Lulo Rose: The discovery of a record breaking diamond

A pink diamond that has been called “Lulo Rose” is thought to be the largest of its kind discovered in the last 300 years. Here is our exploration of the stunning gemstone. 

What makes the Lulo Rose special?

The overwhelming diamond, weighing 34 grams, was found at Angola’s Lulo Mine earlier this month, recovered by the Lucapa Diamond Company, who are based in Western Australia.

However, whilst it is the largest pink diamond that has been found in the past 300 years, it is only the fifth largest diamond recovered from the Lulo mine. They have found a total of 27 diamonds that have over 100 carats, including a stunning white diamond that totals over 400 carats.

That may make this particular stone, which totals 170 carats, seem small; but that is not the case. Whereas clear diamonds can often be found in nature reaching sizes of over 1,000 carats; pink diamonds rarely get as big, as they need specific conditions and ores to gain their pale and distinctive hue.

This stunning diamond is expected to be sold soon by the Angolan state diamond marketing company, Sodiam Communications.

The 170-carat stone’s name, the “Lulo Rose”, comes from the mine in Angola where it was discovered.

The Lulo Rose is believed to be the largest pink diamond mined since the 185-carat Daria-i-Noor, which itself was cut from a larger stone. The Daria-i-Noor is now part of the Iranian national jewel collection.

The Lulu Rose is classified as a type 2a diamond, which in terms that the average man or woman will understand means that it has few or no impurities.

Angola’s minister of mineral resources, Diamantino Azevedo, has recently spoken about the brilliant discovery. She stated that “This record and spectacular pink diamond recovered from Lulo continues to showcase Angola as an important player on the world stage.” 

How much is the Lulo Rose worth?

When thinking about how much the impressive diamond will sell for; it’s hard to speculate, especially until it’s cut. 

Pink diamonds are extremely rare, therefore making them inherently more valuable. However, the attributes that lead to their scarcity also make them very tough, and therefore not easy to turn into pieces of intricate jewellery.

However, the stone is unlikely to end up on public view or get the chance to be brought to auction. Due to the special nature of this particular pink diamond, clients have been lining up to buy such a rare find. 

If we are to think of a potential price, diamonds of a similar nature and quality have been bought for tens of millions of dollars in the past. The Pink Star is a notable example, selling at a Hong Kong auction for $71.2m (£59m) in 2017.

Other record breaking diamonds

Whilst the Lulu Rose is a record breaking diamond, it is far from alone there. When looking at pure size; the largest rough diamond of any colour ever recorded is the Cullinan diamond, found in South Africa in 1905.

Totalling a mighty 3,107 carats, and weighing more than half a kilogram, the Cullinan diamond was eventually cut into 105 individual stones.

The largest of these single stones, the Cullinan I, is the biggest clear cut diamond in the world and forms part of the UK Crown Jewels.

Also known as the Great Star of Africa, the Cullinan I weighs over 100g and totals 530 carats. It takes its place as part of the Crown jewels where it is set at the top of the Sovereign’s Sceptre with Cross, which was actually in 1910 to accommodate it!