AncientWorldArtifacts: Red Diamonds

Pure red diamonds devoid of secondary hues are the rarest in the world. The Argyle Diamond Mine is the only known significant source of pink and red diamonds, producing over 95% of the world's supply. In the last 30 years of mining, Argyle has found a total of nine red diamonds.

Red diamonds are so rare that there is little gemological information about them. What is known is that crystal lattice defects showing stress lamination during the diamond's formation are the cause of the red color.

The Kazanjian Red Diamond, One of the three known red diamonds weighing more than 5 carats. The gem was discovered in the 1920s in Litchenburg, South Africa.

It was 35 carats uncut. A diamond broker paid eight pounds per carat for it.

The Moussaieff Red Diamond is a diamond measuring 5.11 carats with a triangular brilliant cut, rated in color as Fancy Red by the Gemological Institute of America. It is the world's largest known red diamond.

The Moussaieff Red was discovered in the 1990s by a Brazilian farmer in the Abaetezinho river in 1990, in a region known as Alto Paranaiba. The rough stone weighed 13.9 carats.

The Rob Red Diamond is modest in size at 0.59 carats but it still holds a special place in the diamond world. The Rob Red is rated as the most intense red diamond ever discovered. The diamond is rated fancy purplish red by the GIA and is considered the most important red diamond in the world.

The De Young Red is 5.03 carats and graded as Fancy Brownish Red. It was found in South Africa in 1927. The stone was once mistakenly sold as a red garnet that was set in a hat pin.

Eventually the garnet was proven in fact to be a diamond. The diamond currently resides at the Smithsonian.

The Supreme Purple Star. There is very little known about this diamond. The uniquely coloured stone came to the world’s attention when it surfaced in London in 2002. When the owner took it to an appraiser in London, he was not aware of its rarity. The colour of the diamond changes as it is rotated. It goes from a deep purple to a vivid purplish red making it a diamond unlike any seen before.

It is unknown what has become of the diamond.

A heart-shape fancy red diamond ring by Moussaieff set a world auction record at Christie’s Hong Kong on November 25, 2014.

The 2.09 carat ring sold for $5,095,872, setting a new record of $2.44 million per carat.