The world’s largest Fancy Black Natural Colour diamond is currently on show at the Sotheby’s premises in the Dubai International Financial Centre.
The rare Enigma diamond weighs 555.55 carats and has 55 facets.
“Carbonado black diamonds are exceptionally old,” Sophie Stevens, jewellery specialist at Sotheby’s Dubai, tells The National. “We date them to approximately 2.6 to 3.8 billion years old and we believe they have extraterrestrial origins.
“White diamonds and other coloured diamonds are typically found in Kimberlite rock and they come up to the surface of the Earth through volcanic eruption. Whereas Carbonado black diamonds are found in sedimentary alluvial deposits, which means they are carried down by water, such as streams. They are found very near to, if not on, the Earth’s surface."
Carbonado diamonds are only known to exist in Brazil and the Central African Republic, which lends credit to the theory that they are the result of a meteorite making impact with the Earth billions of years ago, when the two continents were connected to form the supercontinent Rodinia.
The stone's current shape was inspired by the Hamsa, a sign of power, protection and strength
“What we think either happened is an asteroid collided with the Earth and created chemical vapour deposition that formed these diamonds, or indeed that these diamonds were part of the meteorite as it collided with the Earth,” Stevens explains.
Previously unseen on the market, Enigma was unveiled in Dubai on Monday and will be on view in the emirate until Thursday, before it travels to Los Angeles and then London, where it will go on sale in a single-lot online auction between February 3 and 9. There is no reserve price for the auction.
“Because black diamonds haven’t been seen on the market frequently, there are very few past examples at auction. So it’s a good idea to let the market decide and it will be interesting to see what the current demand is. One of the last ones at auction was in 2001 and it was a much smaller stone at 33 carats, while this one is 555.55,” says Stevens.
“We chose Dubai and LA because of the nature and the type of diamond. We think it has a wider appeal to different collectors, not just your traditional gemstone collectors. So we thought Dubai and LA would be perfect to appeal to that wider database.”
Enigma was acquired as a rough stone in the 1990s by its current owner, who proceeded to have it cut into its current shape, which is inspired by the Hamsa, a sign of power, protection and strength.
“What is also exceptional about these black diamonds is they do not have the same chemical make-up as white diamonds, which have a single line of crystal symmetry, making them much easier to cut and facet. These are what we call polycrystalline, so they are made up of many aggregated small diamond crystals. The technical skill required to cut this in the first place, let alone to that very specific weight of 555.55 and with the 55 facets, is just remarkable,” says Stevens.
Sotheby’s is accepting cryptocurrency, in addition to normal currency, for this sale. “We are not accepting crypto on everything. But for very select, unique stones, we are. We did this last year in Hong Kong, with the Key diamond, a D flawless pear-shaped diamond weighing 101.38 carats and it was paid for in cryptocurrency.
“With the Enigma, because we are trying to appeal to beyond the traditional jewellery buyer, maybe these are people involved in the crypto world, or people involved in crypto start-ups. It makes it a bit more appealing to them. We have to adapt with the times, so we are exploring this across the business.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua Based: Dubai, UAE Number of employees: 28 Sector: Financial services Investment: $9.5m Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors. Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
The years Ramadan fell in May
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (all kick-offs UAE time)
Hertha Berlin v Union Berlin (10.30pm)
Saturday
Freiburg v Werder Bremen (5.30pm)
Paderborn v Hoffenheim (5.30pm)
Wolfsburg v Borussia Dortmund (5.30pm)
Borussia Monchengladbach v Bayer Leverkusen (5.30pm)
Bayern Munich v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm)
Sunday
Schalke v Augsburg (3.30pm)
Mainz v RB Leipzig (5.30pm)
Cologne v Fortuna Dusseldorf (8pm)
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
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THE BIO
Ms Al Ameri likes the variety of her job, and the daily environmental challenges she is presented with.
Regular contact with wildlife is the most appealing part of her role at the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi.
She loves to explore new destinations and lives by her motto of being a voice in the world, and not an echo.
She is the youngest of three children, and has a brother and sister.
Her favourite book, Moby Dick by Herman Melville helped inspire her towards a career exploring the natural world.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
CREW
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Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
Moral education needed in a 'rapidly changing world'
Moral education lessons for young people is needed in a rapidly changing world, the head of the programme said.
Alanood Al Kaabi, head of programmes at the Education Affairs Office of the Crown Price Court - Abu Dhabi, said: "The Crown Price Court is fully behind this initiative and have already seen the curriculum succeed in empowering young people and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in building the future of the nation at all levels.
"Moral education touches on every aspect and subject that children engage in.
"It is not just limited to science or maths but it is involved in all subjects and it is helping children to adapt to integral moral practises.
"The moral education programme has been designed to develop children holistically in a world being rapidly transformed by technology and globalisation."
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Sonchiriya
Director: Abhishek Chaubey
Producer: RSVP Movies, Azure Entertainment
Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Manoj Bajpayee, Ashutosh Rana, Bhumi Pednekar, Ranvir Shorey
Rating: 3/5
