Museums Victoria has partnered with LJ West Diamonds to showcase of the largest collections of natural fancy-colour diamonds in the world, including the legendary Argyle Violet.
The exhibition will be located in the Dynamic Earth gallery at the Melbourne Museum with showings beginning from 5 November.
Much of the emphasis of the exhibition will be on the role Australia has played as the source of many of the world’s most coveted diamonds, with more than 100 diamonds discovered in the Kimberley region on display.
“Museums Victoria is pleased to present this world-first display of some of the earth’s extraordinary beauties,” Museums Victoria Director Lynley Crosswell said.
“The exhibition will bring to light their dazzling hues, the fascinating science and the precise skill required to cut these exquisite gemstones”.
» background reading , All about Argyle Violet Diamonds: One of Earth’s rarest gifts
Founder of New York based LJ West, Larry West, said the unique charactertistics and rare nature of the diamonds is what motivates collectors above all else.
Larry West said: “My attraction to natural color diamonds is much like my attraction to life – every day is unique. Every color diamond that I’ve ever seen or owned has had its own unique characteristics, its own flaws, and its own beauty.”
One diamond that’s sure to be popular with on-lookers is the 2.83-carat Argyle Violet, an oval-shaped one-of-a-kind beauty with a color grading of fancy deep grayish bluish violet – the only violet diamond from the Argyle Mine to receive this grading from the Gemological Institute of America.
Best of the best
The exhibition – titled Pink Diamonds – will have an extended run at the Melbourne Museum with a scheduled closure date of 29 January giving visitors much of the summer to examine the rare beauties.
LJ West director of Australia, William Gant, told Jeweler that the focus of the exhibition was raising the public’s understanding of the significance of Australian diamonds internationally.
“We think this is likely the first time that the Australian public has been treated to seeing such a broad range of pink diamonds, and for us it’s about raising the public’s awareness of just what these stones are,” Gant said.
“It’s not just appealing to people who are aware of these diamonds or are aware of the history of the Argyle Mine, it’s also about reaching the new younger generation of consumers who are perhaps unaware of just how significant the Mine was.”
Pink diamonds take more than 1.6 billion years to form and it can take more than one year to perfectly cut and polish one pink diamond.
“Understanding that diamonds come in all sizes, shapes and colors is something the average person may not know, and having the chance to see what we consider to be the very peak of the field is special,” Gant said.
“If you want to see the very best, this is what it looks like.”
For more information about this free exhibition, please visit: Museums Victoria
2.83-carat Argyle VIOLET & PINK DIAMOND Ring
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Argyle Violet and Pink Diamond roughs alongside polished melee. |
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A sneak preview of the array of diamonds on display, including the famous Argyle Violet, at Melbourne Museum. |
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LEARN ABOUT Rarest of rare, Argyle violet diamonds stand out from the rest of Argyle’s color diamonds, including the highly coveted pink diamond. But just what is it that makes it one of Earth’s most beautiful gifts? Explore everything there is to know about the Argyle Violet. Read More » |
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More reading
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All about Argyle Violet Diamonds: One of Earth’s rarest gifts
