TIGARD, Ore. -- The daughter of boxing-great Muhammad Ali is in the Portland area this week, not to talk about the boxing ring, but another kind of ring.
Tigard based MiaDonna & Company unveiled a 6.28-carat manmade diamond. It's the largest lab-grown diamond ever made in the U.S.
"Our diamonds, they are diamonds," said company CEO Anna-Mieke Anderson, "chemically, physically, and optically identical to earth-mined diamonds,"
Anderson was joined by Muhammad Ali's daughter Khaliah Ali for the unveiling.
The long-time humanitarian is a proud supporter of MiaDonna. That's because five percent of the company's sales go toward humanitarian efforts in Africa.
The charitable foundation is called Greener Diamond.
"Wherever there are violations of human rights or injustice in the world, my father was always proud to be," said Ali. "Since his passing, I've been approached by many, many organizations to work with and I have to tell you there was only one for me and that was the Greener Diamond Foundation."
Over the last decade, the foundation has raised tens of thousands of dollars to build farms in African mining communities and teach children there how to grow food instead of mining for diamonds.
"We can go back into these communities and positively reinvest into the children so they can live a life free of poverty," said Anderson.
Anderson said her diamonds are not only 100 percent real, they are also about 40 percent less expensive than the earth-mined kind.
"They're just the new choice in diamonds," said Anderson. "Finally consumers have another choice."
As for that 6.28-carat lab-grown diamond: It's price tag is $52,000. But Anderson says compare that to an earth-mined diamond that size, which can run over $100,000, the savings are significant.