All 'auction at Sotheby's the black diamond the size of the palm of a hand: its origin is a mystery, it has a record size and is composed of cosmic matter. Is called "The Enigma” and is the largest cut black diamond in circulation so much so that it entered the Guinness Book of Records in 2006. Exposed to the public for the first time in Dubai, and then in Los Angeles from 24 to 26 January, starting today the mysterious stone, with a weighing about 111 grams, it will write a chapter in the history of auctions. The offers open on February 3 at 14:00 (15 in Italy) and close on February 9 and cryptocurrencies will be accepted for payment. The auction is unreserved, ie a minimum price has not been indicated, but it is already estimated that for Enigma it could reach 6 million dollars, but it could far exceed this figure.
But what makes this interstellar stone so fascinating? Sophie Stevens, jewelery specialist of the Sotheby's auction house, explained on Instagram that there are 3 reasons that make it unique in the world. the first is that it was cut at 555,55 carats (even surpassing the Golden Jubilee, belonging to the royal jewels of Thailand, of 545,67 carats), with 55 facets measuring 54x44x32 millimeters. An almost impossible undertaking given that, unlike the white ones, Carbonado Fancy Black diamonds are polycrystalline, i.e. composed of numerous and tiny super-resistant crystals and consequently very difficult to shape precisely because of its porosity.
The second concerns his chemical composition and its origin mysterious given that the current owner wished to remain anonymous. Nor is it known when and where exactly it was found, although the auction house points out that these types of gems are found exclusively in Brazil and the Central African Republic, formed between 2 and 3 billion years ago, following an explosion of a supernova or the fall of a meteorite having been detected on the gem osbornite, nitrogen and hydrogen which abound in space. Even if the scientific community is divided on the issue.
Finally, the third reason is the possibility of winning the precious stone even with a payment in cryptocurrency. An exception that Sotheby's had so far made only for the diamond The Key sold in Hong Kong last year for a price of 12 million dollars. The demonstration that cryptocurrencies are also invading the art world
