A 170-carat pink diamond discovered in Angola could be the largest such gem found in 300 years, according to Australian mining company Lucapa Diamond Company.
The diamond, dubbed “Lulo Rose,” was found at the Lulo alluvial diamond mine in the Lunda Norte region of Angola in Africa, the company said in a statement Wednesday with its partners, a state-owned diamond prospector Endiama and Rosas & Petalas, a private Angolan company.
According to the Gemological Institute of America, which researches diamond production, Angola’s mines are among the top ten diamond producers in the world. Alluvial diamond mining involves extracting stones from gravel and sand found in river beds.
According to Stephen Wetherall, chief executive of Lucapa Diamond Company, only one in 10,000 diamonds found is colored.
“And only one diamond in 100 is larger than 10.8 carats. So if we recover a 170-carat pink diamond, we’re dealing with an extremely rare item,” Wetherall told CNN.
“We have recovered pink diamonds before, but finding one this size is extremely rare,” he said.
The “Lulo Rose” is still appraised to determine its approximate cost before being sold at auction. Credit: Lucapa Diamond Company
The pink gem is expected to be auctioned by Angola’s state diamond marketing company, Sodiam. Wetherall declined to give an estimate of its value as the diamond is still being examined and appraised.
The Angolan government also hailed the “historic” recovery of the gem.
“The record and spectacular pink diamond recovered from Lulo continues to show Angola as a major player on the world diamond mining stage and demonstrates the potential and rewards for dedication and investment in our growing diamond mining industry,” said Diamantino Azevedo, Angola’s Minister for Mineral resources, oil and gas.
Large colored diamonds have fetched record prices at auction in recent years. Last April, the 15.10 carat The De Beers’ Cullinan Blue diamond was sold $57.5 million at a Sotheby’s Hong Kong auction. It narrowly missed the record set by the 14.62-carat “Oppenheimer Blue” diamond, which fetched almost $70,000 more when it was sold in 2016.
According to Lucapa, Angola’s largest diamond, dubbed the “February 4th Stone,” was recovered from the Lulo mine in February 2016. The 404.2 carat stone sold for $16 million.