Largest pink diamond in 300 years found in Angola
A big pink diamond of 170 carats has been discovered in Angola and is claimed to be the largest such gemstone found in 300 years, the Guardian reports.
Called the “Lulo Rose,” the diamond was found at the Lulo alluvial diamond mine in the diamond-rich Lunda Norte region of Angola, the mine’s owner, the Lucapa Diamond Company, said on Wednesday on its website.
“Only one in 10,000 diamonds is coloured pink. So you’re certainly looking at a very rare article when you find a very large pink diamond,” Lucapa’s chief executive, Stephen Wetherall, said.
The pink gemstone is expected to fetch a high price when auctioned but Wetherall said he did not know what kind of premium would be paid because of its colour.
The pink gemstone is the fifth-largest diamond found at the mine, where 27 diamonds of 100 carats or more have been found, according to Lucapa. It will be sold, by international tender, by the Angolan state diamond marketing company, Sodiam.
Angola’s mines make it one of the world’s top 10 producers of diamonds.