3.37 Carat Purple Orchid Diamond Makes its Debut

At this month’s September Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair, Israeli diamond firm Leibish & Co. seized the opportunity to share their much buzzed-about new gem: the Purple Orchid Diamond. The 3.37 carat fancy intense pinkish purple VS2 diamond hails from an unnamed South African mine that is apparently one of the world’s best sources for purple diamonds.

“The cause of purple in diamonds remains a mystery, which only adds to the glamour and attractiveness of diamonds like these” said Leibish Polnauer, President of Leibish & Co. “There is currently a huge demand for luxury items that are different and stand out, not something that everyone already has. There is nothing more unique on the market right now than color diamonds, and this incredible purple diamond is more than a cut above the rest. There are very, very few diamonds on the market above 3 carats with Purple as the main color, which is what makes this exquisite diamond so rare.”

Because the stone is so rare, Leibish is asking for $4 million for the stone, or $1.2 million per carat. This is certainly nothing unheard of in the realm of rare fancy colored diamonds, and the Purple Orchid is indeed in rarified company. The only other similar gems known to the world are the 7.34-carat Royal Purple Heart which is fancy intense purple, and the Supreme Purple Heart, also fancy intense.

Back to what Leibish is saying about the cause of purple diamonds – much like humanity has figured out where babies come from, we know where diamonds come from, in general. But purple diamonds, like their close cousins pink diamonds, involve a particular combination of crystal lattice distortion with elevated levels of hydrogen during formation. Not much is known about the creation of purple diamonds, so they do in fact remain shrouded in mystery.

The only mystery where the Purple Orchid is concerned is where this stunning beauty will end up. No reports out of Hong Kong have indicated that the diamond was sold, though we wouldn’t be surprised to see this gem start making the auction rounds if it doesn’t move soon.