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.
Critics slammed Amazon.com for selling Christmas ornaments, bottle openers and other trinkets that featured scenes of the Auschwitz concentration camp ー all made by a third party seller called "Fcheng."
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Wednesday, December 4, 2019.
The celebratory feeling among shoppers on Sunday mirrored that of lawmakers and activists, but the state is facing shortages that can be traced back to licensing decisions made in the medical marijuana program.
Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, who is hosting a cannabis summit on December 11, told Cheddar on Tuesday he is bringing together legislators and experts in an effort to push forward his calls for reform.
CEO Carolyn Miles told Cheddar that millennials still have limited awareness of the day. Save the Children is trying to leverage its relationships with brands and celebrities to spread the word on its social media account.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Tuesday, December 3, 2019
Cyber Monday has grown to become one of the most critical shopping events of the year for retailers. In 2019, Adobe Analytics is predicting consumers are on track to spend $9.4 billion ー 19 percent year-over-year growth.
Mathew Knowles just dropped 15 never-before-heard tracks from his daughter's days with Girls Tyme, the pre-Destiny's Child act that featured Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Monday, December 2, 2019.
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
