Pink Diamonds: The NZ Buyers Guide

Pink Diamonds are one of the most sought-after coloured diamonds. But finding a good quality pink diamond is harder than most people think. Pink diamonds are also not typically stocked in jewellery stores so seeing designs is also difficult.

This article will walk you through how to buy a pink diamond, where to buy them in New Zealand, some of our pink diamond designs and questions we frequently get asked.

What are pink diamonds?

Pink diamonds are diamonds with small deformations that give it its colour. Researchers are still working out how exactly the pink colour in a diamond comes about. They think that the pink hues are created by a plastic-styled deformation that occurs due to the amount of pressure a diamond experiences in its formation. This is to say that pink diamonds don’t start off as pink — but become pink.

Mined or natural pink diamonds typically come from the Argyle diamond mine in Western Australia. It accounts for 90% of the world’s mined pink diamond supply. Diamonds that come from here are called Argyle pink diamonds. The remaining 10% of pink diamonds come from Brazil and Russia (but due to sanctions, pink diamonds no longer come from Russia to places like New Zealand)

Pink diamonds can also be lab grown. Pink lab grown diamonds are optically, physically and atomically exactly the same mined pink diamonds. Not even expert jewellers can tell the difference. Lab-grown pink diamonds are made by applying more pressure than a typical white diamond and for a longer period of time.

Are pink diamonds rare?

Mined pink diamonds are incredibly rare. The Argyle mine shut down in 2020, but even when in operation, only 50 to 60 pink diamonds were found a year from the 1980s.

From a lab grown diamonds perspective, pink diamonds are still rare. They are harder to make than white diamonds and require much more time.

How much does a pink diamond cost?

The cost of a mined pink diamond ranges substantially. A 1 carat pink diamond can cost anywhere between NZD40,000 to NZD800,000. This depends on the quality of the gemstone and quality of the cut.

For a lab grown pink diamond, a 1 carat diamond can range can cost anywhere between NZD8,000 to NZD13,000. Again, this depends on the quality of the gemstone and cut.

And if you decide to work with Four Words, we will always choose you the best diamond that the eye can see — so you don’t have to. Our experts collectively have more than 10 years of experience of choosing diamonds on more than 15 variables — not just the 4Cs.

How to choose the best pink diamonds

When looking to buy a pink diamond, you can’t rely on the 4Cs. The 4Cs were specifically designed for white diamonds. For coloured diamonds, you need to use a different set of measures of quality.

For pink diamonds, focus on Cut

The most important thing you should focus on when choosing a coloured diamond is its cut. The cut will determine the way and amount of colour that it returns.

But not all diamond shapes have a cut grade — only Round Brilliant cuts do. It is for this reason it is so important to work with jewellers that can tell you the difference between a great pink diamond that sparkles and a poor quality pink diamond that looks like a moonrock.

When grading fancy coloured diamonds, factors such as clarity is not as important as they are when grading colourless diamonds. But you want to ensure that there are no visible inclusions especially on the face of the diamond.

Also, because coloured diamonds are less common, their value is mostly determined by the colour of the stone itself. However, due to the fact that coloured diamonds often include traces of different impurities, and the quantity of impurities influences its colour, developing a standardised grading method is more subjective than colourless diamonds.

Pink Diamond Saturation

Saturation refers to the degree to which the pink is expressed in terms of strength or intensity. The best way to think about saturation is imagining a glass of water and adding red-pink food colouring. The more food colouring you add, the more intense the colour.

Pink diamonds come in nine different intensities of pink.

1. Faint pink
2. Very light pink
3. Light pink
4. Fancy light pink
5. Fancy pink
6. Fancy intense pink
7. Fancy vivid pink
8. Fancy deep pink
9. Fancy dark pink

Pink Diamond Tone

The lightness or darkness of a pink diamond's appearance is referred to as its tone. The percentages of brown, black, grey, and white that are present in the stone are often used to make this determination.

Picture the glass with the food colouring again. If you were to add a little amount of black food colouring to the red-pink, the colour would still be red-pink, so the saturation would be the same, but the tone would be darker.

Pink Diamond Engagement Rings

At Four Words, we have designed and created multiple bespoke pink diamond engagement rings. To ensure that you get exactly what you want, we will work you to go through a rigorous design process. This includes multiple sketches and photorealistic renders.

Below are more examples of the work that we have done.

Pink Diamond Earrings

We have done a number of pink diamond stud earrings. Below are a couple of examples.

Best place to buy pink diamonds in New Zealand

#1 Four Words

Four Words takes a lot of the stress away from you when choosing and designing a pink diamond engagement ring, earrings or bespoke piece of jewellery. They start off with a phone or video call to get an understand of what you are looking for, designs that you like and your budget. You can even send them images of designs that inspire you. They will then send you sketches for you to then approve. The great thing about this process is that it is very personal (you actually deal with a person based in New Zealand and you can even talk to them at their studio in Auckland).

