OREANDA-NEWS. October 21, 2015. Rio Tinto’s spectacular diamonds from its Argyle diamond mine in Western Australia are the centrepiece of a unique collaboration to celebrate five years of partnership with China’s premier diamond jewellery company Chow Tai Fook.

The Chow Tai Fook Sunshine jewellery collection comprising a range of contemporary rings, earrings and pendants using beautiful white and champagne Argyle diamonds, were showcased at the premiere of The Australian Ballet’s 2015 China Tour in Beijing. Australian ballerina Sarah Thompson is the Ambassador for the Chow Tai Fook Sunshine collection.

“I felt an immediate attraction to this collection. The diamonds are from my home land and the designs have an energy and movement that work in perfect harmony - as in the world of ballet,” Sarah said.

The Chow Tai Fook Sunshine collection is the latest in a series of jewellery collaborations with Rio Tinto as part of a unique partnership to develop new products and new markets for diamond purchasing in China. Each jewellery piece is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity to assure customers of the origin of their diamonds and their journey from one of the most remote parts of Australia.

Rio Tinto chief executive Diamonds & Minerals Alan Davies said “Our partnership with Chow Tai Fook has enabled opportunities to grow the Chinese market for diamonds in ways we could only dream of five years ago. Today, jewellery comprising Argyle diamonds is sold in more than 2,000 stores in greater China. In the short space of five years we have witnessed the birth of an entirely new market for diamond jewellery.”

Rio Tinto entered the Chinese market in 2010 after identifying the beginning of a long term structural change in Chinese consumers adopting diamond jewellery as an everyday fashion accessory. In the last five years Rio Tinto has been fulfilling the anticipated growth with diamonds from Argyle, a source of smaller, more affordable diamonds, ideal for fashion jewellery.

The Chow Tai Fook Sunshine collection is available in China under the banner “Light up your life with Australian diamonds.”