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.
Salvage teams on Monday set free a colossal container ship that has halted global trade through the Suez Canal, bringing an end to a crisis that for nearly a week had clogged one of the world’s most vital maritime arteries.
Breaking overnight: the ship is unstuck! The latest from the Suez Canal, the state of the pandemic, March Madness and attempts to answer your questions about which shooting victims are worthy of news coverage.
A maritime traffic jam grew to more than 200 vessels outside the Suez Canal, and others began changing course as dredgers and tugboats tried to free the giant container ship.
Black-owned businesses have been among those hit hardest during COVID-19, but some like Mikey Likes It ice cream shop and the Vanity Beauty Bar have found some help in online programs and grants from companies like Facebook.
In 2007, a group of Facebook engineers introduced “the awesome button” to their boss, Mark Zuckerberg.
What wasn't asked at Biden's first press conference, latest on the Boulder gunman and victims, another toilet paper shortage, and Love, Hate, Ate Sea Shanty Edition.
The suspected gunman in the Boulder supermarket shooting has appeared in court for the first time.
The number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell sharply last week to 684,000, the fewest since the pandemic erupted a year ago and a sign the economy is improving.
Jill and Carlo are discussing the latest allegations against their governor, plus the new AstraZeneca vaccine results, an historic repeal of the death penalty and remembering Neven Stanisic of the Boulder shooting.
Cheddar's Michelle Castillo spoke with Jonathan Mayers, CEO of Superfly X, about the flagship Friends Experience in Manhattan.
