THE WORLD’S largest cut diamond believed to come from outer space is going up for auction online.
Sotheby’s is holding an online auction from February 3rd to the 9th for the world’s largest cut diamond: The billion-year-old ‘Enigma.’
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The Enigma is a 555.55-carat black (carbonado) diamond that is estimated to sell for between $4 million to $7 million, according to Sotheby’s.
The gemstone also is also cut with 55 facets in honor of the Middle Eastern Hamsa: a palm-shaped amulet meant to serve as protection for all who wear it.
The precious gem was listed by the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s largest diamond in 2006 and is finally going on the market after two decades.
Cryptocurrency will be accepted as a form of payment for the remarkable diamond.
The gemstone will be going on sale “without reserve,” meaning the highest offer made will be accepted without a minimum cap.
“This diamond has been treasured for over two decades by the owner, and the diamond itself has never been exhibited publicly or offered on the open market, so we are thrilled to have the opportunity to tell its story to the world,” Sotheby’s Jewellery Specialist Nikita Binani said.
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“Its sale represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire one of the rarest, billion-year-old cosmic wonders known to humankind,” Binani added.
The precious gem is named ‘Enigma’ because its origin remains a mystery, even to experts, though many believe it to be from outer space.
Sotheby’s has called the stone “a treasure from interstellar space.”
Meanwhile, Stephen Haggerty, a professor of earth and environment at Florida International University, has said he is convinced of the diamond’s “non-Earth genesis.”
“There has not been a single, scientifically sound alternative to the [extraterrestrial] origin of carbonado,” Haggerty added.
Some popular theories include the diamond breaking off a part of an asteroid that collided with Earth and being born from a meteoric impact.
“The size, shape, and source of the Enigma diamond mean this auction is a groundbreaking and amazing event in diamond history,” Tobias Kormind, the managing director of Europe’s largest online jeweler, the Mayfair headquartered 77 Diamonds, said.
“While many newly minted wealthy individuals currently have their sights set on the latest NFT fad, I believe heads could well be turned by this opportunity to invest in a very real, tangible, one-of-a-kind, extraordinary alternative asset,” he added.
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In other news, Apple has revealed a bunch of new emojis for the iPhone, including a pregnant man and two saucy symbols.
Experts have warned that future space launches could be jeopardized if “stupid” regimes like Russia don’t stop blasting the skies creating debris.
And the most popular phone since the millennium has been unveiled, with many shocked to find out it’s not an iPhone.
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