During the Australian Museum Foundation’s annual Gala Dinner held in Sydney, a 1.11 carat champagne diamond from Rio Tinto’s Argyle Diamond Mine was auctioned and is now part of the contribution to support the restoration of the Australian Museum’s Long Gallery and exhibition of the Museum’s 100 signature treasures.

The Argyle diamond, donated by retail partner and select atelier, Solid Gold Diamonds, together with other auctioned items and donations, raised over $100,000 at the Gala.

Kim McKay AO, Executive Director and CEO of the Australian Museum said “The Museum is the proud owner of some of the very first Argyle diamonds produced from the mine in the 1980s and we were thrilled to receive an Argyle diamond for our auction.”

Funds raised will be used towards the restoration of the Museum’s historic Long Gallery which will feature 100 treasures, from mineral artefacts to extinct mammals, and aims to showcase Australia’s rich history and inspire future generations.

Argyle diamonds will feature as one of the important national treasures exhibited in the 100 Treasures when it opens in 2017 to coincide with the Museum’s 190th anniversary.