Auction house Sotheby’s has something out of the world. Quite literally! It is a rare black diamond. Sotheby’s Dubai has unveiled a diamond that may be from outer space. It has named the black diamond “The Enigma.” The rare gem was exhibited to journalists on Monday as part of a tour that included stops 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 $6.8 million. Additionally, the auction house is open to accepting cryptocurrencies as a form of payment. According to Sophie Stevens, a jewelry consultant at Sotheby’s Dubai, The number 5 has an unusual significance for the diamond, which has 55 facets.
“The shape of the diamond is based on the Middle-Eastern palm. It is a symbol of the Khamsa, which stands for strength and it stands for protection,” she said. “So there’s a nice theme of the number five running throughout the diamond. When asked about the likelihood of the diamond being from outer space, she said, with the carbonado diamonds, we certainly believe that they are formed through extraterrestrial origins. With meteorites colliding with the Earth and either forming chemical vapor disposition or indeed coming from the meteorites themselves”.
However, carbonados, or black diamonds, are exceptionally extraordinary and only found intrinsically in Brazil and Central Africa. Their carbon isotopes and elevated hydrogen levels substantiate the cosmic origin theory.