Image credit: ALROSA
ALROSA has decided to name an especially large gem-quality diamond in honor of the first Russian vaccine against COVID-19. The company announced this in a press release distributed earlier this week. Named Sputnik V, the diamond weighs 100.53 carats.
The light-yellow precious stone was mined at alluvial diamond fields in Nothern Yakutia. “Rough diamonds of this size and color are true natural wonders. Therefore, we decided to name this outstanding crystal after the first Russian coronavirus vaccine, which is also a miracle created by our scientists. The vaccine itself and the fact that it was developed so fast are both exceptional. This gives us hope getting back to life as usual in the foreseeable future,” commented Sergey Ivanov, CEO of ALROSA.
The Gam-COVID-Vac combined vector vaccine developed by the N.F. Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology with support from the Russian Direct Investment Fund was registered by the Russian Ministry of Health in August 2020. The vaccine was named “Sputnik V” after the first Soviet space satellite, which gave a new impetus to the global space research.
The alluvial deposits in northwest Yakutia, where ALROSA's subsidiary Almazy Anabara operates, are traditionally the leaders in mining of natural-colored diamonds, including those with exceptionally rare hues.
