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.
After years of spreading incendiary conspiracy theories, the right-wing gadfly Alex Jones was kicked off Facebook, YouTube, Apple, and Spotify because recent lawsuits highlight the "real-life harm" of his rhetoric, says Axios media reporter Sara Fischer, and the tech platforms have established a new standard for acceptable speech online.
Andy Swift, executive editor for TVLine, explains to Cheddar that 'peak TV' has evolved into 'panic TV.' And, Swift says, networks and streaming platforms are revisiting the old standbys to guarantee success in a market over-saturated with new content.
President Trump has proposed rolling back his predecessor's fuel efficiency standards. The move is effectively
an attack on states like California that set their own standards, says Dan Becker, director at Safe Climate Campaign.
Norwich University is offering students Income Share Agreements, the opportunity for reduced tuition in exchange for a share of their future paychecks. Daphne E. Larkin, Director of Media Relations & Community Affairs at Norwich University, describes the advantages of an ISA and tells Cheddar which students are eligible for this financing.
The tech giants' decisions to block content by the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones may encourage other platforms to crackdown on his incendiary rhetoric, says Mashable's Heather Dockray. "The claims he's making have always been dangerous," Dockray says. "But they seem particularly paranoid as of late."
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Josh Ostrovsky, the Instagram influencer known as The Fat Jewish says social media entrepreneurs should stop posting photos of their açaí bowls and make real products instead. He and his Swish Beverage co-founder David Oliver Cohen say there are too many influencers peddling brands and creating nothing but noise.
Zest Labs CEO Peter Mehring says his company is suing Walmart for $2 billion for allegedly stealing its fresh-food technology. The Silicon Valley start-up worked for years with the retail behemoth to develop ways to keep produce fresh for shipping before Walmart unveiled its own eerily similar solution.
Ripa Rashid, co-president of the Center for Talent Innovation, says that CBS's decision to keep Les Moonves as CEO after six women alleged he sexual harassed them could hurt the network's internal culture as much as its public reputation.
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