Leibish Buys a Quarter of Diamonds at Argyle Tender
December 31, 20
(IDEX Online) - Leibish Polnaur, veteran of the color diamond market, bought a quarter of the stones at Argyle's record-breaking tender.
He outbid rivals for 16 of the 62 gems in the penultimate sale, marking the closure of the iconic mine, in Australia, after 37 years.
Mr Polnaur, founder of Israel-based Leibish, said asking prices 15 per cent higher than last year so he upped his bids by "20 per cent and more".
He named his 2020 tender cache the Pink Sunset Collection (pictured) in homage to Argyle's last days. A stand-out is Lot 3, the Argyle Sakura, a 1.84 carat pear-shaped fancy vivid purplish pink stone.
Rio Tinto, owners of the Argyle mine, said some of the pink, red and violet diamonds fetched record high prices. The tender included 21 stones over one-carat.