How Did a Stone Found by a 12-Year-Old Kid Ended Up Be Worth 80 Million Dollars Today
When Roy Spencer, a 12-year-old boy, found a black stone in Queensland, Australia, in 1938, his father, a miner in a jewelry mining center, did not realize that what appeared to be a simple black crystal was actually a 1,156-carat sapphire.
Treated for nine years as the ugly duckling in Hans Christian Andersen's story, the sapphire was used as a doorstop in the Spencer family home.
At one point, however, Harry Spencer, the child's father, learned that sapphires could be found in all the colors of the rainbow (except red ones, those being rubies). At that moment he realized that he had a huge sapphire in his house, which probably would bring him a fortune.
It was not long before the right buyer appeared at his doorstep, and took the enormous 1,156-carat sapphire in the US.
The Huge Sapphire Ended Up In The Hands of An Armenian Jeweler
Learning of the sapphire on sale, Armenian jeweler Harry Kazanjian traveled from Los Angeles to Queensland, offering the miner 18,000 dollars (almost 185,000 dollars in current value).
Convinced that under the raw form of the stone is something more precious, after two months of thinking, the master jeweler decided to cut the sapphire. Following this operation, Harry Kazanjian found inside the model of a six-pointed star, which can be seen on the sapphire with a single source of light above the head.
Even though he had to sacrifice 423 carats by cutting the stone, the value of the star sapphire came to be 1 million dollars in 1949.
"The Black Star of Queensland", as the precious sapphire was named, was transformed into a pendant framed by 35 diamonds and is one of the most famous jewelry pieces in the world.
The current value of the diamond sapphire pendant is almost 80 million dollars.
Treated for nine years as the ugly duckling in Hans Christian Andersen's story, the sapphire was used as a doorstop in the Spencer family home.
At one point, however, Harry Spencer, the child's father, learned that sapphires could be found in all the colors of the rainbow (except red ones, those being rubies). At that moment he realized that he had a huge sapphire in his house, which probably would bring him a fortune.
It was not long before the right buyer appeared at his doorstep, and took the enormous 1,156-carat sapphire in the US.
The Huge Sapphire Ended Up In The Hands of An Armenian Jeweler
Learning of the sapphire on sale, Armenian jeweler Harry Kazanjian traveled from Los Angeles to Queensland, offering the miner 18,000 dollars (almost 185,000 dollars in current value).
Convinced that under the raw form of the stone is something more precious, after two months of thinking, the master jeweler decided to cut the sapphire. Following this operation, Harry Kazanjian found inside the model of a six-pointed star, which can be seen on the sapphire with a single source of light above the head.
Even though he had to sacrifice 423 carats by cutting the stone, the value of the star sapphire came to be 1 million dollars in 1949.
"The Black Star of Queensland", as the precious sapphire was named, was transformed into a pendant framed by 35 diamonds and is one of the most famous jewelry pieces in the world.
The current value of the diamond sapphire pendant is almost 80 million dollars.
