888.88-Carat Black Diamond: The Infinity Unveiled in Dubai

Forty-nine years after a 1,138-carat crystal changed hands in 1975, its finished form has finally stepped into the light. On 26 October, at the seventh Dubai Diamond Conference, Antwerp’s Diamond Trading NV presented Infinity, an 888.88-carat fancy black natural diamond from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the same day the conference’s host called for a “strategic reset” of the natural diamond trade.

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What is the Infinity black diamond?

Infinity is a single polished diamond of 888.88 carats. According to DMCC’s announcement, it was cut from a 1,138-carat rough that the diamond expert Andrew Coxon acquired on behalf of De Beers in 1975. When the Gemological Institute of America examined that crystal in 2013, it recorded it as the largest single-crystal natural diamond it had assessed to that date. The finished gem was shaped between 2022 and 2024, and Brink’s handled its transport to Dubai.

What sets it apart is the cutting philosophy. Rather than polishing away every natural mark, the team left the surface features that record the stone’s rise from deep in the earth. “We did not try to erase the traces of this very dramatic and fast transit from deep in the earth,” Daniel de Belder of Diamond Trading NV told Gulf News. The published reports do not describe the shape, the cutter or a grading report for the polished stone, and none says whether Infinity is for sale.

How does Infinity compare with other famous black diamonds?

Black diamonds have a short but colourful history in high jewelry. For most of the twentieth century they were curiosities, admired by mineral collectors more than by jewelers. The best-known name is the Black Orlov, a cushion of about 67.50 carats that has been exhibited at museums and has changed hands several times. The look entered the fashion mainstream at the end of the 1990s, when the Geneva jeweler de Grisogono built collections around black diamonds and presented the 312.24-carat Spirit of de Grisogono.

The most recent headline stone was the Enigma, a 555.55-carat black diamond with 55 facets that Sotheby’s first showed in Dubai in early 2022, with an estimate of at least £5 million, as NBC reported at the time; it later sold in London for a little over £3 million. The Enigma is a carbonado, a porous, many-grained form of diamond found in Brazil and Central Africa. Infinity is the larger stone by weight, and its rough was described by GIA as a single crystal, which, in our view, makes it a different kind of rarity rather than simply a bigger one.

Infinity was not polished into perfection. It was allowed to keep the record of its long journey to the surface.

Why did Dubai call for a natural diamond “reset”?

The stone set the tone for a conference titled “Diamond 2.0: A Strategic Reset.” DMCC’s chairman and CEO, Ahmed bin Sulayem, told delegates that global natural rough supply is “undergoing an irreversible contraction,” according to CNBC Africa, and argued that laboratory-grown stones should be called “synthetics.” In DMCC’s own release he put it more calmly: “The natural diamond industry is at a defining moment, and the pressures it faces go well beyond supply and demand.”

The numbers behind that mood are plain. De Beers’ third-quarter report, published on 20 October, shows an average realised rough price of $84 per carat, down 45% on a year earlier, and a price index down 20%. Lab-grown stones accounted for 61% of US engagement ring purchases by units in 2025, figures cited by JCK. De Beers’ own future is still open: Anglo American says it continues to work toward a sale, and a consortium led by former De Beers chief Gareth Penny and backed by Richemont is reported to be the preferred bidder, as we followed in our story on Richemont and the De Beers sale.

DMCC’s answer is a study written with OriginAll Luxury called “The Swiss Parallel,” which looks at how Swiss watchmakers recovered from the quartz era by moving up-market and leaning on craft, rarity and authenticity. Its seven proposals cover differentiation, authentication, collective governance and new investment structures, including tokenised and fractional ownership of rare natural diamonds. DMCC also announced an education partnership between HRD Antwerp and the Dubai Design Academy, with HRD-issued diplomas in grading and gemmology. From a watch perspective, the parallel is a fair one: Swiss mechanical watches did not win by being cheaper, but by becoming worth explaining.

For the Collector

• Availability: Infinity is held by Diamond Trading NV, and no sale, estimate or valuation has been published at the time of writing.
• Natural or treated: Many black diamonds on the market owe their colour to treatment. When buying one, ask for an independent laboratory report that states the colour is natural, as with the GIA “Fancy Black” grade.
• What drives value: Size, documented origin and natural colour, the quality of the polish (black diamonds are notoriously hard to polish evenly) and a story that can be traced, as with Infinity’s 1975 rough.
• Price context: Black diamonds generally trade far below fine colourless or vivid coloured diamonds per carat, so a large black stone is a statement of character rather than of price per carat.
• On “investment” diamonds: DMCC’s tokenisation and fractional-ownership ideas are proposals, not products. Past prices do not predict future value, and in our view a diamond is best bought for its beauty first. See also our guide to lab-grown and natural diamond prices.

Infinity joins a year of remarkable large stones, from the 176-carat Owishi diamond in Namibia to the coloured diamonds heading to Geneva in November. It is unlikely to be the last stone asked to carry the hopes of an entire trade.

Frequently asked questions

How big is the Infinity black diamond?

Infinity weighs 888.88 carats and was cut from a 1,138-carat rough crystal from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Who owns the Infinity diamond, and is it for sale?

It is owned by Diamond Trading NV of Antwerp, which presented it in Dubai. No sale or valuation had been announced at the time of writing.

Is Infinity bigger than the Enigma black diamond?

Yes. Infinity weighs 888.88 carats, against 555.55 carats for the Enigma, a carbonado diamond sold through Sotheby’s in 2022.

Are black diamonds natural?

Some are naturally coloured, while many on the market are treated. A laboratory report states which, so always ask for one before buying.

Sources: DMCC · Gulf News · Bazaar Times · CNBC Africa · JCK · De Beers Group · NBC