An extraordinary black diamond will be the one that will make the highest bid at Sotheby’s auction next month.
The 555.55 carat gemstone, dubbed the "Enigma", was ranked among the largest and strongest diamonds in the world and is thought to have fallen from space millions of years ago, according to the iconic auction house expert.
"Black diamonds like this, also called carbonates, have been formed by a meteorite impact on Earth, created by the explosion or emanating from the asteroid itself," Sotheby's said in a statement.
The 1 billion-year-old diamond is expected to reach at least $ 6.8 million when it goes online, where it will be offered from February 3 to February 9. Sotheby's will also accept cryptocurrency as payment.
Gübelin's house in Switzerland and the American Gemological Institute have declared it the largest known of its kind and was first listed in the Guinness World Records in 2006. While 2022 is the first time the diamond is publicly displayed, Sotheby's said. Following a revelation on the Dubai Diamond Exchange this week, Enigma will travel to Los Angeles from January 24 to January 26 before landing at the London auction house in February.
"The shape of the diamond is based on the Khamsa's Middle East palm symbol, which represents strength and protection," Sophie Stevens, a jewelry specialist at Sotheby's Dubai, told the Associated Press. "Khamsa in Arabic means five, so there is a nice theme of the number five going through the diamond."
The diamond previously belonged to an anonymous owner, said Nikita Binani, jewelry specialist and chief sales officer at Sotheby's London, although it is not clear exactly where and how it came into existence.
Source: NY Post
