57,000-carat emerald, which is said to be the world's largest, will be sold on January 28 at Western Star Auctions in British Columbia, Canada. The giant jewel weighs 11.5 kilograms and is around 12 inches long.
On Monday, the gem was appraised at $1.15 million since it is only a rough cut stone.
But Western Star Auctions owner Mike Odenbach told Huff Post Canada he thinks it could fetch more at auction. "It's not unusual for gemstones to sell a lot higher than their appraised value, just depending on who wants to possess the largest emerald in the world," he said. Odenbach described the dark green emerald as "nothing short of spectacular."
The emerald was discovered in Brazil and cut in India. Rare gem dealer Regan Reany of Calgary got an email about the stone and thought it was too good to be true. But the emerald is, in fact, very real and heading to Kelowna, British Columbia with armed security. The auction house has ensured the jewel will be heavily guarded until the auction later this month.
"The gemstone is named 'Teodora' and rough translation is 'God's Gift,'" Odenbach told Huff Post. "To me we're being given an opportunity to expose ourselves internationally as an auction company that can handle items like this. You know, it really does feel like a gift."
Can't afford the $1.15 million asking price? Another ultra-expensive, but far smaller emerald is missing in Hong Kong. The Daily Mail reports that Swiss jeweler Caroline Gruosi-Scheufele took off her 16 carat emerald and diamond ring while washing her hands in the bathroom of the Four Seasons Hotel's Harbour View ballroom. Once she realized her error and ran back seven minutes later the ring was gone. The missing ring is valued at over $1.5 million and the owner is offering a $62,000 reward.
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