Wow. Somebody found an emerald ring worth 500k in the ocean.

lonestarnot

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Fri Jun-24-11 04:15 AM
Original message

Wow. Somebody found an emerald ring worth 500k in the ocean.

Edited on Fri Jun-24-11 04:28 AM by lonestarnot

Divers off the coast of Key West made a pricey discovery Thursday.

Shipwreck salvagers found a 10 karat gold and emerald ring while searching for the 17thcentury sunken Spanish galleon Nuestra Senora de Atocha.

The ring, featuring a 2.7 by 2.5 centimeter rectangular cut stone, has an estimated value of $500,000.

The ring is believed to be from the Atocha, which sank off the Florida Keys during the 1622 hurricane. Divers were looking for the sterncastle of the Atocha when they made the discovery.

http://www.wtsp.com/news/article/198177/19/500k-ring-found-in-waters-off-Key-West

__________

Sure is pretty.

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stellanoir

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Fri Jun-24-11 04:31 AM
Response to Original message

1. Emeralds are notoriously brittle.

Their hardness is now calibrated as just under 8.

Jewelers are generally challenged by resetting them since a slight flinch or twitch can crack them.

That ring must have been well cushioned under the sea in that wreck.

Wonder where it'll end up now.

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lonestarnot

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Fri Jun-24-11 04:35 AM
Response to Reply #1

2. Resetting! Nooooooooooooooooooo!

Maybe richie rich will buy it for his gummings.

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Ilsa

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Fri Jun-24-11 04:41 AM
Response to Reply #2

4. Only if they'll extend a half mil line of credit.

Were you talking about Newt Blingrich?

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lonestarnot

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Fri Jun-24-11 05:03 AM
Response to Reply #4

8. You mean Newtlywed?

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stellanoir

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Fri Jun-24-11 04:42 AM
Response to Reply #2

5. Nahhhhh

It'd be totally nutso to pop that jewel out of it's setting. That was just an FYI sort of comment,

Then again, yesterday I was discussing how the recent escalation of the price of gold has caused all sorts of examples of lost craftsmanship to be hastily melted down.

So I guess one can never underestimate how thoughtlessness abounds. Yikes.

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Ineeda

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Fri Jun-24-11 04:52 AM
Response to Reply #1

6. I believe much of the recovered treasure

is in the Mel Fisher Museum in Key West. I found it utterly fascinating when I visited years ago. Some of the silver and gold bars have been recycled into replicas of the coins found and sold as pendants and, I think, rings. Although these coins are not authentic, the metals used are. They're sold in gift and souvenir shops all over Florida. The Atocha was a gigantic treasure trove, and apparently still producing.

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Tunkamerica

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Fri Jun-24-11 04:56 AM
Response to Reply #1

7. The sea as a cushion.

That's new one on me. Sometimes I wish I were more of a poet.

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stellanoir

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Fri Jun-24-11 05:06 AM
Response to Reply #7

9. guess you're forgetting that really tranquil in utero phase

kidding

Perhaps I should have been more specific. . ."well cushioned within the wreck under the sea."

Maybe the only way to be cushioned by the sea is to go with the flow and do consider investing heavily in inflatables.

woooooshhhhhhhh

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Tunkamerica

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Fri Jun-24-11 05:13 AM
Response to Reply #9

10. I bought 'in utero' in 93

not really that tranquil... I was 14.

One word: Inflatables.

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lonestarnot

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Fri Jun-24-11 05:21 AM
Response to Reply #10

11. ROFLMAO

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Raine

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Fri Jun-24-11 04:40 AM
Response to Original message

3. Interesting, THANKS

for posting this! :hi:

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