Big pink diamond found, to be cut as single stone

Australia's biggest pink rough diamond has been discovered at Rio Tinto's Argyle mine, the world's largest producer of rare pink diamonds, and is to be cut and polished as a single stone.

The diamond will be cut and polished by the company's expert diamond cutter Richard How Kim Kam, media reports said Tuesday.

The 12.76 carat gem, which will be known as the Argyle Pink Jubilee, was unearthed at the Argyle open pit in the east Kimberley region of Western Australia, reported Xinhua.

"I'm going to take it very carefully," How Kim Kam told the Australian Associated Press (AAP).
"I know the world will be watching," he said.

The finished gem will be graded by a team of international experts and shown around the world before being sold under a tender process later in 2012.

Argyle Pink Diamonds manager Josephine Johnson said a diamond of its level was extraordinary.

"It has taken 26 years of Argyle production to unearth this stone and we may never see one like this again," Johnson said.