30 years after buying a $13.00 ring.
Woman realises. She was duped.
She looked at the woman and couldn't believe what just had been said.
She thought the appraiser had just probably made a mistake.
The woman had never been in a situation like that.
And suppected that...neither did the appraiser.
She had no idea where to turn.
But, what she was told next. Made her instant royalty.
An unidentified Londener was on her weekly stroll
Of the Middle Sect Hospital Flea Market. West of the city...gliding past different stands.
Everything looked pretty old and worn out...and
with only a couple of bucks in her pocket she wanted her purchase to be worth every penny.
As she was eyeing necklace on one of the
stands
She coulndn't help but notice the huge
ring sparkling in the corner of her eye.
She turn to the ring and knew that fate had brought her to it.
The woman. Who who remains anonymous.
As per her request.
Wanted to get herself something beautiful and luxurious.
Well she knew it looked like something she could never afford.
She wanted it...Because it meant something more to her than just some pile of junk.
She picked up the ring and looked at it for a moment.
As it resonated with her...but something seemed off.
Never the less she felt inexplicably drawn to it.
The ring set on a mount that was of incredible size.
The crystal too.
The whole piece looked like jewelry from a fairy tale.
...and the woman knew she had to have it. A piece of jewelry
not only she loved with all her heart. But will serve as a talisman
to remind herself that one day if she worked hard enough
she buy a real diamond.
Little did she know every thing was about to change.
She completed her purchases and
spent her last remaining 10 pounds. $13.00 dollars
on the incredible piece.
From then on she wore the ring everyday. Everywhere...
Years pass her talisman was still by her side.
Being in public background she didn't need much else. So she kept this piece close to her.
It made her feel like a princess. Even 30 yrs later.
But one day a strange trip to the grocery store.
Turned her life upside down.
On a beautiful afternoon on her way home from work. The londener
stopped at a nearby grocery store.
She grabbed all the stuff she needed and headed to the check out line.
While waiting he could not help but notice a stranger ogling her hand.
She thought this was very peculiar
But she brushed off her train of thought and continue waiting for her turn.
What she didn't know was that the stranger...a mysterious man
Was not willing to let her out of his site.
The man wouldn't stop gazing at her ring.
And the woman was beginning to feel uncomfortable.
Her turn finally came up she quickly paid for her products.
And headed out the door.. still noticing the gaze of the man following
her every move.
She quickly became suspicious and feared for the worst.
And that's when she noticecd he was still following her.
What did this man want?...and...How could she get rid of him?
The woman quickly walked towards her car. Aware that the man was still trailing her.
She tried to keep him in her peripheral vision.
As she tried to lose him in the crowd but he seemed unshakable.
She wondered what he wanted from her?...or was she just being paranoid.
Then the gap between her and him closed and she felt him right behind her.
She spun around to confront him and then he said something that completely
blindsided her.
The mystery man had followed her because
something about her costume jewelry caught his eye.
And then he asked her something that left her questioning everything.
Seeing the panic on her face and with his greedy eyes never leaving her hands.
He quickly asked her if she minded giving him a closer look at her ring.
Not appreciating being approached
so brazenly by a stranger and suppecting a scam.
She merely brushed him off and hurried on her way.
The woman always had her talisman by her side but one day she was in such a hurry
she forgot to put it on.
It had become a ritual for her wake up and put the ring on
her finger. But tha day she was frazzled. She was
going to be late, and as she hurried to get dress and out the door
the ring was not on her finger. The ring was so incredibly valuable to
her that she got off at the next stop and headed back to her house.
I can't believe I left it at home...she thought...and moreso
After being so paranoid about the man at the grocery store.
As she climbed the stairs 2 by 2. She started in her bedroom.
Her initial thought was to look for the ring where she always kept it.
Nothing...it wasn't there.
She knew she should of been more careful. Something was
off about that man and her gut feeling told herself so too.
Eyes widening, breath ragged and harsh.She turneed her bedroom upside
down. She could not find her precious costume ring.
But then something jogged her memory. As she entered her bathroom.
There it was. The ring stood massively
next to the sink in all it's glory.
She put it there to remind herself to put it back on after brushing her teeth. But didn't.
She was struggling to pay her bills that was no secret.
All she can think about was this strange man who had an uncanny
interest in her ring. He seemed to think that her crystal
ring might be of some value.
Who had it belonged to? She thought...
The encounter with the man had been enough to take the ring to Sotheby's London.
Maybe they could answer her questions
and relieve her anxiety...she wondered longingly...
If it had belonged to someone famous. The ring was old
the silver was tarnished and there was alot of dirt on it.
But what's secret was it holding
A couple of anxious days later she will finally know
the mind bending trurth...
The suspense was killing her and suddenly
a sense of dread came over her
Sotheby's said they would keep it for a couple of days
to run some test on the stone and her heart plummeted
Then Sotheby's Jewelry in London confirmed the stones authenticity.
It turned out
that her ring was a giant
26 karat
cushioned shaped white diamond.
From the 19th Century.
The Londoner couldn't believe it. Surely they made a mistake.
How could she be wearing a ring of such value. All this time.
The Sotheby's had all the answers. Jessica Windham
who has all the auction houses jewelry department
explained that a ring of such value was probably owned by someone in the Royal
Family In the 19th Century
And because the diamond cutting had been slightly dulled and deeper than
now and days. It could trick people into thinking
it's not a genuine stone.
With an old styled cutting an antique cush shape
the light doesn't reflect as much
as it would from a modern stone cutting.
Cutter worked to conserve all the weight rather than making it as brilliant as
possible. The antique shape and older style
had disguised it's true brilliance for all these years.
They also went on to explain why it took them so long
to get it authenticated and valued.
We confirmed that it was indeed a diamond
we tested it with the Gemological Institute of America.
And that then dictated the price...said Jessica Windhelm
Jessica Windham told the unidentified woman that the
ring could go for as much as 350 thousands pounds.
That's about $450.00 dollars if it were auctioned.
That and the auctioned house continue to explain the cut of the stone.
Probably would of meant that it didn't sparkle.
Plus it was all dirty, no one would really think it was real.
They came in with the ideal it might be real.
But they had no ideal of it's value. Windham added.
The Londoner knew that when she was standing at the Flea Market the ring sparkled.
That what caught her attention.
But maybe her talisman only shown for her.
Having led a life from paycheck to paycheck. Another persons junk
was her treasure and it just changed her life.
The ring was sent to auction and got sold for a staggering amount of
656 thousand 750 pounds
That's almost $850 thousand dollars.
Not only did this great little possessions auction make her life
a whole lot easier. But she finally knew that she'd been a princess all along.
But..how do you know if your costumes jewelry is valuable.