The magnificent black diamond is up for auction and will belong to the highest bidder at Sotheby's auction house next month. What's the specialty? This diamond comes from outer space.
This record-breaking 555.55 carat gemstone is nicknamed 'The Enigma'. The stone is ranked as the largest and heaviest diamond in the world, and is thought to have fallen to Earth millions of years ago from space, according to gemologist Sotheby's.
Black diamonds like these, are also called carbonados. These rocks were formed from meteoric impacts to Earth, forged from explosions or from the asteroids themselves.
Quoted from The New York Post, Saturday (22/1/2022) the 1 billion year old diamond is expected to fetch at least USD 6.8 million when it goes on auction online February 3 - February 9, 2022.
The House of Gübelin in Switzerland and the Gemological Institute of America have declared the diamond the largest known of its kind, and it was first listed on the Guinness World Records in 2006.
Meanwhile, the 2022 publicity marks the first time the diamond has been shown publicly, Sotheby's said. Following the opening on the Dubai Diamond Exchange this week, Enigma will travel to Los Angeles from January 24 to January 26 before landing at Sotheby's London, England in February.
True to its numerical theme, this 555.55 carat gem is designed with a 55-sided cut. According to Sotheby's, this design is a technical feat for one of the heaviest diamonds ever.
"The shape of the diamond is based on the Middle Eastern palm symbol Khamsa, which means strength and protection. Khamsa in Arabic means five. So there's an interesting theme of the number five being applied across the diamond's surface," says Sophie Stevens, jewelry specialist at Sotheby's Dubai.
"'The Enigma' is a marvel in terms of rarity and size. Its brilliance and high polish are a testament to the delicate and highly skilled work of diamond cutting," says Nikita Binani, jewelery specialist and head of sales at Sotheby's London.
The diamond previously belonged to an anonymous person. However, it did not say where or how the diamond appeared.
"The sale will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire one of the rarest billion-year-old cosmic wonders known to mankind," Binani said.
