"Rose of Lulo" - The Largest Pink Diamond Found In The Last 300 Years
Miners in Angola have unearthed a rare pure pink diamond dubbed the "Lulo Rose", the Australian mining company that exploits the site announced on Wednesday.
The 170-carat diamond was named the "Lulo Rose" and is believed to be the largest of its kind to have been found in centuries.
The precious gem, a type IIa diamond, was named after the mine in northeastern Angola from which it was extracted (Lulo Mine), Lucapa Diamond Company said in a statement to investors.
It is the twenty-seventh diamond weighing more than 100 carats to be recovered from the Lulo concession.
"Lulo is an exceptional alluvial resource and is truly a gift. We are once again made very proud by yet another historic recovery," says Lucapa MD Stephen Wetherall.
The "historic" discovery was welcomed by the Angolan government, the mine's partner.
Lulo Rose - The Largest Pink Diamond Found In 300 Years
It's expected that the diamond "Lulo Rose" will fetch a sky-high sum when it is sold at international tender, as similar pink diamonds have gone for record-breaking prices.
"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," the country's minister, Diamantino Azevedo, was quoted by AFP as saying.
"Lulo Rose" will be sold at international auctions, probably at an astronomical price. The diamond will be sold through an international tender to be conducted by Angola State diamond marketing company Sodiam.
Although the "Lulo Rose" will have to be cut and polished to reach its maximum value - a process by which a stone can lose 50% of its weight - similar pink diamonds have fetched record prices in the past.
In 2017, the 59.6-carat "Pink Star" diamond was auctioned in Hong Kong for US$71.2 million.
