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.
The settlement forces the Sackler family to give up control of the Stamford, Connecticut-based business, according to the Associated Press, while the company will pay up to $12 billion over time.
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The former CKE Restaurants CEO believes it would be prudent for the restaurant industry to cater to millennial tastes moving toward meat alternatives.
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has released its list of more liveable cities, and for the second year in a row Vienna has taken the top spot. The Austrian city had a near perfect score of 99.1 percent.
Facebook Dating — a service that will pair users up based on location, listed interests, and Facebook activity — launched in the U.S. on Thursday.
Once a skill solely possessed by so-called computer nerds, now even parents and toddlers are learning how to code. Cem Eltutar, founder of Creoqode, explains how his technology uses robots and games to easily teach people how to code.
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Chief Executive Carrie Lam, however, refused to give in to several of the protesters' other demands, including an independent commission to investigate police misconduct, the dropping of criminal charges against demonstrators, and the expansion of voting rights.
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