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2.5 Million-Carat Sapphire Cluster Discovered by Accident in Gem Trader’s Backyard

The gems, valued at around $100 million on the international market, were found by a crew digging a well at the home of a gem trader.

A lucky gem trader with water problems made an extraordinary discovery when having a well drilled in his back yard in Ratnapura, Sri Lanka. Workers found a 2.5 million-carat sapphire cluster weighing more than 1,000 pounds—which is worth around $100 million on the international market, the BBC reports. It is the largest known cluster of its kind and was discovered last year, but has now been certified as valuable. The owner, referred to as Mr. Gamage by the BBC, named it “Serendipity Sapphire” and told the British news network that the well diggers called him when they discovered rare stones in the soil. “The person who was digging the well alerted us about some rare stones,” he told the BBC. “Later we stumbled upon this huge specimen.”