Largest Emerald for Sale in Canada (VIDEO)
The largest emerald in the world, nearly the size of a watermelon, will be put up for auction and sold to the highest bidder later this month.
The oval gemstone which weighs just over 25 pounds and is named "Teodora" which means "God's Gift," is said to be 57,500 carats and was appraised by a respected gem dealer at around $1.15 million, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.
A rare gem hunter in Calgary, Regan Reaney, described this stone as “once-in-a-lifetime.” "I'm still amazed every time I look at, pick it up, touch it. It is amazing," Reaney told the Calgary Herald.
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The enormous gem was reportedly mined in Brazil and sold to a buyer in India, where it was cut.
The stone was appraised by Jeff Nechka, owner of Premier Gems. "At first I was very skeptical," said Nechka. "Anything this large occurring in nature is extremely rare."
Nechka explained that he was aware that in the past there had been fraudulent cases involving unscrupulous miners and dealers who tried to combine several smaller stones and form one large piece in an attempt to pass them off as one massive, priceless gem.
Nechka admitted that he conducted several tests to confirm the emerald's authenticity.
"What made it difficult is the sheer size and weight," said Nechka. "The gem instruments are quite delicate and fragile, so it took quite a bit of maneuvering and special handling to go through the different tests to confirm it is, in fact, a genuine emerald," as reported by the Calgary Herald.
Nechka explained that the gem was never cut into smaller rocks for jewelry because it is opaque and not translucent which means the real value of the stone is tied to its massive size.
Western Star Auctions will put it up for bidding on Jan. 28, in Kelowna, B.C.
