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Lucky guy who bought stone (diamond/gold) for $5 and made millions



 
 
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  #1  
Old January 13th 05, 06:09 AM
Java Lisper
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Default Lucky guy who bought stone (diamond/gold) for $5 and made millions

True story from a few decades years ago: a
diamond/gold dealer buys a stone for $5 at a roadside
shop. It contains diamond/gold, so he sells it for
millions.

Does anyone know the name of the guy or some other
detail? Was it in Arizona?

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  #2  
Old January 13th 05, 10:09 AM
Jo Schaper
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Java Lisper wrote:
True story from a few decades years ago: a
diamond/gold dealer buys a stone for $5 at a roadside
shop. It contains diamond/gold, so he sells it for
millions.

Does anyone know the name of the guy or some other
detail? Was it in Arizona?


Are you sure this (below) isn't the story you're looking for:

The dateline was Blue Ridge Georgia, a few years back. It told the story
of a paperweight that had been sitting on the desk of a young x-ray
technician when it was spotted by an experienced gem cutter. The gem
cutter thought he recognized it, and told the owner that he ought to
have it looked at by another expert.

The two men who had found it flew to Dallas to have the stone examined
by a renowned gemologist. When he saw it, his jaw dropped. After a
careful examination of the stone, he told the young men they had
possession of a sapphire that may be more valuable than the Star of
America worth, then, over four million dollars.

The gemologist was right. These two amateur rock hunters had casually
picked up the sapphire in December of 1987 on a mountainside near
Canton, North Carolina. It eventually found its way to the desktop in
their office as a paperweight. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Tuesday,
March 9, 1988, p.1)

Imagine a four million-dollar deal sitting on a desktop used as a
paperweight, picked up by office workers, juggled by fellow workers,
never realizing they were handling a multi-million dollar gem. Why?
Because no one knew what they had. They were treating the extraordinary
like the commonplace because they did not understand what they held in
their hands.

www.stphilipscathedral.org/sermprint2000/ April_23_2000_Canon_Conley.htm

Yes, the proximate source is a church sermon, however, I recall the
story from 1988 (and not from church), so though I cannot go back to the
AJC for that year, this is likely a fair rendering, although I have also
heard a version in which the rock was purchased for $5, and then the
original owner was mighty miffed at discovering what he lost, and sued
unsuccessfuly to reclaim his property.

If other grayhairs around here recall the story, an assist would be
helpful.
  #3  
Old January 14th 05, 05:28 AM
C. Gates
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Default



Java Lisper wrote:
True story from a few decades years ago: a
diamond/gold dealer buys a stone for $5 at a roadside
shop. It contains diamond/gold, so he sells it for
millions.

Does anyone know the name of the guy or some other
detail? Was it in Arizona?



Maybe one decade ago, so the STORY goes, a man
allegedly bought a piece of star sapphire rough
for a few dollars at one of the public gem and mineral
shows (along the highway) in Tucson in February.
Supposedly the dealer who sold it had no idea of what
he had. The buyer then had it cut and exhibited it,
with a lot of publicity (and skepticism) at another
gem show, with claims of its worth (million or so).
At the time, the story appeared
to be a PR effort, and the media did pick up on it.
And it did create a "gem rush" of sorts.
I made a photo of the person with his stone (just in case),
but don't believe I still have the details. Did not
see any folowup about the eventual sale, etc.
(It takes more than just a star, or size, to give a
star sapphire a high value.)
  #4  
Old January 14th 05, 05:29 AM
Java Lisper
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I found the story. Did he buy it for ten or ten
thousand? Or was it a hoax?


Roy Whetstine purchased a stone "from an amateur
collector at an Arizona mineral show for $10,000,"
according to Newsweek, Nov. 24, 1986. It has since
been "valued at as high as 2.28 million dollars" and
declared to be the world's largest sapphire.


This was the case with the infamous Life and Pride of
America Star Sapphire, which featured in many news
reports of 1985 and 1986. In a story that warmed the
heart of even this jaded observer, one Roy Whetstine
claimed to have bought the 1905-ct stone for $10 at
the Tucson gem show. But things turned dour when a
reporter discovered that an L.A. Ward of Fallbrook,
CA, who appraised it at the whopping price of
$1200/ct, had appraised another stone of the exact
same weight several years before Whetstine claimed to
have found it. Photographs of the ?ggem?h revealed an
opaque corundum lump that would be put to better use
dressing grinding wheels than windows at Tiffany.


http://www.time.com/time/archive/pre...143918,00.html
N A T I O N
American Notes Gems
From Rocks to Riches
Nov. 24, 1986
Texas Gemmologist Roy Whetstine discovered the
egg-size violet-and-blue rock in a Tupperware bin at
an annual gem-and-mineral bazaar in Tucson last
February. The amateur who had found the stone wanted
$15 for it but readily sold it to the Texan for $10.
Said Whetstine: "I was used to handling rocks and
saying 'Yeah, that's a keeper' or 'That's no good.' "
This one was a keeper.
After months of appraisal, Whetstine last week went
public with his treasu a 1,905-carat star sapphire
with an estimated uncut value of $2.28 million. Said
he: "I'm astounded that this one pebble out of God's
universe will take care of my children's lives. That
makes me feel very good." But somewhere a rock hound
is crying.




