In a mine in north-east Angola, miners have made a sensational discovery. They have dug what is probably the world's largest pink rough diamond of the past 300 years. This was announced by the Australian operator of the mine, Lucapa Diamond Company, on Wednesday, as reported by the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency.
The pink rough diamond weighs 170 carats. That's the equivalent of 34 grams. For those at home who want to visualize this: That's about the weight of a slice of toast.
The gemstone was named "The Lulo Rose" in reference to the name of the mine. According to the British news service BBC, it is a type IIA diamond. The category includes stones that are particularly rare and have little or no impurity.
As a partner of the Lulo mine, the Angolan government is also celebrating the rare discovery. "This record-breaking and spectacular pink diamond found in Lulo shows that Angola is a major player on the world stage," said Diamantino Azevedo, Angola's Minister of Natural Resources, as reported by the BBC. The gem is the fifth largest diamond mined in South West Africa.
According to AFP, "Lulo Rose" is to be sold at an international auction. Speaking to the BBC, however, a freelance jeweler, Joanna Hardy, expressed doubts that the stone would actually be auctioned. The find was too rare for that, the specialist explained.
In any case, one thing is certain: before a possible sales price can even be determined, the rough diamond must first be cut and polished in order to achieve its full value. However, previous auctions of similar pink diamonds show what could potentially be possible. The 59.6-carat "Pink Star" achieved a record price of 71.2 million dollars (66.7 million euros at the time) at its auction in Hong Kong in 2017.
The largest pink diamond ever discovered is the 185-carat "Daria-i-Noor" from India. Experts suspect that the diamond was mined from an even larger stone. Today, the gem is one of Iran's national jewels.
The "Cullinan Diamond" from South Africa is the largest rough diamond ever found. During a routine inspection of Premier Mine outside Pretoria in 1905, the mine's production manager discovered the stone. The “Cullinan Diamond” weighed 3,107 carats in its raw state – over 600 grams. It was then cut into 105 stones. The largest known as Cullinan I is one of the British Crown Jewels.
Gemstones from space also find their way to earth - such as this magnificent find:
