The 555.55 carat black stone dubbed “The Enigma” is on display at Sotheby’s in Dubai, where it is set to be auctioned. Its unnamed owner had never shown the Guinness Book of Records jewel in the past 20 years.
“The Enigma” has been expertly cut to have 55 facets and the shape of the palm-shaped Hamsa symbol, which represents power and protection in the Gulf region. According to Sotheby’s expert Sophie Stevens, experts suspect that the rare black diamond was formed more than 2.6 billion years ago when a meteorite or asteroid hit Earth.
The stone is also set to be exhibited in Los Angeles and London over the next few weeks before being auctioned online in early February. Sotheby’s is expecting a price of five million dollars (4.57 million Swiss francs).