The Black Diamond, an Engima Weighing 555.55 Carats
by MichaelG
A gigantic black diamond, certified by Guiness as the world’s largest cut diamond is for sale through Sotheby’s auctions. Weighing in at a whopping 555.55 carats, the carbonado piece has 55 cuts and is heavier than its rivals the Great Star of Africa and the Golden Jubilee. The typical diamond is an uncovered kimberlite rock that was formed quite deep with the earth. Carbonado diamonds, one of the toughest of natural diamonds, however, are found in alluvial, sedimentary deposits. Lead istotope analyses of carbonados suggest their crystallization about 3 billion years ago, but this poses a paradox as the material carbonado is typically found is much younger than that. This paradox and a lack of mantle minerals often found in non-carbonado diamonds has lead some believe that carbonado has an extraterrestrial origin. In fact Sotheby’s suggest this hypothesis in their auction listing.
Check out Sotheby’s video of the the Enigma above or view their auction listing.
We may not have any black diamonds for sale, but we have plenty of gemstones and lapidary material. Don’t see exactly what you are looking for? Contact us as we make only a small selection of our inventory available online.
Top Photo is the Million Dollar Rarest Natural Black Diamond known as “shaan-e-kolkata” with a weight of 121.32 carats (24.264g) good round-cut presently in India.It’s certified by Golconda Institute of Diamonds, Hyderabad on 25th May 2012, an issued Certification of Authenticity by Mr. Imran Shareef (Certified Diamond Grader GIA New York, USA). Currently owned by Prem Singh from West Bengal,India. Photo by Trishtha – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35937431
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