The Black Diamond Ring in “Sex and the City 2”

Confession: I’ve never watched Sex and the City. Not the TV series. Not the movies. In fact, I was quite surprised that there were two movies. But I know about the black diamond ring because photos and reproductions had been all over the web.

But because I never saw the films, I didn’t know until today that the ring was given in the second film which took place a year after the wedding of Mr. Big (Chris Noth) and Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker). A first anniversary gift, in fact, and not an engagement ring like I originally thought. And what’s really weird, it was given to constantly remind Carrie that she was already married and, impliedly, not to flirt with other men anymore. Or so I’ve read.

“Why black?” she asks. “Because you are not like anyone else,” he replies. A five-carat diamond with 80 pave diamonds set in 18K white gold, the ring that Mr. Big presented to Carrie is a lovely mix of modern and traditional.

Are black diamonds real? Sure they are! Natural diamonds come in so many colors.

Above, the Aurora Pyramid of Hope, the most comprehensive natural color diamond collection in the world, photographed under natural light in an exhibit at the Natural History Museum in London. There are 295 (some say 296) diamonds in the set. How the collection was put together is chronicled in a 2012 story in The New York Times. Together with the Aurora Butterfly Collection, the 295-set has been valued at $14 million.

Interestingly, as of the publication date of the NY Times article, the Aurora Pyramid of Hope was the subject of a lawsuit between one of its co-owners, Alan Bronstein, and the heirs — a grandniece and four grandnephews — of his late partner and stepfather, Harry Rodman.

Even more interestingly, there is mention of a 2.5-carat, pear-shaped “rare chameleon diamond that naturally changes color.”

So, again, diamonds come in many colors. Coloration is the result of chemical imperfections such as the presence of nitrogen atoms. And while “imperfections” may detract from the value of colorless diamonds, they may enhance the price of colored diamonds. As of 2016, the most expensive jewel sold at auction was a blue rectangular diamond weighing 14.62 carats. The price? A whooping £39.5 million.