Rains reveal 834-carat sapphire the size of 'small child's fist' in Queensland Gemfields
Matt Betteridge was on an evening walk when his eye caught a "glimmer sticking out of the dirt". ...
"The rain unearthed it that little bit … I thought it was going to be an average-sized stone until I couldn't pull it out," Mr Betteridge said.
"It seemed very heavy, popped out a nice ball, like a small child's fist, but very heavy like a lump of lead."
Mr Betteridge found the stone about 100 metres from the mining claim he lives on at the Reward fossicking land near Rubyvale in Queensland's Gemfields.
The region is one of the largest sapphire-bearing areas in the world.
Mr Betteridge found it late last month while out specking, the practice of walking around scanning the ground for stones.
After getting it valued, he realised it was an 834-carat sapphire, which he described as "very, very rare". ...
Mr Betteridge sent the stone to a local gem cutter for an approximate valuation.
It is estimated to be worth $12,500.
While it contained some crystal that could be cut into jewellery, Mr Betteridge was keeping the stone in one piece to display its full size. ...
The Gemmological Association of Australia's Helen Levonis, a jewellery valuer, said collectors often avoided cutting into large stones to produce smaller sapphires.
She said receiving anything more than a five-carat gemstone, "which is only a gram", was very rare in sapphires.
"When you get something … like an 830-carat sapphire, that's phenomenal," Ms Levonis said.
"It could have far more value as the crystal than it will as cut-up pieces of sapphire," Ms Levonis said. ...