Largest Pink Diamond in 300 Years Discovered in Angola

A big Pink Diamond dubbed Lulo Rose has been discovered in the central African country of Angola, and it’s claimed to be the largest in the last 300 years.

The rare 170-carat stone 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.

It is believed to be the largest pink diamond mined since the 185-carat Daria-i-Noor diamond discovered in 1642, which was cut from a larger stone and is now among the Iranian crown jewels.

Stephen Wetherall Lucapa’s chief executive, said, “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.”

The Lulo Rose diamond is categorized under a type 2a diamond, meaning it has few or no impurities.

The largest rough diamond of any color ever recorded is the Cullinan diamond, found in South Africa in 1905. Weighing 3,107 carats seemingly more than half a kilogram, it was cut into 105 different stones.

The largest of the Cullinan diamond forms part of Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.

Lulo Rose, an extremely rare find in the Angola mine

Lulo Rose is the fifth largest diamond recovered from Angola’s Lulo mine which is a joint venture between Australia’s Lucapa Diamond Company and the government of Angola.

Similar diamonds have been bought for tens of millions of dollars in the past, with one, known as Pink Star, selling at a Hong Kong auction for $71.2 million in 2017.

Joanna Hardy, an independent fine jewelry specialist said that it’s impossible to speculate on how much the Lulo Rose will fetch until the final cut.

Pink diamonds are extremely rare and, therefore, the same physical attributes that make the stones scarce also make them very tough and not easy to work into shapes.

Hardy added the stone is unlikely to end up in public view or even be brought to auction as retailers have clients waiting to snap up such a rare find.

Commenting on this rare discovery, Diamantino Azevedo, Angola’s minister of mineral resources said, “This spectacular pink diamond recovered from Lulo continues to showcase Angola as an important player on the world stage.”