|
Sotheby’s to Auction $13 Diamond
May 23, 2017 3:55 AM
By Rapaport News
|
|
RAPAPORT... A diamond ring bought for a pittance in
the 1980s is set to appear at a Sotheby’s auction next month with a price tag
that’s up to 35,000 times higher.
The buyer acquired the cushion-shaped, 26.27-carat, I-color,
VVS2-clarity diamond for $13 (GBP 10) at a car-boot sale — a British term for a
market of amateur dealers selling secondhand goods out of their car trunks. The
informal deal took place on the assumption that the stone was a decorative
costume jewel, Sotheby’s explained.
But the item, which was actually real, will lead the
Sotheby’s Fine Jewels sale in London on June 7 with an estimated value of $321,000 to
$450,000 (GBP 250,000 to GBP 350,000). The diamond has an accompanying grading report from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA).
“It was only in the past few months that the owner decided
to see if the ring had any value and asked Sotheby’s to appraise it,” the auction
house said. “Much to the owner’s surprise, the ring turned out to be a genuine
cushion-shaped diamond.” |
|
|
|
|
|
Tags:
auction, car-boot sale, Fine jewels, london, Rapaport News, secondhand, Sotheby’s, UK
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|