The rare black diamond, named "Enigma," was sold for £3.16 million ($4.28 million) during an auction held yesterday in London, according to Sotheby's. This 55-faceted diamond weighs 555.55 carats (111.11 grams) and was sold as part of an online auction that concluded yesterday.
The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and Gubelin registered it in 2004 as the largest natural diamond in the world, and it was listed in the Guinness World Records in 2006 as the largest cut diamond. Unlike classic diamonds which are extracted from the earth's depths, black diamonds are often found on the surface, suggesting they may have originated "from outside the Earth," as Sotheby's explained.
The auction house added, "This type of black diamond is believed to originate either from meteorite impacts on Earth that create chemical vapor deposits or may come from outside the planet, possibly from stellar explosions such as supernovae that eventually form diamond asteroids that crash into Earth."
Today, this type of diamond can only be found in Brazil and the Central African Republic, and due to its composition, it is extremely hard and almost impossible to cut and polish. "Enigma" was purchased in the late 1990s, and the rough stone weighed over 800 carats, requiring more than three years to cut into its current shape.
The shape of this diamond is inspired by a hand-shaped talisman, considered in some Middle Eastern communities as a protection against the evil eye. The pink diamond "Pink Star" holds the record for the highest price ever paid for a diamond at auction, selling for $71.2 million in a Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong in 2017.
