February 18, 2020 - Larry West, a New York-based collector of exclusive pink diamonds, welcomed the addition of a 6.21-carat cushion cut Fancy Intense Pink Purple diamond unearthed by ALROSA. 

The unique stone originates from Yakutia. The diamond was discovered and polished by ALROSA.

For over 40 years, Larry J. West, the owner of New York’s L.J. West Diamonds, has been searching for the most extraordinary natural color diamonds in the world. His magnificent collection has been featured in museums like the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and worldwide Auctions.

“As global production declines, pink diamonds will become rarer and thus more valuable,” said Larry West. “This is the first diamond from Russia that I have bought directly from ALROSA. It possesses excellent characteristics and will certainly take a worthy place in my collection.”

To establish provenance, the famous collector received an electronic passport from ALROSA that includes a detailed visual history of the diamond’s extraction and production, as well as information about the craftsman’s background. As part of the company’s traceability initiative, a short film is automatically generated on ALROSA’s digital platform based on information about each diamond available for purchase.

“ALROSA deposits are known not only for their colorless diamonds, but also for a variety of rough colored diamonds. Our cutter’s unique skills allow us to turn them into high-quality diamonds,” said Rebecca Foerster, President of ALROSA USA. “A closed production cycle guarantees the origin of each stone and allows us to track its path from its birth in Earth’s mantle. With these advantages, ALROSA may well become a world leader in the colored diamonds market”.

In September, ALROSA hosted its annual auction of colored stones in Hong Kong and sold over 200 diamonds. All stones sold at the auction were accompanied by a digital passport that contained information about the diamond’s origin.