170-carat pink diamond discovered in Angola said to be the largest in 300 years

Orlando Mayorquin, USA TODAY
·1 min read

A mining company in Angola has recovered what it says is the largest pink diamond the world has seen in 300 years.

Miners discovered the 170-carat pink stone at the open pit Lulo alluvial mine in the northeast region of the southern African nation. The Australia-based Lucapa Diamond Company has named the stone “the Lulo Rose,” according to a statement.

“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,” Stephen Wetherall, CEO of Lucapa, told The Associated Press.

The pink diamond will be sold via international tender by an Angolan state-owned mining company, the release said.

The company recovered the stone from a riverbed, where it is searching for underground deposits known as kimberlite pipes. These deposits are the main source of diamonds, Wetherall told the Associated Press.

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The Lucapa Diamond Company has found what it called the largest pink diamond recovered in 300 years, according to a press release on July 27.
The Lucapa Diamond Company has found what it called the largest pink diamond recovered in 300 years, according to a press release on July 27.

Natural pink diamonds are valued at up to $2 million per carat, according to the Gemological Institute of America. 

Last year, the largest purple-pink diamond to ever be auctioned sold for $29.3 million, CNBC reported. That diamond was 15.8 carats.  Another 14.8-carat, purple-pink diamond sold in 2020 for $26.6 million, according to the BBC. 

Contributing: Associated Press

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pink diamond found in Angola may be the largest ever at 170 carats