Largest pink diamond in 300 years discovered in Angola

A massive, 170-carat pink diamond  that was found in Angola is reportedly the largest diamond to be found in 300 years. 

Called the “Lulo Rose” the diamond was discovered in a river bed by the Lulo alluvial diamond mine on Wednesday. The diamond mine is owned by the Lucapa Diamond Company.

The rarity of the size and color of the diamond makes the stone valuable, but it’s unclear how much it would be sold for because of its color. 

“Only one in 10,000 diamonds is colored pink. So you’re certainly looking at a very rare article when you find a very large pink diamond,” Lucapa CEO Stephen Wetherall told The Associated Press.

The company is searching for the main source of the diamonds, Wetherall said in a press release. Lulo is an alluvial mine, which means the stones are recovered from a river bed.

“We’re looking for the kimberlite pipes that brought these diamonds to the surface,” Wetherall said. “When you find these high-value large diamonds … it certainly elevates the excitement from our perspective in our hunt for the primary source.”

About 400 people are employed at the Lulo mine, and they are responsible for discovering the two largest diamonds in the country, including a 404-carat clear diamond. 

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The pink gem is the fifth-largest diamond discovered by the company, which has uncovered 27 stones that are over 100 carats.

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The pink diamond 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.

“This record and spectacular pink diamond recovered from Lulo continues to showcase Angola as an important player on the world stage for diamond mining and demonstrates the potential and rewards for commitment and investment in our growing diamond mining industry,” Diamantino Azevedo, Angola’s Minister of Mineral Resources, Petroleum and Gas said, according to the Lucapa website.

The pink diamond is an impressive size, but many clear diamonds are larger than 1,000 carats. The Cullinan diamond found in South Africa in 1905 tips the scales at 3,106 carats, and it’s in the British Sovereign’s Scepter.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.