A fountain pen covered in nearly 500 champagne diamonds from WA’s Argyle diamond mine was one of the objets d’art on display in New York during G’Day USA Australia Week.
Rio Tinto, a supporting sponsor of G’Day USA, commissioned several designers to create one-of-a-kind pieces using champagne diamonds for the Nomad Two Worlds Exhibition which featured Australian art based on the reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
Made from solid sterling silver, the ‘Colours of Australia’ pen was designed and created by Glenn Curtis, the managing director of Curtis Australia.
He said the pen makes full use of the diamonds in “a fluid, swirling design evocative of Australian landscapes and indigenous art, while the rich sparkling hues of the champagne diamonds reflect the colourful Australian outback”.
The pen also features two circles of white diamonds with a cognac diamond in each centre, three 18 carat gold bands, engravings of three small kangaroos and the Southern Cross as well as a titanium inlay on the clip emblazoned with heat-treated coloured titanium accents inspired by the Sydney Opera House.
“It (the pen) was one of my most exciting challenges to do justice to the remarkably beautiful and unusual champagne diamonds,” said Curtis.
Other pieces at the exhibition included the ‘Infinite Echo’ sterling silver pendant by Aurora Lopez Mejia and a neckpiece depicting a boab tree, the Southern Cross and Kimberley stars by Kimberley Fine Diamonds.
The New York exhibition is a prelude to the launch of Rio Tinto’s 2009 Argyle Champagne Diamond Design competition.