There are different kinds of colorful diamonds mined in the world. We have seen how a rare blue diamond from the Titanic captivated our hearts as much as the story itself. Contrary to what some believe, colored diamonds like red, blue and pink are relatively more expensive than their colorless counterparts. It is because these flashy diamonds are rare and seem to sparkle with beauteous light. Only 0.01% of all natural diamonds are fancy colored like blue, red, green or pink. Brown diamonds aren’t considered beautiful though.

While our continent isn’t exactly renowned around the world for its diamonds, the Argyle Diamond Mine is a notable exception. It is by far the largest producer of diamonds in the world, but its relatively low proportionality of gem-quality diamonds means that it isn’t that profitable for the company. However, what sets it unique in the world is that it is home to the premier colored diamonds especially the pink and red ones. The latter of them is considered the rarest of all diamond colors. More than 90% of the diamond market’s red and pink gems are mined from here. Amazing, isn’t it? And none of them are blood diamonds as in the case of one-third of all the diamond industry in the world.

To promote the rich mining industry of Argyle in the remote North of Western Australia, Perth Mints has launched the first legal tender coin featuring an iconic diamond from the mine itself. It is called a Kimberly Sunset coin and comprises of Pink Gold with the beautiful gem embedded in it. The coin’s front bears Queen Elizabeth’s visage, but the back is where the interesting part lies. It features a Boab tree growing in the harsh climate where the diamond was mined. Boab trees are this area’s special flora, and many of them have been living there for 1500 years or more. Along the horizon on the coin, we can see the diamond placed strategically where the sun should have been. This crystal probably started forming more than a billion years ago in this area. So, a forever sparkling gem is placed in the place of Sun, and it shows the pure aesthetic sense of the designer himself. The old tree and the ancient diamond do step up the game for us.

The gold coin is cut from a 22-carat 91.67% pink Gold, and the diamond is a 0.035-0.04 carat pink diamond from Argyle. While each of the coins has a monetary value of about $500, the actual price for what they were auctioned is close to 8000 AD or 6100 USD.