Moment to treasure Detectorist finds rare ring worth up to £20k

A METAL detectorist is enjoying the prospect of a potentially huge windfall after finding a rare gold and diamond ring dating from the late 16th or early 17th century that is expected to sell for between £15,000 and £20,000 at auction later this month.

- Neil SHAW

The diamond cluster ring was unearthed in November 2024 in Wormington, near Evesham, by Stuart Jones, 42, from Solihull. It will be offered for sale by Noonans on June 23 as part of a jewellery auction.

Stuart, a welder fabricator at Jaguar Land Rover, discovered the ring while searching alone in a field he had never previously explored. He said: “I have been metal detecting for several years and am a member of multiple detecting groups. I have always been fascinated by history, archaeology and the possibility of finding treasure.

“What first inspired me was watching videos of people out in the countryside discovering historical coins, artefacts and relics. Seeing those discoveries made me want to get involved in the hobby myself.”

Describing the day of the discovery, he said: “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, with my Garrett ACE 400i fitted with a Tornado coil, from around 9am until approximately 4pm. The find came during the last hour and a half of the day.”