Alrosa has found a 468.30-carat diamond, which it claims is the largest gem-quality rough in the country’s history.

The Russian miner found the stone, which is fancy amber in color, in one of Alrosa’s mines in the Yakutia region, it said last week. The company’s previous record was a 401-carat rough it recovered in 2013.

Alrosa CEO Pavel Marinychev noted that the discovery came at a special time for the company, directly after its debut of the New Sun, a fancy-vivid-yellow over 100 carats that was the largest diamond ever manufactured in Russia.

“The year 2025 will definitely take a special place in the history of the Russian diamond industry,” he commented. “In…April, we presented the largest diamond ever cut in our country. And this year, nature gave us such an incredible find. It is symbolic that it was found in the year of the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory. Therefore, we decided to name it in honor of such a significant event for our entire country.”

The good news follows last week’s report of a downturn in Alrosa’s first quarter. Revenue for the three months that ended March 31 fell 42% year on year to RUB 58.13 billion ($709.4 million), while net profit slid 29% to RUB 14.48 billion ($176.7 million). A number of factors contributed to the slowdown, including an oversupply in the midstream, ongoing geopolitical tensions, a downturn in demand, and sanctions imposed on the country.

Image: The 468.30-carat diamond. (Alrosa)

Courtesy: Rapaport