Buyers can Pay for Pink Diamonds with Bitcoin
November 28, 21
(IDEX Online) - An Australian start-up is to accept Bitcoin payments at its forthcoming auction of rare, pink diamonds, valued at $14m.
Yourdiamonds.com (YD) is offering 53 pink, blue and red stones in its second tender, which closes on 6 December.
"We were approached by a potential buyer asking if we would take Bitcoin," said CEO Tim Goodman. "It's just like our traditional merchant facility. It is surprisingly simple."
Goodman, former executive chairman of Sotheby's Australia, established YD to provide a secondary market for pink other fancy colored diamonds.
It follows the closure of the iconic Argyle Diamond Mine last November, which supplied over 90 per cent of the world's pinks.
The stones on offer represent the "largest collection of Australian pink diamonds ever to appear on the secondary market".
They have been consigned for sale by 15 private sellers, including self-managed super funds, estates, collectors and investors.
Some have been consigned by David Burger, chief diamond polisher at Argyle for 30 years before his retirement in 2015.
Every lot carries a pre-tender estimate and is available for public viewing at a traveling roadshow in Australian capital cities.
Argyle pinks have appreciated in value by 8.38 per cent a year, on average, over the last 20 years, according to Argyle owner Rio Tinto.
Lots include (L-R) a 1.14 carat fancy deep pink coloured diamond and an almost red diamond.