The world’s largest cut diamond, believed to be at least one billion years old, has sold for $4.3 million to an unidentified buyer who opted to pay with cryptocurrency, London-based auction house Sotheby’s said.

       The black diamond, called “the Enigma," weighs 555.55 carats and was listed as the world’s largest cut diamond in the 2006 Guinness World Records, and the largest fancy black natural-color diamond as of 2004, according to the Gemological Institute of America. One carat is equivalent to one-fifth of a gram.

       Sotheby’s said the diamond was sold on Wednesday after bidding opened on Feb. 3, fetching about 3.2 million pounds, equivalent to $4.3 million.

       Most diamonds are uncovered deep within the Earth in kimberlite rock, but “the Enigma" is a rare carbonado, a type of stone that is found close to the surface and thought potentially to have originated as a result of the impact of meteors or asteroids, Sotheby’s said. Carbonadoes also contain osbornite, a mineral found in meteors. They are found exclusively in Brazil and the Central African Republic, which hundreds of millions of years ago were joined as part of a supercontinent known as Rodinia.

       The structure of carbonadoes makes them particularly difficult to cut. “The Enigma" would have weighed more than 800 carats in its rough form and cutting it into its current form, with 55 facets, took over three years.

       The largest diamond ever discovered was the 3,106-carat Cullinan stone found in South Africa in 1905. The stone was cut into several large polished gems, including the Great Star of Africa and the Lesser Star of Africa, both of which are housed in Britain’s crown jewels.

       Global demand for diamonds has rebounded after taking a big hit during pandemic lockdowns, with supply struggling to keep pace and driving prices 25% higher last year, according to Paul Zimnisky, the founder of research firm Diamond Analytics.

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       Payment in cryptocurrency in auctions has picked up since Sotheby’s sold a 100-carat diamond to a crypto buyer in July last year for $12.3 million, the highest price for a gemstone purchased with a digital currency. The British auction house has said that allowing payment in cryptocurrencies has opened the market up to a new generation of buyers.

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