Register to get free articles
Want unlimited access? View Plans
Already have an account? Sign in
It was found at Rio Tinto’s Argyle diamond mine in western Australia’s East Kimberley region.
The rare stone – already named the Argyle Pink Jubliee, presumably after the Queen’s historic achievement this year – is 12.76 carats, making it the largest pink diamond ever found in Australia.
It is currently being cut and polished in Perth in preparation for a team of international experts who will grade the diamond, and it will then be sold later in the year after touring the world.
A Rio Tinto spokesperson said that, although 90 per cent of the pink diamonds in the world come from the Argyle mine, finding a diamond of this calibre was “unprecedented”.
The Argyle Pink Jubilee is similar to the Williamson Pink – the diamond that Queen Elizabeth II received as a wedding gift.
To put the new discovery in context, a 24.78-carat pink diamond sold for £29 million in 2010, making it the most expensive jewel ever.
