the anticipated buyers of the three diamond-encrusted quokkas would be, Justin Linney, creative director at Linneys, told Inside Retail, “You just never know who’s in the luxury space. “Sometimes it’s who you’d least expect, but certainly your fine art collectors, watch and jewellery lovers – investors and people wanting a family heirloom or a piece of history.”  Highlighting the one-of-a-kind nature of the sculptures, Linney said that it would be impossible “to source that volume of diamonds to make that piece again”. “We do expect international interest, certainly around Southeast Asia, because of the existing love for the Linneys and Argyle brands,” he said. “Gold is in the spotlight at the moment – being a go to in terms of investment and We hope that at least one of the three quokkas is acquired by someone who keeps it in WA.” Based in Western Australia, Linneys is a renowned luxury jeweller that caters to a broad spectrum of customers from entry level to high-fine jewellery, so the quokka sculptures make for an intricate marketing exercise. “In the luxury space, you don’t want to alienate top-end customers by your messaging to entry-level customers, it’s good fun and keeps us busy,” Linney said. Family Business Linneys champions Western Australian craftsmanship, similar to the way that RM Williams does for South Australia, and the reputation for premium locally sourced pearls is entrenched into the brand’s DNA. Established in 1972 by Alan Linney, Linneys is a family-owned manufacturing jeweller with sons Troy and Justin Linney leading the business as the second generation. Linneys has three boutiques in Western Australia at Subiaco, Perth City and Crown Perth. The decision to only commission three quokkas speaks to the brand’s ethos: “We don’t mass produce [or] wholesale to other jewellers and we always do a limited run, whether it’s a few of each design. People like that,” Linney said. “For a medium-sized business, we sit in the luxury space, but we don’t have the international luxury brand budget, so this was certainly a bit of a risk,” he said. Alan Linney was a goldsmith prior to founding the business. He discovered Broome pearls were all being sent overseas and sold as Japanese pearls, which inspired him to launch LInneys. “He pioneered showcasing these as Broome pearls rather than Japanese, and it’s scaled up from there to essentially being a brand that does blend art and design together,” Linney said. The quokka commissions are an expansion of the brand’s ethos in creating art that showcases its geographical roots. “This is different, really unique and a bit of a risk, but I think that is what has worked for us over the years, and we hope that it’s well received,” he said. Wearable art The Quokka objet d’art was crafted through the Argyle Mine’s Icon Partner Programme, which was set up with the Argle mine’s closure. Linneys’ collaboration and procurement of the mine’s diamonds dates back to its opening. The Argyle Pink Quokka comes complete with an 18-karat, rose gold chain, embellished with 0.62 carats of bezel-set white diamonds. “The wearable element with the necklace for the buyer allows interaction – not just admiration,” Linney said. Linneys has championed art, culture and craftsmanship through prior collections that promoted artists and had jewel and wearable elements. “We are trying to retain manufacturing locally rather than everything going overseas and trying to educate people about how important it is in the sector to have a local highly trained jeweller,” Linney said. “After many years with Linneys in our design team, there’s a lot of things you learn about working with the pink diamonds – it’s better to set them in rose gold, and you need the contrast of color of the white diamond so you can appreciate the pink hue.” All considerations that have been crafted into the quokka. “It’s also got joy to it, that is what you want to achieve with jewellery – it’s about celebrating something and capturing a moment in time,” Linney added. Patrick Coppens, Rio Tinto Diamonds, sales and marketing general manager said, “As one of the very first luxury jewellers entrusted with Argyle Pink Diamonds, Linneys was the ideal partner for this one-of-a kind collectible.” “The Argyle Pink Quokka is a brilliant display of craftsmanship while celebrating the wonderful art of nature in all forms,” Coppens added.