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| 'Car boot-sale' diamond set to fetch £350,000 at auction | 'Car boot-sale' diamond set to fetch £350,000 at auction |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A diamond ring bought for £10 at a car-boot sale 30 years ago is expected to fetch £350,000 at auction. | A diamond ring bought for £10 at a car-boot sale 30 years ago is expected to fetch £350,000 at auction. |
| The owner believed the "exceptionally sized" stone was a piece of costume jewellery when she bought it at West Middlesex Hospital in Isleworth, west London, in the 1980s. | The owner believed the "exceptionally sized" stone was a piece of costume jewellery when she bought it at West Middlesex Hospital in Isleworth, west London, in the 1980s. |
| Unaware it was a 26 carat, cushion-shaped white diamond from the 19th Century, she wore it daily for decades. | Unaware it was a 26 carat, cushion-shaped white diamond from the 19th Century, she wore it daily for decades. |
| The stone goes under the hammer at Sotheby's in July. | The stone goes under the hammer at Sotheby's in July. |
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| The head of the auction house's London jewellery department, Jessica Wyndham, said: "The owner would wear it out shopping, wear it day-to-day. It's a good looking ring. | The head of the auction house's London jewellery 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. | "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. |
| "They'd 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." | "They'd 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." |
| Cut differently | Cut differently |
| Ms Wyndham said the owner - who does not want to be identified - assumed it was not a genuine gemstone because it was in a "filthy" mount and it did not have the sparkle of a diamond. | Ms Wyndham said the owner - who does not want to be identified - assumed it was not a genuine gemstone because it was in a "filthy" mount and it did not have the sparkle of a diamond. |
| She added that because the older style of diamond cutting was "slightly duller and deeper" than nowadays "it could trick people into thinking it's not a genuine stone". | She added that because the older style of diamond cutting was "slightly duller and deeper" than nowadays "it could trick people into thinking it's not a genuine stone". |
| "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 rather than make it as brilliant as possible." | "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 rather than make it as brilliant as possible." |
| After about 30 years of wearing the ring, the owners took it to Sotheby's when a jeweller told them it may be valuable. | After about 30 years of wearing the ring, the owners took it to Sotheby's when a jeweller told them it may be valuable. |
| "They came in with the idea that it might be real and they had no idea of its value," Ms Wyndham said. | "They came in with the idea that it might be real and they had no idea of its value," Ms Wyndham said. |
| "We had a look and... got it tested at the Gemological Institute of America." | "We had a look and... got it tested at the Gemological Institute of America." |
| She added: "The majority of us can't even begin to dream of owning a diamond that large." | She added: "The majority of us can't even begin to dream of owning a diamond that large." |
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