Aussie dad and TikToker discovers $12,000 gem on a walk and goes viral online

A Queensland dad stumbled across a massive Australian sapphire worth thousands during a night walk around regional Rubyvale.

The epic find was buried in the dirt but gave off a slight glimmer under torchlight, and is valued at approximately $12,500.

Matt filmed the epic discovery made in the Central Highlands of Queensland during a walk at night. Credit: TikTok

“When you’ve got a trained-eye for it, you can sort of spot the glimmer on the stones. I definitely didn’t expect it to be that big,” he said.

He added he’d never found a sapphire this big before, noting that it was “not that common”.

“Normally we’re looking for really tiny bits of stone, maybe about 5ct or 6ct.”

Matt held up the 834ct sapphire on Sunrise, comparing its size to the gems they usually uncover which are generally around 5ct. Credit: Sunrise

“It’s a fair lump of sapphire. It’s pretty rare, and we’re pretty stoked.”

Their biggest sapphire was dug up just weeks earlier - a 359ct rock - and the couple’s largest solid crystal find was an 80ct sapphire which they found in 2012 and say they “regret selling”.

Source and original article: https://7news.com.au/sunrise/aussie-dad-and-tiktoker-discovers-12000-gem-on-a-walk-and-goes-viral-online-c-8639068