The pensioner had been cleaning out her home in North East England when she stumbled upon an old box that contained her wedding bands and some other pieces of low-value costume jewellery.
In amongst that costume jewellery was a very large stone which the women had always presumed was a cubic zirconia after it was purchased cheaply at a car-boot sale decades earlier.
While browsing through the jewellery, the woman contemplated throwing everything in the bin as she felt that there was nothing of any monetary value. However, a neighbour suggested that she take the items for an appraisal before letting them go.
“The lady came in with a bag of jewellery as she just thought she would bring it in as she was passing because she had another appointment in the town,” auctioneer Mark Lane of Featonby’s Auctioneers in North Shields, told reporters.
Mr Lane continued, “We then sent it off to our partners in London before it was certified by experts in Antwerp, Belgium, who said it was 34.19-carat colour HVS1, which is extremely rare.”
The elderly woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, was in total disbelief upon hearing the true value of the stone. She also had no recollection of where she bought the specific diamond, but believes that it must have been from one of many car-boot sales that she attended over the years.
Auctioneer Mark Lane revealed that the diamond was the largest-value item that he had handled at his business and that “the hair on the back of [his] neck” stood up when he heard how much the diamond was worth.
“We get everything from jewellery to fine art and furniture. I’ve seen everything across the board but nothing of that magnitude in the five years I’ve been here,” said Mr Lane.
