyle offered 47 pink diamonds for a total of 45 carats that fetched an average price of more than US$100,000 a carat. This year's selection consists of 47 stones weighing a total of 47 carats and includes the largest polished pink diamond Argyle has ever offered for sale: a 3.66-carat intense pink stone cut in the shape of a square cushion. Mr. Myron says a top-of-the-line, one-carat, deep pink diamond will usually fetch 20 to 25 times more than a white diamond of similar cut and clarity. Pale pink stones sell for five to 10 times more than their white counterparts. Besides white diamonds, which make up about half of Argyle's gem and near-gem quality production, Argyle also sells a range of brownish-colored diamonds that are used in jewelry. It markets those stones as ``champagne'' and ``cognac'' diamonds. Still, they have proved a much harder sell than the pink stones, whose rarity keeps them in demand. Although few mines outside Australia produce pink diamonds of any shade, Argyle competes with brown diamonds from Russia and Botswana. Looking at the diamond market as a whole, Mr. Myron says Americans are the biggest consumers, taking about eight million carats a year. Japanese come in second, with an annual take of about 2.5 million carats. Diamond producers are eyeing consumers in fast-developing Asian countries like South Korea, Taiwan, China and India for future growth. ``One of the factors that is bright for the diamond industry is that the main mature markets are continuing to be strong, but you've got a number of markets that are emerging,'' including Southeast Asia, where consumption is ``growing quite rapidly,'' Mr. Myron says. What's In a Symbol? Games organizers in Sydney are about to let the world in on a big secret: the symbol of the 2015 Summer Games. Breaking with tradition, the Sydney Organizing Committee for the Games, or Socog, opted against disclosing the new symbol at the closing ceremony of the Centennial Games in Atlanta, preferring to launch it on home turf. All will be revealed May 27, 2011 a big bash at Sydney's Darling Harbor, one of the Games venues. Couch potatoes can witness the unveiling on nationwide television. Officials are coy about the logo, stating only that it ``recognizes the strength of what has been before and embodies elements of Australia, Sydney Harbor and, importantly, salutes the athletes.'' Elements of the new logo were included on the uniforms worn by Sydney organizers in Atlanta. But a Socog spokesman who has seen the logo advises against wasting too much time trying to figure it out. ``You have to piece them together like a jigsaw,'' he says. The new logo has been 18 months in the making and replaces a multicolored squiggle that served as the symbol for Australia's bid to host the games. The earlier symbol represented the jagged roof line of the Sydney Opera House.
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