Blue diamond with 29.6 carats unearthed by Petra at South African mine

The company Petra Diamonds discovered one of the rarest stones in the world: a 29.6 carat blue diamond worth around $60 million. The gem was unearthed at the Cullinan mine, in South Africa.

The rock, described as an “outstanding vivid blue diamond with extraordinary saturation, tone and clarity”, is the biggest of its kind ever found in the pit, explored by Petra since 2008.

However, this is not the first time the company discovers a similar gem: last year, the firm found another blue diamond. This one had 25.5 carats and was sold for almost $17 million, according to Mining.com.

Petra has built a strong reputation around its blue diamonds from both the Cullinan mine in South Africa and the Williamson facilities in Tanzania, considered some of the rarest and most valuable in the world.

Some stones have even been displayed in London’s Buckingham Palace and one of them is actually part of Britain’s Crown Jewels, currently held in the Tower of London.

After the discovery, the company shares went up 0.08 percent.

Images from Petra Diamonds’ website