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.
An Army trainee has been arrested after authorities say he boarded a South Carolina school bus with a gun and held the driver and elementary school students hostage before letting them off the bus.
A federal grand jury has indicted the four former Minneapolis police officers involved in George Floyd’s arrest and death, accusing them of willfully violating the Black man’s constitutional rights.
All the COVID metrics are now looking quite good in the U.S., but still quite bad in India. Florida and Texas are next to enact new strict voting restrictions.
Amusement park regulation varies from state to state, but no American amusement park receives federal oversight. In fact, the largest parks are free to regulate themselves.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says Broadway theaters can reopen Sept. 14 and will be allowed to decide their own entry requirements, like whether people must prove they’ve been vaccinated to attend a show.
Facebook's oversight board punts on the big Trump decision, Biden changes his tune on vaccine patent protections while Tucker Carlson spreads more misinformation, why Peloton's treadmill is a design fail, and more.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) joined the NYC Cannabis Parade, the first since the Empire State legalized marijuana. The senator promised to continue to fight for "fair, just, and full legalization" on a federal level.
A closer look at bitcoin's experience during the pandemic reveals a handful of major developments that have helped push the OG cryptocurrency to new heights.
Jill and Carlo go over the White House's new strategy to get over the vaccine hump, Pfizer's vaccine revenues, the decision on whether to let Donald Trump back on Facebook, and the broader problems with social media.
Turkey’s shipbreaking yard is located in the town of Aliaga - about 30 miles north of Port Izmir. Usually, this yard breaks down cargo and container ships. But in 2020, it started bringing in another type of vessel. And business is booming.
