Pretty in Pink, Proven on Paper: Decoding your Argyle Pink Diamond Certificate

It’s no secret the Argyle pink diamond has stolen more than a few hearts. And since the Argyle mine closed in 2020, these little pink wonders have only become rarer. That makes knowing exactly what you’re holding more important than ever. 

Many of the pink diamond pieces at York Jewellers come with a Certificate of Authenticity. It confirms the stone’s origin and uses a set of grading codes to describe what makes it special.

But what do all those letters and numbers actually mean? We’ve decoded each part of a standard Argyle pink diamond certificate, so you’ll know exactly what you’re looking at.

 

Why the need for a certificate?

Beautiful things tend to get imitated, and gemstones are no exception. That’s why demand for certification has grown among people buying fine jewellery.

Argyle pink diamonds are among the rarest gems on earth. A certificate is their official stamp of approval: a full, independent record of the stone’s characteristics, so you can buy with total confidence.

A pink diamond can stand as an investment piece for many customers. Attaining a certificate of authenticity can enhance the investment value of the pink diamond piece, playing a key role in the piece’s future appraisal, resale, or inheritance. 

 

Every Point counts

Argyle pinks are famously petite. Most come out of the ground at a tiny fraction of a carat, so the stone shown above, at 0.17ct (17 points, in diamond speak), is a lovely size for a pink.

Weight is only part of the story, though. With pink diamonds, colour does the heavy lifting, and cut and clarity add to the picture.

Understanding the Cut

When a cutter works on a white diamond, the goal is maximum white sparkle. With a pink, the brief is different: coax out as much colour as possible. Each facet is planned to bend light in a way that deepens the stone’s natural pink hue, even if that means sacrificing a little weight.

Heart shapes are a less common choice for Argyle pinks, which adds to this stone’s charm.

Seeing Clearly

Clarity is one half of a pink diamond’s grading code. In a pink, though, it plays second fiddle to colour when it comes to value. 

The clarity scale generally goes from FL (zero inclusions under magnification) to P3 or I3 (large inclusions and blemishes visible without magnification).

The pink diamond shown above has a clarity of P1 or I1, leaning towards more inclusions. At P1, it has a few more inclusions than some. But with colour like this, it’s the hue that steals the show.

It’s the high value of its surrounding elements that ensures the pink diamond remains of high value.

A spectrum of Pink

Colour is the other half of the grading code, and it’s the part most people fall in love with first.

Argyle colour grades are made up of two parts:

• The letters show the hue: PP (Purplish Pink), P (Pink), PR (Pink Rosé) and PC (Pink Champagne)

• The number shows the intensity, on a scale of 1 to 9, where 1 is the richest, most intense colour

There are two grading systems. Single Stone Colour Descriptors apply to individual stones. Melee Colour Assortment Descriptors apply to smaller stones, which are graded in groups.

The Melee system categorises pink diamonds as melee diamonds and are graded according to the colour grades below:

This is most applicable to the pink diamond shown above, with its colour grading sitting at 6PR, classified as a ‘Fancy Pink’ melee diamond. This is a considerably high grade, only four tiers away from ‘Premium Melee’.

In most certificates of authenticity at York Jewellers, the clarity and colour grading codes are often combined. 

For example:

• ‘6P SI1’: A low Fancy Pink diamond, with a mid tier clarity. 
• ‘4PR VS2’: A premium melee pink diamond, with a high tiered clarity.

Once you know how to read the code, you’ll see exactly what makes each stone one of a kind. 

An Argyle pink might catch your eye, but its certificate tells you why it’s so rare. Ask any of our jewellers to walk you through one. At York Jewellers, we think something this rare deserves to be understood, not just admired. 

Because when it comes to a stone this exceptional, every detail matters.