Massive Rare Pink Diamond Found in Australia

Massive Rare Pink Diamond Found in Australia

A remarkable and largest of the rare and precious stones was unearthed in Australia, according to the mining giant Rio Tinto.

The precious 12.76 carat pink diamond named Argyle Pink Jubilee was found during Rio's diamond operations in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.  Experts say it would take 10 days to cut and polish the still rough yet amazing stone.

"This rare diamond is generating incredible excitement," said Josephine Johnson from Rio's Argyle Pink Diamonds division.

Johnson announced that a diamond of this calibre is unprecedented we may never see one like this again.

"The individual who gets to wear this remarkable pink diamond will be incredibly lucky indeed."

As prices skyrocket in the past 20 years for the extremely rare pink diamonds, Argyle Jubilee is speculated to have a worth of at least $10 million since extremely high quality pink diamonds could fetch in excess of US$1 million per carat, Rio announced.

The Argyle Jubilee is similar in color to the 24-carat Williamson Pink given to Queen Elizabeth II as a wedding gift which was later designed into a Cartier brooch for her coronation.

A Rio spokesperson said that the recent discovery was named in honor of the long-reigning British monarch, who is celebrating 60 years since her crowning.

After the Jubilee diamond would perfectly cut and polished, it will be meticulously inspected by international experts and would be introduced globally in private settings before being sold by invitation-only later this year.

It is not known as to how the diamonds acquire their pink shade but it is thought to come from a molecular structure distortion as the jewel forms in the earth's crust or ascends to the surface.

Posted by James Fried on Thursday February 23 2012, 4:38 AM EDT. Ref: Yahoo. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0