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.
Shanola Hampton has enjoyed success for eight seasons on Showtime's "Shameless," opposite William H. Macy and Emmy Rossum. She joins Cheddar to talk about her role on the show, and how excited she is about the show coming back for a ninth season.
"Shameless" star Shanola Hampton shares how it felt when her character, Veronica, had a "three-way" with her mother.
This Changes Things: Advice for the executives and leaders of tomorrow, sponsored by American Express OPEN. On Between Bells: the latest from the Consumer Electronics Show, net neutrality's last stand, and more. With Petco, Curiosity, Daily Kos, Popular Science, and more.
CEO and Founder of Chat Sports James Yoder talks Trump and the thrilling NCAA Football national championship. Yoder says some fans were delayed getting into the stadium by as much as 45 minutes thanks to the President's presence. Traffic also came to a standstill in downtown Atlanta.
Patty McCord, former Chief Talent Officer at Netflix and author of "Powerful: Building a Culture of Freedom and Responsibility", discusses her time at Netflix and why certain principles make the company successful.
Julian Kheel, Senior Writer at "The Points Guy," discusses the severe delays caused by "bomb cyclone" Grayson. Because of the JFK's infrastructure, it struggled to keep up with its flight schedule.
Jack Hunter, editor of Rare Politics, discusses what an Oprah Winfrey presidency would mean for the future of U.S. politics.
This year, the Golden Globes focused on the fight against sexual harassment. The new "Time's Up" movement made its debut, with actors dressing in all black, standing in solidarity with survivors of sexual harassment.
Jaume Collet-Serra, Director of "The Commuter", says that he's "a really good guy."
Matthew Myers has been the Dean of the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University since August 2017. Myers has been working with the leadership team at SMU to continue attracting students to SMU and building out their STEM program collaborations.
