Six people claim a 380-kilogram emerald at once

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Few people can remain indifferent to precious stones. However, the story of one of the largest emeralds on the planet turned out to be somewhat curious. The so-called Bahiyan emerald, weighing 380 kg, is claimed by six people at once. But the name of the rightful owner is to be determined by the Los Angeles Supreme Court.

A rough stone of the usual dark color interspersed with several green crystals as thick as a human hand was discovered in Brazil in 2001.

One of the contenders, Californian businessman Anthony Thomas, claims that in the fall of 2001 he traveled to Brazil twice: first to see the stone with his own eyes, and then to negotiate an acquisition. As proof, the entrepreneur presented photographs in the Los Angeles court in which he was taken in an embrace with an emerald. According to the American, he sent a check for 60 thousand dollars to Brazil, but did not receive the emerald.

According to Thomas, the sellers claimed that the stone had been stolen. He suspects that beryl was deliberately "held back" in order to sell at a higher price, ITAR-TASS reports.

Another contender, Keith Morrison, claims to have become the owner of the stone in 2008. According to Morrison, the emerald was provided as collateral for a shipment of diamonds that the entrepreneur bought for $ 1.3 million, but never got his hands on.

Over the past years, the stone has been "hosted" in the states of California, Nevada and Louisiana. In the latter, green beryl literally fell victim to Hurricane Katrina, which hit the southern United States in August 2005.

The stone was kept in a bank safe, which turned out to be under water and was raised to the surface only a few months after the natural disaster. In Las Vegas, Nevada, the emerald, which they tried to sell again, was confiscated by the police. The Traveler has been locked up in the Los Angeles Sheriff's office for the past two years.