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  #5  
Old January 14th 05, 09:37 AM
Carsten Troelsgaard
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Default


"Jo Schaper" skrev i en meddelelse
...

If other grayhairs around here recall the story, an assist would be
helpful.


Completely off topic, but a story of the same kind:
My mother was a coincollector of local coins and I enherited her collection.
I'm not a collector myself, but as professional art-handworker at the time,
I was aware of aesthetics design and designers. I had rather impulsively
embarged on private mission that set me off one sunny and frosty
wintermorning on my bike toward a far off destination that involved staying
overnight at friends and family. All things considered, I had all the reason
to be absorbed in my own affairs when it happened that I got a return coin
in some remote shop, a coin that I had never seen before. I noted with
horror, that the coin had an an-aesthetic appearance or atleast that it
didn't appeal to me at all...'Gee, are we going to look at this every day
till another coin gets on the market' I thought - and used the coin the next
change I got.

I never saw anything like it again.


Carsten


  #6  
Old January 14th 05, 05:22 PM
C. Gates
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Java Lisper wrote:
I found the story. Did he buy it for ten or ten
thousand? Or was it a hoax?


Good digging -- on finding versions of the story!

According to his story, he bought it for somewhere around
ten dollars. A chunk of rough star sapphire does not show
a lot of promise -- unless you know what you are looking at.
That's part of what makes the story so good. Someone who has
cut and polished a few star sapphires, would recognize
the potential from the crystal shape, hints of asterism,
relatively heavy weight, etc. In classic fairy tales, it's the
prince (or princess) disguised as a frog -- and an ordinary
bumpkin smart enough to see through the rough exterior. Great
stuff!

The ordinary person might just assume it's another chunk of rock,
especially if it's the size of an egg. Don't believe anybody
wanted to come out and call the tale a hoax. It provided a lot of
free PR -- and fun. And I don't remember any PR about how he
found a buyer who would pay the price.

A related story came out a few years ago when somebody went
around selling a "gem material" that emerged from some debris
from an oil well being drilled in Wyoming. According to the
story, it came from a depth of some 2000 feet, so there was an
extremely limited supply, etc. Apparently somebody unloaded
a lot of this to rock shops, etc., throughout the southwest.
These folks, in turn, passed the story along to their
customers. Believe the material turned out to be glass.

There was another one, true, where some boys found some clear
purple rocks in the nearby excavation for the cellar of a new
home in Bellingham, Massachusetts. The kids called it
"The Purples," and proceeded to smash every piece they could find.
One of their fathers brought a piece to an local rock shop to
have it identified, out of curiosity. Turned out to be gem amethyst.

And another, about a girl whose dad admonished her for having an
overactive imagination -- seeing dinosaur footprints in the
flagstones he was quarrying in the back yard. Fortunately, he
had them checked out....and ultimately, quit his job as a tool
and die maker, and went into the fossil business. We used to
do shows with these folks, and often wonder what happened to
them. Mom and dad may be gone by now, but the daughter may
well be telling her kids the story of how she recognized the
footprints and later how she got to meet famous geologists from
all over the world.

There quite a few true stories of treasures in disguise.

  #7  
Old January 15th 05, 06:12 AM
Ted Frater
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Default

C. Gates wrote:

Java Lisper wrote:

I found the story. Did he buy it for ten or ten
thousand? Or was it a hoax?



Good digging -- on finding versions of the story!

According to his story, he bought it for somewhere around
ten dollars. A chunk of rough star sapphire does not show
a lot of promise -- unless you know what you are looking at.
That's part of what makes the story so good. Someone who has
cut and polished a few star sapphires, would recognize
the potential from the crystal shape, hints of asterism,
relatively heavy weight, etc. In classic fairy tales, it's the
prince (or princess) disguised as a frog -- and an ordinary
bumpkin smart enough to see through the rough exterior. Great
stuff!

The ordinary person might just assume it's another chunk of rock,
especially if it's the size of an egg. Don't believe anybody
wanted to come out and call the tale a hoax. It provided a lot of
free PR -- and fun. And I don't remember any PR about how he
found a buyer who would pay the price.

A related story came out a few years ago when somebody went
around selling a "gem material" that emerged from some debris
from an oil well being drilled in Wyoming. According to the
story, it came from a depth of some 2000 feet, so there was an
extremely limited supply, etc. Apparently somebody unloaded
a lot of this to rock shops, etc., throughout the southwest.
These folks, in turn, passed the story along to their
customers. Believe the material turned out to be glass.

