(IDEX Online) - A huge sapphire cluster that was originally valued at a record-breaking $100m has now been dismissed as nothing more than a museum piece.
The monster gemstone - weighing 310 kg (1,550,000 carats) - was found by workers digging a well in a gem trader's back garden in Ratnapura, Sri Lanka in July 2021.
But officials from the country's National Gem and Jewellery Authority say that after sending it overseas for testing, they had determined it was worth no more than $10,000 - a thousandth of its original valuation. It didn't provide further details.
The natural corundum sapphire was an antique piece that belonged in a museum, it said.
At the time the cluster was unearthed, the government of Sri Lanka was said to be considering an offer of $100m from an unnamed bidder form Dubai, although the quality of the stones inside the cluster had yet to be established.
According to media reports, Lohan Ratwatte, state minister for gems and jewelry, even had hopes of doubling that figure.
Pic shows the huge sapphire cluster