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.
States seeing the worst new COVID-19 outbreaks are rethinking their mask policies; President Trump freezes work visas, angering businesses; what to watch in today's primaries; a big dust storm is approaching the U.S.; Apple's software updates & NYC>LA in 26 hours by car.
Cheddar's Need2Know Podcast for Tues., June 23, 2020.
One tattoo artists is figuring out a way to remain creative amid the coronavirus pandemic.
On Monday, every driver and their crews joined Bubba Wallace in a show of solidarity before the race that was postponed a day by rain.
Alarming surges in coronavirus cases across the South and West are raising fears that the outbreak is spiraling out of control.
NASCAR's Bubba Wallace talks single-man Black Lives Matter protest at Martinsville and dives into steps the league is taking to be more inclusive.
Cheddar's Need2Know Podcast for Mon., June 22, 2020.
Apple is closing 11 stores in Arizona, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina that it had reopening just a few weeks ago.
Also called Emancipation Day, or Juneteenth Independence Day, Juneteenth is a holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States But this second independence day is not a national holiday and most Americans have never even heard of it. Years of systematic racism, segregation, and the oppression of Black Americans have diminished and stamped out efforts to make what should undoubtedly be an American National Holiday.
Facebook has waded into the content creation and video game streaming space with its new Facebook Gaming app, and users reportedly clocked in 291 million hours in April.
