The Enigma
is the largest
polished black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...
diamond
Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, ...
in the world. Containing 55 facets and weighing in at 555.55
carats (111.11 grams), the Enigma was commissioned and inspired by
Ran Gorenstein
Ran, RaN and ran may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Ran'' (film), a 1985 film directed by Akira Kurosawa
* "Ran" (song), a 2013 Japanese song by Luna Sea
* '' Ran Online'', a 2004 MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game)
* ...
(Belgium) and completed in June 2004 after several years of cutting and faceting. The repetitive use of the number five in the design of the gem is intentional deriving from the
hamsa
The ''hamsa'' ( ar, خمسة, khamsa) is a palm-shaped amulet popular throughout North Africa and in the Middle East and commonly used in jewellery and wall hangings.Bernasek et al., 2008p. 12Sonbol, 2005pp. 355–359 Depicting the open right h ...
, a palm-shaped amulet popular among Muslims and Jews in the Middle East and North Africa.
The Enigma is a semi-transparent carbonado with a dark brown color. These are typically referred to as black diamonds and are often reserved for industrial uses with larger specimens considered as collectors’ stones, and in fact most gem-quality stones used in contemporary jewelry design have been treated to produce the black color. A natural black diamond of this size is an extremely rare occurrence.
The origin of the diamond is uncertain, but it is believed to either be the result of a meteoric impact or part of an asteroid that crashed on Earth.
In February 2022, the diamond was sold for £3.16 million by
Sotheby's
Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...
to an undisclosed buyer, but cryptocurrency founder
Richard Heart
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong ...
revealed that he was the buyer.
In July 2023 the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...
charged Heart with fraud and illegally raising more than $1 billion in unregistered
cryptocurrency to finance luxury goods purchases, including The Enigma
for $4.3 million in cryptocurrency.
Upon taking ownership, in August 2023, Heart planned to rename the gem "HEX.com diamond".
See also
*
List of diamonds
Diamonds become famous typically for some combination of their size, color and quality. Diamonds occur naturally in many different colors, so the largest diamond of a particular color may not be large in absolute terms, but it may still be consid ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Enigma, The
Black diamonds