競売史上最大級のダイヤ、４．９億円で落札

【ロンドンＡＦＰ＝時事】競売に出されたカット済みダイヤモンドとしては過去最大となる５５５．５５カラットの黒ダイヤ「エニグマ」が９日、英ロンドンの競売大手サザビーズによるオンライン競売で、３１６万ポンド（約４億９０００万円、手数料含まず）で落札された。（写真は５５５．５５カラットのブラックダイヤモンド「エニグマ」。アラブ首長国連邦＜ＵＡＥ＞のドバイで）
　エニグマは、２６億年以上前に隕石（いんせき）が地球に衝突した際に生成したと考えられている。２０年以上にわたり匿名の個人が所有していたが、最近、中東ドバイや米ロサンゼルス、ロンドンで展示された。
　黒ダイヤは加工が極めて難しいが、職人が３年かけて原石を５５面にカット。数字の「５」へのこだわりや形状は、５本指の手のひらの形をした中東の護符「ハムサ」に由来する。
　硬度が高い黒ダイヤは通常、工業用ドリルの材料として使われる。宝飾品に加工されたり、オークションに出品されたりすることはまれだが、最近人気が高まっている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】

〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/02/10-11:18）

The Enigma, the largest cut diamond ever to come to auction, went under the hammer in London on Wednesday for £3.16 million ($4.3 million, 3.8 million euros) having recently gone on display for the first time.
The rare black, or carbonado, diamond is believed to have been created when a meteorite or an asteroid hit Earth more than 2.6 billion years ago.
The 555.55 carat, 55-faced diamond reached £3.16 million, excluding the buyer's premium, at an online sale held by London's renowned Sotheby's auction house.
Carbonados are usually found close to the Earth's surface, suggesting extraterrestrial origins.
It is thought that this specific type of black diamond was created either from meteoric impacts producing natural chemical vapour deposition or an extraterrestrial origin -- from supernovae explosions that formed diamond-bearing asteroids which ultimately collided with the Earth, said the auction house.
One of the most difficult substances to cut, the diamond had never previously been shown by its unnamed owner of the past 20 years.
Experts took three years turning the rough diamond into a 55-face jewel and it recently went on show in Dubai, Los Angeles and London.
Its shape was inspired by the Middle East palm-shaped symbol of power and protection, the Hamsa, which is also associated with the number five.
The Enigma's price did not quite reach intergalactic levels. But what cannot be denied is that the Enigma is a diamond with unparalleled bragging rights, said Tobias Kormind, managing director of Europe's largest online jeweller, 77 Diamonds.
The size, shape and source of the Enigma diamond make it ground-breaking and amazing, he added. Most diamonds are cut into one of 10 popular shapes but the Enigma's form resembles a hand.
The Enigma, which was listed by Guinness World Records in 2006 as largest-known cut diamond in the world, is not a gem quality diamond, and carbonados are not normally used in jewellery or sold at auction, but have grown in popularity recently.
They are usually used in industrial drilling due to their extraordinary hardness.
Sotheby's called the diamond a cosmic wonder ahead of the sale, which also accepted cryptocurrency bids.
Last year in Hong Kong, the Key 10138 diamond sold for $12.3 million, which was paid in cryptocurrency.