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World’s Largest Black Diamond Sells for Over $4 Million

A picture taken on January 17, 2022 shows The Enigma, a 555.55 carat black diamond, at Sotheby's in Dubai, UAE. (AFP)
A picture taken on January 17, 2022 shows The Enigma, a 555.55 carat black diamond, at Sotheby's in Dubai, UAE. (AFP)
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World’s Largest Black Diamond Sells for Over $4 Million

A picture taken on January 17, 2022 shows The Enigma, a 555.55 carat black diamond, at Sotheby's in Dubai, UAE. (AFP)
A picture taken on January 17, 2022 shows The Enigma, a 555.55 carat black diamond, at Sotheby's in Dubai, UAE. (AFP)

The rare black diamond known as ‘Enigma’ went under the hammer in London for £3.16 million ($4.3 million). According to Agence France Press (AFP), it’s believed to be the world's largest cut diamond.

The 555.55 carat, 55-faced diamond was sold at an online auction that concluded on Wednesday. The stone is registered as the largest natural diamond in the world as of 2004 by diamond experts GIA and Gubelin, and the largest cut diamond in the world as of 2006 by the Guinness World Record book.

Unlike classic diamonds that are usually unearthed from deep undergrounds, black diamonds are often close to or on the Earth’s surface, which may possibly suggest extraterrestrial origins, stated Sotheby’s auction house.

“It is thought that this specific type of black diamond was created either from meteoric impacts producing natural chemical vapor deposition or an extraterrestrial origin - from supernovae explosions that formed diamond-bearing asteroids which ultimately collided with the Earth,” added Sotheby’s statement.

Today, these diamonds are found exclusively in Brazil or the Central African Republic. Their aggregated structure is the toughest in existence, making them nearly impossible to cut and polish. Enigma was bought in the late 1990s and would have weighed over 800 carats in the rough form. It took over three years to produce this uniquely shaped faceted specimen.

Its shape is inspired by the Middle Eastern palm symbol, a sign of protection and a tool of deflection against the evil eye. However, the highest price of an auctioned diamond remains with the Pink Star diamond, which was sold for $ 71.2 million at a 2017 auction also organized by Sotheby’s, in Hong Kong.

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Forecasts Warn of Possible Winter Storms across US during Thanksgiving Week

A drone view shows a damaged area, following the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Asheville, North Carolina, US, September 29, 2024. (Reuters)
A drone view shows a damaged area, following the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Asheville, North Carolina, US, September 29, 2024. (Reuters)
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Forecasts Warn of Possible Winter Storms across US during Thanksgiving Week

A drone view shows a damaged area, following the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Asheville, North Carolina, US, September 29, 2024. (Reuters)
A drone view shows a damaged area, following the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Asheville, North Carolina, US, September 29, 2024. (Reuters)

Forecasters through the US issued warnings that another round of winter weather could complicate travel leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday, while California and Washington state continue to recover from storm damage and power outages.
In California, where a person was found dead in a vehicle submerged in floodwaters on Saturday, authorities braced for more precipitation while grappling with flooding and small landslides from a previous storm. Thousands in the Pacific Northwest remained without power after multiple days in the dark.
The National Weather Service office in Sacramento, California, issued a winter storm warning for the state's Sierra Nevada for Saturday through Tuesday, with heavy snow expected at higher elevations and wind gusts potentially reaching 55 mph (88 kph). Total snowfall of roughly 4 feet (1.2 meters) was forecast, with the heaviest accumulations expected Monday and Tuesday.
The Midwest and Great Lakes regions will see rain and snow Monday and the East Coast will be the most impacted on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, forecasters said.
A low pressure system is forecast to bring rain to the Southeast early Thursday before heading to the Northeast. Areas from Boston to New York could see rain and strong winds, with snowfall possible in parts of northern New Hampshire, northern Maine and the Adirondacks. If the system tracks further inland, there could be less snow and more rain in the mountains, forecasters said.
Deadly 'bomb cyclone’ on West Coast Earlier this week, two people died when the storm arrived in the Pacific Northwest. Hundreds of thousands lost power, mostly in the Seattle area, before strong winds moved through Northern California. A rapidly intensifying “ bomb cyclone ” that hit the West Coast on Tuesday brought fierce winds that resulted in home and vehicle damage.
Rescue crews in Guerneville, California, recovered a body inside a vehicle bobbing in floodwaters around 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Sonoma County Sheriff’s Deputy Rob Dillion said, noting the deceased was presumed to be a victim of the storm but an autopsy had not yet been conducted.
Santa Rosa, California, saw its wettest three-day period on record with about 12.5 inches (32 centimeters) of rain by Friday evening, the National Weather Service in the Bay Area reported. Vineyards in nearby Windsor, California, were flooded on Saturday.
Tens of thousands without power in Seattle area Some 80,000 people in the Seattle area were still without electricity after this season’s strongest atmospheric river, a long plume of moisture that forms over an ocean and flows over land.
The power came back in the afternoon at Katie Skipper’s home in North Bend, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) east of Seattle, after being out since Tuesday. She was tired from taking cold showers, warming herself with a wood stove and using a generator to run the refrigerator, but Skipper said those inconveniences paled in comparison to the damage other people suffered, such as from fallen trees.
“That’s really sad and scary,” she said.
Northeast gets needed precipitation Another storm brought rain to New York and New Jersey, where rare wildfires have raged in recent weeks, and heavy snow to northeastern Pennsylvania. The precipitation was expected to help ease drought conditions after an exceptionally dry fall.
“It’s not going to be a drought buster, but it’s definitely going to help when all this melts,” said Bryan Greenblatt, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Binghamton, New York.
Heavy snow fell in northeastern Pennsylvania, including the Pocono Mountains. Higher elevations reported up to 17 inches (43 centimeters), with lesser accumulations in valley cities including Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. Less than 80,000 customers in 10 counties lost power.
Precipitation in West Virginia helped put a dent in the state’s worst drought in at least two decades and boosted ski resorts preparing to open their slopes in the weeks ahead.