Rare diamond, blasted from outer space, could fetch $6.8M

An out-of-this-world — literally — black diamond will go to the greatest bidder at Sotheby’s subsequent month.

The file-breaking, 555.55-carat gemstone, dubbed “The Enigma,” was ranked between the biggest and toughest diamonds in the environment, and it is believed to have dropped here millions of several years ago from outer space, in accordance to the legendary auction house’s expert gemologists.

Black diamonds like this 1, also called carbonados, are fashioned out of a meteoric affect to Earth, solid out of the blast or deriving from the asteroid alone, Sotheby’s shared in a assertion.

The 1-billion-12 months-outdated diamond is envisioned to fetch at the very least $6.8 million when it hits the on the net block, exactly where it will be up for bidding from Feb. 3 to Feb. 9. Sotheby’s will take cryptocurrency as payment — as effectively as chilly really hard dollars.

The Household of Gübelin in Switzerland and the Gemological Institute of The usa equally have declared it the largest regarded of its sort, and it was very first listed by Guinness Entire world Data in 2006.

In the meantime, this 2022 publicity press marks the 1st time the diamond has at any time been shown publicly, Sotheby’s mentioned. Next an unveiling at the Dubai Diamond Exchange this week, the Enigma will vacation to Los Angeles from Jan. 24 to Jan. 26 prior to landing at the London auction dwelling in February.

The 555.55-carat jewel was also cut with 55 facets, though who discovered and shaped the gem remains unknown. The diamond had previously belonged to an anonymous owner. — The 555.55-carat jewel was also cut with 55 aspects, even though who found and formed the gem stays unknown. The diamond formerly had an nameless operator.

In trying to keep with its numeric theme, the 555.55-carat jewel was also slice with 55 facets, a specialized feat for one of the hardest diamonds in existence, according to Sotheby’s.

“The condition of the diamond is dependent on the Center Jap palm image of the Khamsa, which stands for toughness and … protection,” Sophie Stevens, a jewelry expert at Sotheby’s Dubai, told the Involved Push. Khamsa in Arabic implies five, “so there’s a wonderful concept of the variety five running in the course of the diamond.”

The Enigma was lauded as the largest of its kind by Guinness World Records, the House of Gübelin in Switzerland and the Gemological Institute of America. — The Enigma was lauded as the largest of its sort by Guinness Environment Information, the Household of Gübelin in Switzerland and the Gemological Institute of The us.

“ ‘The Enigma’ is a marvel of rarity and dimension, and its brilliance and substantial polish are a testomony to the sensitive and highly expert enterprise of diamond chopping,” stated Nikita Binani, jewelry professional and head of sale at Sotheby’s London.

The diamond had earlier belonged to an nameless proprietor, stated Binani, although it is not precisely obvious wherever or how it came into existence.

“Its sale signifies a when-in-a-lifetime prospect to obtain a person of the rarest, billion-calendar year-outdated cosmic wonders identified to humankind,” she reported.