Metal detectorist digs up rare diamond ring worth £20,000

A metal detectorist unearthed a 16th-century ring with eight diamonds – set to fetch up to £20,000 at an auction. Stuart Jones uncovered the stunning “once in a lifetime find” in the village of Wormington, Gloucestershire. The ring is expected to attract bids between £15,000 and £20,000 at Noonans of Mayfair on June 23.

Stuart said the find occurred toward the end of a seven-hour search day. He said, “When I recovered the ring, I was absolutely overwhelmed with joy. I was over the moon.”

As he pulled the ring from the soil, one diamond came loose and fell into his hand and a second jewel was also missing. He gathered the soil around the spot where he uncovered the ring, washed and sieved the retrieved soil and found the missing diamond.

The auction proceeds will be shared equally between the landowner and the British Museum that examined the ring. Laura Smith, Jewellery Specialist at Noonans, said: “Early 17th century baroque taste required grand rings to make an impression from a distance. Fashions in diamond rings moved from solitaires towards groups of small stones arranged in decorative patterns: rosettes, pansies, crosses, fleur-de-lys, etc.“This ring has a flowerhead bezel composed of a cluster of eight ‘hogback’ diamonds (which is very rare), although two are loose.”

A PMI test on the XRF Analyzer shows the gold is testing as 19.2ct. This exact gold standard was set by Edward I in 1300; goldsmiths were forbidden to work gold of less than “the Touch of Paris, which is 80% pure gold (or 19.2ct).