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 co-founder of satire site The Onion is hitting back against Tesla CEO Elon Musk for poaching his staff writers. In his new book "Welcome to the Future: Which is Mine By Not Elon Musk," Scott Dikkers shares what he believes goes on in Musk's mind... and throws in a few jabs like only an Onion writer can.
Ro, originally known as Roman, recently raised $88 million in funding which it intends to use to expand into the new business. The "Zero" brand offers a nicotine gum and an app to help people quit smoking. Co-Founder and CRO Rob Schutz said the product comes at a comparable price to others on the market.
Facebook and Twitter have gotten the brunt of questions from the government, but so far Reddit has largely escaped scrutiny, despite seeing significant outside meddling on its platform. Christine Lagorio-Chafkin, author of "We Are the Nerds" documenting the history of Reddit, said the site has seen Russian influence before, during, and after the election, and the fight to prevent it has been an uphill battle.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know.
Bloomberg published a report on Thursday that the Chinese government placed microchips in Apple and Amazon servers to gain access to intellectual property and trade secrets. Both tech giants, chip maker Super Micro, and Beijing all strongly denied the report.
In the age of the internet, even comics have gone online.
Tapas Media works with over 34 thousand creators to bring their comics to life on its open platform. Chang Kim, CEO and founder of Tapas Media joins Cheddar to discuss how his site has reached 3 billion views.
The actress's mother, Leslie Cockburn, is an award-winning journalist who is turning her focus to the people of Virginia's fifth district. Wilde is hosting a rally at UVA with her fiancé Jason Sudeikis on Oct. 14.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know.
Dipayan Ghosh, fellow at the Shorenstein Center and a former adviser to both Facebook and the Obama White House, said that big tech has been ignoring "the little guy" for a long time and putting tech users and their privacy at risk.
Performix, a fitness supplement brand, has opened an ultra-exclusive luxury gym called Performix House in Manhattan's Union Square, where membership fees get as high as $900 per month. Founder Matt Hesse says it's actually cheap for what it offers.
