Australian miner Lucapa Diamond Co. announced it had unearthed a 170-carat pink diamond, believed to be the largest recovered in centuries.
Called the “Lulo Rose,” the 170-carat pink Type IIa diamond was discovered at the Lulo mine in Angola’s diamond-rich northeast and is the largest found in three hundred years.
The company said the diamond would be sold through an international tender conducted by Angolan state-owned diamond trading firm Sodiam.
For those wondering how much Lulo Rose could fetch. In 2017, a 59.6-carat pink diamond, dubbed “Pink Star,” was sold for $71.2 million in Hong Kong.
The Angolan government welcomed the “historic” find:
“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,” said Diamantino Azevedo, Angola’s Minister of Mineral Resources, Petroleum, and Gas.
If Lulo Rose was cut and polished to realize its true value, the stone could lose over 50% of its weight. Even then, it would still be sold for a record-breaking price versus other pink diamonds.
