HK's rich and famous expected to snap up rare, pink diamonds

The hosts of the world's only closed auction for rare, pink diamonds are hoping to achieve record prices following exclusive viewings in Hong Kong this week.

Just a handful of the region's top diamond dealers have been invited to individual viewings of the 65 diamonds in Rio Tinto Diamond's 2007 Argyle Pink Diamond Tender, being held at a closely guarded secret location until Friday.

Rio Tinto, which produces 90 per cent of the world's pink diamonds at its Argyle Mine in Western Australia, said the quality of its 2007 collection was 'outstanding' and was expecting it to attract intense interest from guests, who included jewellery designers and luxury retailers.

A 1.74-carat oval diamond - dubbed the 'Lady in Red' at the tender's opening session in Perth for a highlight that resembles the silhouette of a woman in a tunic - is among the show's prized red stones.

Red diamonds are a subclass of pink diamonds, and the rarest diamond. They reach prices 20 times those of white diamonds, often fetching more than US$400,000 per carat.

The collection includes four red diamonds, two of which weigh more than a carat, and a total of 32 diamonds weighing at least one carat.

Senior marketing executive Gavin Pearce said: 'This year's collection is significant in terms of its depth of colour and size and will easily surpass previous years in its total value. I think the bidding will be very competitive.