Alrosa Offers 15ct. Purple-Pink Diamond

RAPAPORT... Alrosa is preparing to sell a rare, 14.83-carat pink laterthis year, as the Russian miner continues its efforts to build up itscolored-diamond business. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) graded theoval-shaped diamond as fancy vivid purple pink, with internally flawlessclarity, "excellent" polish, and "very good" symmetry. The GIA said the stonewas the largest of that color category it had assessed, Alrosa told RapaportNews Tuesday. "We expect this stone to become the most expensive of itskind, as all the experts observe the unique combination of clean, smooth colorand clarity for [a] diamond of such size," an Alrosa spokesperson added. Thecompany will release a price estimate at a later stage. The stone originated from a 27.85-carat rough, the largestpink diamond from any Russian mine. Alrosa unearthed it at its Ebelyakh depositin Yakutia in July 2017, and cut the stone over the course of a year at itspolishing factory in Moscow. It chose the oval shape to draw maximum attentionto the pink hue, while preserving as much weight as possible, the companyadded. Alrosa has named the polished The Spirit of the Rose, aftera ballet with Russian connections. It called the rough Nijinsky, a reference toVaslav Nijinsky, who danced one of the main parts in the ballet's 1911 premiere. Alrosa will showcase the diamond to select viewers in NewYork in the coming weeks, and expects to sell it in November. The miner has been promoting its colored-diamond businessrecently. It launched its "True Colour" collection at the Hong KongJewellery & Gem Fair in September 2018, and has previously said it plannedto "dominate" the sector. Image: The Spirit of the Rose. (Alrosa)