The collection – named ‘Born of this World’ – consisted of 48 lots weighing 29.96 carats. The diamonds were sourced from the Diavik Mine in Canada and the Argyle Mine in Western Australia.
Bidders from Australia, Europe, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, the US and Israel attended the tender. Among them was Australia’s Kimberley Fine Diamonds, which purchased the only fancy colour red diamond available.
Sinead Kaufman, CEO of Rio Tinto’s minerals division, said she was pleased with the outcome of the tender.
“We are delighted with the results from this new sale format for Rio Tinto’s diamond business, delivering results that reflect the global demand for highly collectible natural colour diamonds and the resulting value creation,” she said.
Rio Tinto also offered ‘The Art Series’, which included seven sets of diamonds referred to as ‘masterpieces’. This included 11 perfectly matched pairs and 30 lone diamonds.
More reading
Love Stone: Fancy colour diamond shines bright at auction
California Sunset Diamonds expected to impress at auction
Auction blockbuster: Blue diamond stuns collectors
Tiffany & Co unveils eye-catching set of yellow diamonds
High expectations for a spectacular pink diamond
Dazzling collection of pink diamonds up for grabs