- Sotheby's auctions for almost a million a ring made with one of the emeralds looted from the wreck of the Spanish galleon sunk in the Straits of Florida in 1622 by a hurricane.
- Its former owner promises to donate the amount of the bid to humanitarian aid for Ukraine.
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| Photo courtesy of Sotheby's showing a gold ring with a 5.27-carat Colombian emerald stolen by an American treasure hunter from the Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha |
The journey of one of the looted emeralds from the 'Nuestra Señora de Atocha': shipwreck, treasure hunters, million-dollar auction, and Ukraine
A 5.27-carat Colombian emerald stolen by an American treasure hunter from the Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha, sunk off the coast of Florida in 1622 by a hurricane, has been auctioned this Wednesday by Sotheby's for a price of $1,197,000.
The until today owner promised to use that amount to raise funds for humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
The hammer price of the ring (without fees or taxes) was 950,000, almost 20 times the starting value marked by the auction house, which had placed it at around 50,000 and 70,000 dollars, and until now the price is unknown. the identity of the buyer, as is usual in auctions.
The emerald crowned a ring belonging to Mitzi Perdue, 81, widow of American chicken magnate Frank Perdue, who subsidized the expedition of treasure hunter Mel Fisher, who is 1985 and after 16 years of searching found the remains of the Spanish galleon and the hidden treasures
The auction had aroused some excitement and a few hours before it was held, the president and editor-in-chief of Forbes, Steve Forbes, enlivened the atmosphere of American high society, describing the emerald auction as "a wonderful effort by Mitzi Perdue to support efforts to send humanitarian aid to Ukraine".
In a brief message on his website, he invited billionaires Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Warren Buffet, and Mark Cuban to a betting war to win the ring.
Shipwreck in the Florida Straits
The galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha was the most famous of the nine ships that sank in the Straits of Florida on September 6, 1622, with a cargo of gold, silver, and precious stones.
Frank Perdue, with the help of Fisher, selected the best emerald from the wreck for New York jewelers to make the engagement ring he gave to Mitzi in 1988, Sotheby's says.
Forty treasured objects, including a cross of emeralds, gold and silver ingots, wild pearls, and 16th-century Spanish coins, were already sold to the highest bidder in 2015, in New York, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of their discovery.
Now, on the 400th anniversary of its sinking, nearly a thousand jewels and artifacts from the ship have recently been exhibited at the Key West (Florida) museum, precisely founded by Mel Ficher, who died in 1998 at the age of 76.
According to Sotheby's, the ship's sunken hold contained some 180,000 coins, 24 tons of minted Bolivian silver bullion, 125 bars of gold bullion mined from the Caribbean, Mexico, and the Andes, and 30 kilograms of rough-cut Colombian emeralds, in addition to other treasures.
Sotheby's highlighted that Mitzi Perdue visited Ukraine in August 2022 to learn first-hand about the situation of its inhabitants.
As a result of this "heartbreaking and profound" experience, the auction house indicated, Mitzi decided to put her ring up for sale: "I am sure - said Mitzi, quoted in the statement - that he would feel that the best possible use of this emerald is helping prevent suffering in Ukraine".
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