The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
‘Costume jewel’ is real
Hospital in Isleworth in west London in the 1980s, is going under the hammer at Sotheby’s in July.
The auction house’s head of London jewellery department, Jessica Wyndham, said: “The owner would wear it out shopping, wear it day-to-day. It’s a good-looking ring.
“But it was bought as a costume jewel. No one had any idea it had any intrinsic value at all. They enjoyed it all this time.”
She said: “They’d been to quite a few car boot sales over the years. But they don’t have any history of collecting antiques and they don’t have any history of collecting diamonds. This is a one-off windfall – an amazing find.”
Ms Wyndham said that after around 30 years wearing the ring, the owners bought it into Sotheby’s after a jeweller told them it could have substantial value.
“They came in with the idea that it might be real and they had no idea of its value,” she said.
“We had a look and said ‘I think that’s a diamond’ and we got it tested at the Gemological Institute of America.”
She added: “The majority of us can’t even begin to dream of owning a diamond that large.”
Ms Wyndham said the owners, who do not want to be named, are “incredibly excited. Anyone would be in this position, it’s a lifechanging amount of money”.
“No matter what your background is or what your past experiences have been, it’s going to revolutionise someone’s life,” she said.
The diamond is thought to have been cut in the 19th century but its history and how it arrived at the car boot sale, is unknown.
Because the older style of diamond cutting was “slightly duller and deeper than you would see in a modern style.”
The ring will be offered as part of Sotheby London’s Fine Jewels sale, on July 7.