Queen of diamonds fetches cool $5m

Melissa Townsend found 01Dec07 at http://www.goldcoast.com.au

Queen of diamonds, red diamond Flawless ... John Calleija of Calleija Jewellers gets a close-up look at the Queen of Diamonds. Pictures: Mike Batterham.

EVERYONE knows diamonds are a girl's best friend but only one diamond on the planet has a girl inside it.

A Gold Coast jeweller recently acquired one of the rarest red diamonds in the world and has sold it for almost $5 million.

International jeweller John Calleija acquired the 1.74-carat, oval, purplish-red diamond, known as the Queen of Diamonds, after an exhibition in Hong Kong showing a collection of the rarest diamonds from Australia's Argyle mine in the Kimberley.

He also brought back three other red diamonds, but there is no denying the Queen her throne.

On close examination, a lady is actually visible inside the stone. "They call it 'the lady in the red' because if you look closely you can actually see a 1940s-style lady with a tipped hat in the diamond," said Mr Calleija.

"There are only an estimated 50 red diamonds in the world, half of which are unaccounted for.

"Only four over 1.5 carats have been found by Argyle in the last 10 years and for them to find five red diamonds in 12 months is incredible."

Because of privacy conditions he would not reveal the buyer's name but volunteered that the man had bought the stone as a gift for his wife for their 25th wedding anniversary.

"I can say he's a southeast Queenslander and he's in the oil business," he said.

"His drills are actually encrusted with Argyle diamonds.

"He actually purchased it sight unseen and saw it for the first time two nights ago. He's very lucky to have acquired one of the rarest diamonds in the world."

Another rare 2.26-carat red diamond made headlines recently when it sold for a world record £1.27 million, or $A2.95 million.

However, Mr Calleija said that was a world record for an auction, not a private sale.

According to him, this was the biggest sale of its kind in Australia. "I believe this is the biggest red diamond sale in Australia," he said.