One woman’s junk is definitely another’s treasure.
An old ring bought at a junk sale for less than Dh50 has just been sold for several millions of dirhams at an auction.
The unusual gem that features a cushion-cut diamond was one of the items included in the Fine Jewels sale by Sotheby’s in London on Wednesday.
Dubbed the “Tenner” diamond, the ring was originally purchased for £10 (Dh47) in the 1980s from a car boot sale by a woman, who for years thought it was just another decorative costume jewel.
The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has recently confirmed the ring as a genuine 26-carat diamond, with an estimated value of £350,000 (Dh1.6 million).
At the sound of the hammer on Wednesday, the item fetched nearly double the pre-sale estimate at £656,750 (about Dh3.1 million or $837.000).
The ring was valued more than the Cartier diamond brooch worn by Margaret Thatcher on several public occasions, which was another highlight of the Sotheby’s sale. Thatcher’s brooch fetched £81,250, still higher than the pre-sale estimate of £25,000-35,000.
