The Enigma: a billion-year-old diamond, weighing 555.55 carats and believed to be from outer space, is going up for auction in London next week.
The “exquisite and extremely rare carbonado type black diamond” will go under the hammer at Sotheby’s on 9th February. Thought to be the biggest cut diamond on earth, The Enigma is expected to fetch over £4.4 m ($6m). Sotheby’s have announced that cryptocurrency payment will be accepted.
Carbonado diamonds of this structure are incredibly rare. They have only ever been found in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Brazil, two regions that are now separated by the Atlantic Ocean, but were once joined together for over a billion years. Containing the mineral osbornite, which has only ever been found in meteors, experts believe Carbonados could date back to meteor impacts from over 2.5 billion years ago.
With that said, very little is actually known about the origins of carbonado diamonds. Speaking to Reuters last week, Aaron Celestian, who is curator of mineral sciences at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, said, “We think they could have formed super deep within the Earth’s interior, far deeper than what we know already of diamonds.” This would likely be the result of the meteor impact hypothesis. Celestian continued, however, “There’s also interstellar hypotheses that suggest that they grew in space and then later fell on the surface of Earth.”
The Enigma has been on something of a world tour, before its imminent sale. It was in Dubai two weeks ago, and then went on to Los Angeles, before returning to London for the auction. Because of its 555.55 carat weight, it has been cut to show 55 faces, and in the shape of the Middle Eastern palm symbol, the Hamsa, a sign of protection and a tool of deflection against the evil eye. It also represents blessings, power and strength.