Four Words will also ensure to pick the best pink diamonds that the eye can see, and their jewellers also cut the gemstone for the maximum sparkle. One of the mistakes that other stores can make is that their jewellers focus on the 4Cs instead of what makes a coloured diamond impressive. Doing so can result in getting a poor-quality coloured diamond. This will make your pink diamond look cheap.

Four Words is also proactive when it comes to sustainability. They are climate positive. This means that for every purchase, they are offsetting more carbon than it costs to make your pink diamond piece of jewellery.

Positives:

• You can design your pink diamond jewellery exactly the way you like.
• New Zealand owned and operated.
• The pink diamond piece of jewellery is completely climate positive.
• Do both lab-grown, and earth grown pink diamonds.
• Have specialist suppliers for pink diamonds and expert jewellers to craft pink diamond engagement rings.

Negatives:

• Because Four Words custom creates your jewellery after the design phase, it can take up to four to six weeks for your pink diamond jewellery to arrive.

#2 Partridge Jewellers

Partridge Jewellers are retailers that sell coloured diamonds. They have a small range of pink diamonds in terms of engagement rings, earrings and pendants. But many of their designs feature very small pink diamonds and Partridge exclusively deals with mined diamonds.

Recently Partridge sold a 0.44 carat pink diamond for NZD112,000. A 1 carat diamond would cost around $800,000.

Positives:

• Good range of off-the-shelf jewellery — perfect for a quick gift.
• Stores located around New Zealand.

Negatives:

• Limited range.
• Very expensive.
• Exclusively deal in mined diamonds.
• Typically deal in less than 0.5 carat pink diamonds.
• No sustainability statement.

#3 Jens Hansen

Jens Hansen is a jeweller from Nelson. They do custom jewellery and coloured diamonds. They have done one pink diamond ring too. They exclusively work with mined diamonds and with that comes a hefty price. For example, a 0.3 mined pink diamond engagement ring starts from $42,000.

Positives:

• You can get something bespoke.
• New Zealand owned and operated.
• Expensive

Negatives:

• Only does mined diamonds.
• Typically deal in less than 0.5 carat pink diamonds.
• No sustainability statement.

FAQs

What is the difference between an argyle pink diamond and normal pink diamond?

Argyle pink diamonds are specifically from the Argyle mine in Western Australia. As for the diamond itself, there is nothing different between an Argyle pink diamond, a pink diamond from Brazil or Russia, or a lab grown pink diamond at an atomic, physical or optical level.

What is the difference between a pink sapphire and pink diamond?

Pink sapphires look similar to a pink diamond but they are not diamonds. Sapphires are optically, physically and atomically different to diamonds. They are made out of aluminium oxide with traces of Chromium.

Pink sapphires are more affordable than pink diamonds. They tend to have a much more limited range of colour and not have the depth of colour that pink diamonds can have.

Can pink diamonds be lab grown?

Yes. Pink diamonds can be lab grown. They require a lot more time and energy. The price is determined by the quality of the stone, its size, and its supply.

Are pink diamonds a good investment?

It depends on what you are investing for, and the reason you are investing.

If you are investing in your relationship and want to show your love, then yes a pink diamond is a great investment. If you want to treat yourself that will get people talking, then — again, yes it is a great investment.

But if you are investing in a pink diamond to resell, then it is an extremely bad investment. While mined pink diamonds are rare and the Australian Argyle pink diamond mine did close down, there are still other mines which continue to operate in Brazil and Russia. Any new found mine could rapidly deteriorate the price of a mined pink diamond.

Furthermore, if you think about what determines price, it is both supply and demand. The demand for pink diamonds is relatively low (especially compared to white or even yellow diamonds).

Pink diamonds also have retail markup costs which mean that if and when you try and resell a pink diamond, you will get much less for it — just with every other form of jewellery. You are not buying a commodity like if you were to buy a bar of gold. You are buying the cutting, the setting, the salespeople, the design and the store fitouts. And while some stores have much higher markups than others, the fact still remains that any form of jewellery is not a good financial investment.

Why are pink diamonds so expensive?

Pink diamonds are expensive for a few reasons:

• Limited supply of mined diamonds.
• Not many jewellery stores stock them so they appear even more rare.
• Most jewellery brands only do mined diamonds.
• The mark up from most jewellery stores is between 200 - 300%.

If you are looking for a custom pink diamond jewellery piece, we recommend you shop around and consider looking at Four Words. We can use both mined and lab grown pink diamonds.

What does a pink diamond symbolise?

Pink diamonds symbolise femininity, tenderness, gracefulness and elegance. They are also said to promote self-confidence and enhance creativity.

Do pink diamonds sparkle?

Pink diamonds can sparkle but how much will depend on its saturation and tone. The greater the saturation and tone, the less likely it is to sparkle. But in saying that, having a rich colour is not such a bad thing!

If you are looking for a sparkly pink diamond, we recommend going for a Light Pink to Fancy Pink saturation.

Are pink diamonds real?

Pink diamonds are real diamonds. They have the same atomical and physical structure. They are made from Carbon — just like any other diamond. Pink diamonds get their colour from a plastic-styled deformation that occurs due to the amount of pressure a diamond experiences in its formation.