There was another one, true, where some boys found some clear
purple rocks in the nearby excavation for the cellar of a new
home in Bellingham, Massachusetts. The kids called it
"The Purples," and proceeded to smash every piece they could find.
One of their fathers brought a piece to an local rock shop to
have it identified, out of curiosity. Turned out to be gem amethyst.

And another, about a girl whose dad admonished her for having an
overactive imagination -- seeing dinosaur footprints in the
flagstones he was quarrying in the back yard. Fortunately, he
had them checked out....and ultimately, quit his job as a tool
and die maker, and went into the fossil business. We used to
do shows with these folks, and often wonder what happened to
them. Mom and dad may be gone by now, but the daughter may
well be telling her kids the story of how she recognized the
footprints and later how she got to meet famous geologists from
all over the world.

There quite a few true stories of treasures in disguise.

To follow on from this OT thread,
there are opportunities everywhere. I had several over the past couple
of years, A circa 1900 Horsh and Smidt watch makers lathe for $5.00
restored nicely,
An absorbtion/ammonia type fridge for $10.00 which ive been offered
$2000.00, from the original maker for his museum. He hasnt got one! in
original working order,and the best of all =
It was a grey drizzly day in December,
I was idly leaning on the wall over looking at a pile of scrap at my
local recycling center, with my mind in neutral, ,just letting things
float in and out of my vision when something winked at me so to speak,
.. I dragged it out and my heart started to beat rather hard.
It looked like a rusty stair bannister end, weighed about 50 lbs and
3ft tall.
I ambled over to the yard man and asked what price for the old iron?
post, I said I needed it to mend a fence.
he said the equivalent of $5.00.
I put in the boot of my car and left as slowly as I could hurry.
i knew what it was, tho not what vintage.
It was a bronze steam whistle of ,i thought a 1930's steam yacht as
there were some in our harbour in the years before the last great war.
any way, i called a steam enthusiast in Holland that evening and he
offered me $700.00 dollars without seeing it.
To sell on to another of his steam friends.
i said wait till you come to Dorset in the Autumn.
It sold to a steam whistle enthusiast at our local steam fair The great
Dorset, that Autumn for $750.00 . Not millions but well worth the
standing in the rain for half an hour or so.
In fact it was off a London to Brighton steam commuter train engine
from 1934. The purchaser new exactly what it was and there hadnt been
any on the market for 50 yrs.
As we say, gone to a good home.
What I really look for tho, are old ie medieval smiths tools. at flea
markets and car boot sales Particularly the wraught iron hammers with
crucible steel ends fire welded thereon. Ive one that was found near
here on a roman settlent circa AD 100, tho its chances of being an
authentic one is small. Its the right design and shape and size.
It has the typical roman round hole for the handle .
By putting it in old battery acid pickle for 12hrs brings out all the
wrought iron grain structure.
Lovely to look at. and use.






  #9  
Old January 18th 05, 01:50 AM
Raj V
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Posts: n/a
Default

C. Gates wrote:
SNIP
A related story came out a few years ago when somebody went
around selling a "gem material" that emerged from some debris
from an oil well being drilled in Wyoming. According to the
story, it came from a depth of some 2000 feet, so there was an
extremely limited supply, etc. Apparently somebody unloaded
a lot of this to rock shops, etc., throughout the southwest.
These folks, in turn, passed the story along to their
customers. Believe the material turned out to be glass.

SNIP

Debris/cuttings from an oil well are SMALL, ranging from fine mud like
particles to very small chips, depending on the rock being drilled through.
If it was hard like obsidian, or glass as in the story, the crushing action
of the bit would pulverize it. After all, the cuttings have to be removed by
the circulating mud which transports them to the surface where they are
separated from the mud so it can be circulated again. The only recoverable
material large enough to attract a gem collector from an oil well would be a
core, and at 2000 feet in Wyoming, they would not have been taking cores
yet. This sounds like one of those whoppers.

Raj V

  #10  
Old January 18th 05, 05:26 PM
C. Gates
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Posts: n/a
Default



Raj V wrote:

Debris/cuttings from an oil well are SMALL, ranging from fine mud like
particles to very small chips, depending on the rock being drilled through.
If it was hard like obsidian, or glass as in the story, the crushing action
of the bit would pulverize it. After all, the cuttings have to be removed by
the circulating mud which transports them to the surface where they are
separated from the mud so it can be circulated again. The only recoverable
material large enough to attract a gem collector from an oil well would be a
core, and at 2000 feet in Wyoming, they would not have been taking cores
yet. This sounds like one of those whoppers.


Yes, indeed, Raj. It was definitely one very original, and very large,
and apparently quite profitable whopper of a story. The amazing thing
is, many people believed the story and actually purchased the material.
(But, looking at the titles in my daily ration of spam, I guess it
should no surprise. Ooops... maybe you'll see the stuff offered online
in the next few days. :-)
 




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