A 16th Century ring found by a metal detectorist in Wormington, Gloucestershire, is to be put up for auction and expected to fetch around £20,000.
Originally uncovered in 2024 by keen metal detector Stuart Jones, the ring was found after a seven hour search in the village though its recovery was difficult as one diamond was knocked out during the discovery and another was missing entirely. Jones then managed to find the missing diamond by sieving soil back at his house.
Following tests conducted by the British Museum, it was determined that the ring dates from the 16th Century and features a very rare eight hogback diamond design with the gold totalling 19.2 karats, the standard established by Edward I in 1300.
It’s auction estimate is between £15,000 and £20,000.
Laura Smith, a jewellery expert for auction house Noonan’s, commented on the find: “Metal detecting finds always attract a lot of attention when they come up for auction, and in this sale, we have 14 metal detected jewels!vEarly 17th century baroque taste required grand rings to make an impression from a distance. Fashions in diamond rings moved from solitaires towards groups of small stones arranged in decorative patterns: rosettes, pansies, crosses, fleur-de-lys, etc.”
Jones said in a statement: “The location where I found the ring was somewhere I had never detected before. Although there had been a dig there several months earlier, I did not attend that event. On the day I found the ring, I was detecting on my own. I had been detecting from around 9:00am until approximately 4:00pm. The find came during the last hour and a half of the day.”
He added: “When I recovered the ring, I was absolutely overwhelmed with joy. I was over the moon. Everyone around me was congratulating me and taking photographs while I held the ring. One of the club administrators suggested that I take home all the soil from around the find spot in the hope of locating the missing diamond, so I carefully collected the surrounding dirt to search through later. Without any doubt, the ring is the best find I have ever made.”
The ring is being put on the market in an auction staged by Noonan’s on June 23 with Jones splitting the proceeds with the owner of the land on which the ring was found.
Jones said: “I have maintained close contact with the landowner throughout the entire process and have personally updated him with every development, from the ring’s examination by the British Museum through to the present day. We are both very excited and looking forward to auction day.”
The area where the ring was discovered has historic Royal provenance. Snowshill Manor, which was gifted by Henry VIII to Catherine Parr upon their marriage, was located just a few miles from the site while Wickhamford Manor was once granted to an English MP by Elizabeth I following the dissolution of the monasteries in the mid 1500’s.
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