GARAGE SALE COSTUME RING TURNS OUT TO BE A DIAMOND WORTH OVER $300 THOUSAND

While every thrift store or garage sale shopper hopes to find a hidden gem, one woman in the UK did find one. She was drawn to a box of costume jewellery at a car boot sale at West Middlesex Hospital in Isleworth, west London, in the late 1980s. Unaware of its actual value, she spent £10 (roughly $13) on a massive cocktail ring that she wore every day for thirty years.

When the woman noticed the ring's sparkle while cleaning in 2017, she decided to have it appraised. After hearing from a local jeweller that the ring might be worth a lot, she took it to Sotheby's jewellery department to have a proper appraisal. The London auction house sent the ring's "fake" gem to the Gemological Institute of America for examination because they thought it was a genuine diamond. The owner was shocked to learn that the diamond was a 26.2-carat gem worth £350,000 ($382,383.29).

"The owner used to wear it every day and while shopping. It is a stylish ring. However, it was purchased as a costume jewel. The head of the auction house's London jewellery department, Jessica Wyndham, said, "No one had any idea it had any intrinsic value at all." Over the years, they had attended a good number of car boot sales. However, neither the antique nor the diamond collections belong to their past. This is a unique opportunity and a fantastic discovery. 

At the auction, the owner—who wished to remain anonymous—won $717,338 in total, nearly twice the original value. According to Wyndham, "It's a life-changing amount of money." "It will completely transform someone's life, regardless of their upbringing or prior experiences."

The ring's journey to a car boot sale is unknown, but the diamond is believed to have been cut in the 1800s. According to Wyndham, the diamond cutting technique used in this antique style is "slightly duller and deeper than you would see in a modern style," which may lead some people to believe the stone is not real.

She says, "The light doesn't reflect back as much from an old style of cutting, an antique cushion shape, as it would from a modern stone cutting." Instead of trying to make the crystal as brilliant as possible, cutters focused more on preserving the crystal's natural shape. The older stones have a good deal of individuality. They have a distinct sparkle.