Woman realizes ring she found at a garage sale 30 years ago has a diamond worth $350,000

Thrift stores have become a go-to for bargain hunters seeking branded goods or iconic designer pieces, especially as people flaunt their finds online. Some even stumble upon rare artifacts worth a fortune. But for one woman, the ultimate hidden gem was no fantasy—it became a reality. In the late 1980s, at a car boot sale, she was drawn to a box of costume jewelry for its bangles and bought the entire lot.

Among the items was a striking cocktail ring, which she assumed was costume jewelry and paid just $10.92 for. Decades later, she discovered that the ring's 26.2-carat diamond was worth $382,383.29 in 2017. The revelation came while she was cleaning and the ring fell, catching her eye with an unusual sparkle. A local jeweler confirmed it was too valuable for him to appraise, leading her to Sotheby's.

The diamond had a color grade of I and a clarity grade of VVS2. Once it was confirmed that it was a diamond, its story as the "tenner diamond" went viral. The owner earned a windfall of $717,338 at the auction, which was a life-changing sum for her. She called it "a real-life Only Fools and Horses story," in a reference to a British sitcom aired between 1981 and 1991.

Following this, experts decided to find out how such an expensive ring ended up at a car boot sale. "With an old style of cutting, an antique cushion shape, the light doesn’t reflect back as much as it would from a modern stone cutting. Cutters worked more with the natural shape of the crystal, to conserve as much weight of the crystal rather than make it as brilliant as possible," Jessica Wyndham, Head of Sales for Jewelry in Europe, explained. However, she told The Guardian, "They had been to quite a few car boot sales over the years. But they don’t have any history of collecting antiques and they don’t have any history of collecting diamonds. This is a one-off windfall, an amazing find." The woman pointed out, "The older stones have quite a bit of personality. They sparkle in a different way."

She went as far as to tell the outlet that it was "Serendipity" that prompted the owner to buy the ring. "A 26-carat, cushion-shaped diamond, no matter how filthy or dark that mount was, maybe that stone still speaks to people. They also bought some designer dresses for about £10. We should have all been at the car sale!” The head of sales for jewelry in Europe told BBC. The woman told On Demand News that you are bound to question the value of something you get at such a low price.