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.
Music mogul Wyclef Jean wants to be the first rapper to innovate a hip-hop guitar. Jean looks to Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine as music innovators, and hopes to mirror their technical success in the industry. Jean also tells Cheddar cannabis is the health-aide of the future.
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The owner of the sandwich chain Cheba Hut wants to be the go-to sandwich shop for stoner foodies, opening shops next to dispensaries where recreational marijuana is legal. "The green wave is good, it's real, and it's coming across the nation and we're going to ride that," says Scott Jennings says in an interview on Cheddar's Cannabiz show.
Marijuana-themed sandwich shop Cheba Hut is expanding its footprint across the nation as pot becomes legal in more states. The fast-casual restaurant's owner Scott Jennings explains how his company founded in 1998 is riding "the green wave."
With big-money backing from nearly every major Hollywood studio, NewTV should scare the established streaming services, says Julian Roman, correspondent for MovieWeb. "It's going to be prime-quality entertainment from Hollywood's biggest producers," meant to be distributed on mobile devices, Roman says.
A 12-month moratorium on most new for-hire licenses would let the city study how the expansion of ride-hailing services affects traffic, and how the Council can ensure drivers earn a living wage, says Speaker Corey Johnson. Uber and Lyft have pushed back against rules they say would limit their growth.
Pepsi's decision to replace its female CEO Indra Nooyi with a man signifies a greater problem in the corporate world, says
Susan Chira, senior correspondent for the New York Times.
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The founder of Van Leeuwen Ice Cream said a new investment from Strand Equity will allow the Brooklyn brand to open new ice cream shops beyond the 13 stores and 6 trucks it has in New York and Los Angeles. Ben Van Leeuwen says he aims to open 35 stores by April 2019. "Our goal is to go nationwide," he says.
"Use of marijuana is clearly not going to stop," said the Manhattan District Attorney, Cyrus Vance Jr. "So, we need to legalize it." Until that happens, the D.A. said his office won't prosecute pot smokers in an effort to remedy the "significant racial disparity" in the laws' application.
