Auction house Sotheby’s Dubai has unveiled a diamond that’s literally from out of this world.
Sotheby’s calls the 555.55-carat black diamond — believed to have come from outer space — “The Enigma.” The rare gem was shown off on Monday to journalists as part of a tour in Dubai and Los Angeles before it is due to be auctioned off in February in London.
Sotheby’s expects the diamond to be sold for at least 5 million British pounds ($6.8 million). The auction house plans to accept cryptocurrency as a possible payment as well.
Sophie Stevens, a jewelry specialist at Sotheby’s Dubai, told The Associated Press that the number five bears an importance significance to the diamond, which has 55 facets as well.
“The shape of the diamond is based on the Middle-Eastern palm symbol of the Khamsa, which stands for strength and it stands for protection,” she said. Khamsa in Arabic means five.
“So there’s a nice theme of the number five running throughout the diamond," she added.
Stevens also said the black diamond is likely from outer space.
“With the carbonado diamonds, we believe that they were formed through extraterrestrial origins, with meteorites colliding with the Earth and either forming chemical vapor disposition or indeed coming from the meteorites themselves,” she said.
Black diamonds, also known as carbonado, are extremely rare, and are found naturally only in Brazil and Central Africa. The cosmic origin theory is based on their carbon isotopes and high hydrogen content.
A slice of one of Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s wedding cakes is up for auction decades after the nuptials.
A shortage of ammunition in the U.S. is having an impact on law enforcement agencies, people seeking personal protection, recreational shooters and hunters.
A woman who secretly swapped seven pebbles for 4.2 million pounds ($5.7 million) worth of diamonds has been sent to prison for her role in the audacious heist at a luxury jewelry store in London.
Philanthropists Melinda French Gates, MacKenzie Scott and the family foundation of billionaire Lynn Schusterman awarded $40 million Thursday to four gender equality projects.
Some troubling new data on Delta leaked out of the CDC, plus more mask mandates, help for new moms, ScarJo sues Disney and Love, Hate, Ate.
Cheddar recs 'Sweet Tooth,' 'The Movies That Made Us,' Criterion's neo-noir collection, 'Wrath of Man,' 'Better Call Saul,' and 'Jaws.'
The huge container ship that blocked the Suez Canal for nearly a week earlier this year finally reached the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands on Thursday.
“Arthur” will soon come to an end. Kathy Waugh said during a podcast released Wednesday that PBS Kids plans to end the long-running children’s series after 25 seasons.
The number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits slid last week, another sign that the job market continues to recover rapidly from the coronavirus recession.
Jill and Carlo discuss the new "carrot or stick" model of vaccine incentives, plus the case for boosters. Bipartisanship lives in the Senate! The latest from Tokyo and more.
