Editor’s Note
This story reminds us that extraordinary value can sometimes be found in the most ordinary places. A UK woman’s flea market purchase, long thought to be costume jewelry, has been appraised as a genuine £2 million diamond. It’s a remarkable tale of serendipity and hidden treasure.
A 70-year-old woman in the UK has discovered that a diamond she bought long ago at a flea market, thinking it was a fake, is in fact a genuine gem worth £2 million (approximately 3.2 billion Korean won) after an appraisal.
On October 28 (local time), the BBC reported the story of the woman, who lives in Northumberland, northern England. According to the report, the woman found a box containing the diamond and several pieces of jewelry while doing a major house cleaning. Having a hobby of collecting jewelry from flea markets, she didn’t expect anything valuable but took the box to an auction house just in case.
The auctioneer was astonished. The diamond, the size of a £1 coin and thought to be an imitation, turned out to be a genuine 34-carat stone.
Surprised by the unexpected find, the auctioneer confirmed its authenticity with a diamond testing machine and then sent it to experts at the World Diamond Centre (WDC) in Antwerp, Belgium for further appraisal. The result confirmed the diamond was a very rare 34.19-carat HVS1 grade stone, valued at approximately £2 million (about 3.2 billion Korean won).
The diamond is scheduled to be auctioned on the 30th of this month and is currently stored in the Hatton Garden jewelry district in London.