Fancy coloured Diamonds from argyle

[gregchang35]

I have posted this on Rocky Talky, and i thought to post here too to see if anyone here knows more about the roughs and authenticity of what the vendor is saying.

I have been searching for a blue diamond, and preferably an argyle for a project of mine.

I have found a vendor and they are manufacturers/ cutters of blues that they source from argyle. BUt, i have no idea if they are spinning a yarn or not.

below is a snip of what the have stated about the blues that they have. they source the roughs from argyle.
i have asked for clarity on who this expert is and how to get the scientific guarantee.

Anyone out there able to help me decipher what is being said?

Hi Greg,

Thank you for your reply, I look forward to hearing from you when you've had a chance to consider these diamonds!
The origin is the Argyle mine in Australia for all these diamonds. Argyle certificates however are only issued for a selection of diamonds that are sold directly by Argyle, already polished, which is a very small part of their production. Since we are manufacturers we have bought most of our Argyle pink and blue diamonds rough directly from the Argyle (Arthur Langerman who founded the company was one of their first clients for rough diamonds), and cut and polished them here. Argyle certificates are not laboratory certificates, it's more a kind of branding they use for part of their production, so it is not something that can be requested from them like a lab certificate. I can however of course have an Expert's report made, signed and dated, which mentions the geographical origin of the diamond. There is also a more scientific guarantee in that this kind of metallic blue color is only found in the Argyle mine.

 

[Mrs_Strizzle]

It is true that you can not get a certificate from the Argyle mine after the fact. They also inscribe the Argyle logo on the logo. But I don't know about the rough. I would think there would be so little blue coming out that it all would have a cert, but that is only my thought. I can't confirm that. Good luck with your project!

 

[Mrs_Strizzle]

*inscribe the logo on the girdle!

 

[OoohShiny]

Are they selling stones without a grading report?

I would suggest that you say you are interested in purchasing but you will only buy stones with a GIA grading report and the report number laser-etched on the stone.

GIA test their coloured stones to make sure they're not treated to get the colour, I believe, and I think their opinion is the only one I would trust.

In any other outcome of this situation where you make a purchase, you would effectively be sending a large amount of cash to a stranger based on his word alone. And we all know how those scenarios usually pan out...

(I have $7m dollars here in a bank account for you - send me $1000 and I can release the funds! )


Are there any other mines producing blue diamonds, or only the Argyle mine(s)?

If there are other mines, does it matter if a mined, untreated blue diamond comes from the Argyle mine, given how rare they are?

If there is only the Argyle mine, any mined, untreated blue diamond must come from there, so it would not matter if it has an 'Argyle Mine Certificate'.


I'm going to page @Garry H (Cut Nut) as he is an Aussie and might be able to assist!

I'm aware that @diagem buys and cuts Argyle rough, so he might be able to input at well

 

[Arcadian]

I know very little about argyles but here's what I do know:

Rough purchased will not carry an insignea nor can you get one. If a buyer purchases precut stones, these will have an insignea (logo, whatever) and a certificate stating they're from argyle mines.

I believe you can't really tell, there's no "mine fingerprint" that any lab can look for and say its from argyle.

 

[minousbijoux]

I'm not sure if it is true with blues, but I think that for some colors (perhaps green?) the only way to know whether the color is natural is to leave some of the "rind" on, or leave some kind of tiny natural for testing. In the absence, it cannot be known whether it has gained its color through man or nature. Maybe this only pertains to greens and radiation? In any case, since blue is so rare, I'd find some way to absolutely verify its origin and color as naturally occurring, just not sure how to do it. Good luck - can't wait to see the results!

 

[gregchang35]

Thanx for the advice. The stone does come with a GIA report. It states that the colour is natural. So that is a bonus.

Just unsure of argyle origin, despite what the vendor says. Will keep researching.

 

[Nosean]

Blue diamonds like the Wittelsbacher or Hope are Type II b ( Boron is responsible for the color).
These stones were found in Golconda /India - now in South Africa.

https://www.gia.edu/blue-diamonds-have-surprise-origin-and-link-to-ocean

The Argyle blue or violet diamonds are HGBV - hydrogen rich gray-blue-violet diamond.

https://www.gia.edu/doc/Spring-2009-Gems-Gemology-Hydrogen-Rich-Diamond-Argyle-Australia.pdf

There are many other article about them (GIA).

——

Natural green diamond show very often irradiation stains - green or brown spots at the surface. It is important that the cut stone has a small natural with these spots otherwise it is not possible to say whether naturally irradiated over many, many years next to a radioactive mineral or artificially irradiated.

So the natural is never a fault - it is the signature.

 

[gregchang35]

Thanx @Nosean Now i know where to look.. Seems simple enough now to know where to look. google wasnt helping much when i was searching.