Queen of diamonds fetches cool $5m
Melissa Townsend found 01Dec07 at http://www.goldcoast.com.au
Queen
of diamonds, red diamond Flawless ... John Calleija of Calleija
Jewellers gets a close-up look at the Queen of Diamonds. Pictures: Mike
Batterham.
EVERYONE knows diamonds are a girl's best friend but only one diamond on
the planet has a girl inside it.
A Gold Coast jeweller recently acquired one of the rarest red diamonds in
the world and has sold it for almost $5 million.
International jeweller John Calleija acquired the 1.74-carat, oval,
purplish-red diamond, known as the Queen of Diamonds, after an exhibition in
Hong Kong showing a collection of the rarest diamonds from Australia's
Argyle mine in the Kimberley.
He also brought back three other red diamonds, but there is no denying
the Queen her throne.
On close examination, a lady is actually visible inside the stone.
"They call it 'the lady in the red' because if you look closely you can
actually see a 1940s-style lady with a tipped hat in the diamond," said
Mr Calleija.
"There are only an estimated 50 red diamonds in the world, half of
which are unaccounted for.
"Only four over 1.5 carats have been found by Argyle in the last 10
years and for them to find five red diamonds in 12 months is
incredible."
Because of privacy conditions he would not reveal the buyer's name but
volunteered that the man had bought the stone as a gift for his wife for
their 25th wedding anniversary.
"I can say he's a southeast Queenslander and he's in the oil
business," he said.
"His drills are actually encrusted with Argyle diamonds.
"He actually purchased it sight unseen and saw it for the first time
two nights ago. He's very lucky to have acquired one of the rarest diamonds
in the world."
Another rare 2.26-carat red diamond made headlines recently when it sold
for a world record £1.27 million, or $A2.95 million.
However, Mr Calleija said that was a world record for an auction, not a
private sale.
According to him, this was the biggest sale of its kind in Australia.
"I believe this is the biggest red diamond sale in Australia," he
said.
