Thinking it was merely a crystal, an incredibly lucky woman bought a 26-carat Golconda diamond ring for a mere $12 at a car boot sale. Thirty years later, it fetched $1.1 million at an auction—an astounding 91,667 times what she originally paid for it.

Sometimes, being lucky is not enough; you have to be keen-eyed too. Still, it ended well for the lady who bought a striking ring at a hospital car boot sale for $12. She loved her ‘crystal’ ring, picked up in the 1980s as a decorative ornament, and sported it everywhere, from chores to parties and weddings. Three decades later, at the insistence of a jeweler friend, she agreed it was time to have it valued. It turned out the crystal was a Golconda 26-carat diamond, nothing close to a costume jewel, and was auctioned by Sotheby’s for a staggering £656,750 in 2017.


Industry expert Tobias Kormind, who runs 77Diamonds.com, explained, ‘It originates from the 1800s – before the discovery of modern diamond mines and a time when very few diamonds were available. Several diamond dealers have already inspected this diamond to assess how large a modern cut diamond can be made from it. The new owner is likely to re-cut it into a modern diamond that will emit even more sparkle and potentially be worth a multiple of the Sotheby’s estimate.’

Sotheby’s head of the London jewelry department, Jessica Wyndham, said: ‘The owner would wear it out shopping, wear it day-to-day. It’s a good-looking ring. But it was bought as a costume jewel. No one had any idea it had any intrinsic value at all. They enjoyed it all this time.’