My family’s antique gemstone collection was found in Indian Ocean! Stay tuned!
When I received a mail on Friday 22 September, I could hardly believe it: In the Indian Ocean, not far off the coast of Pakistan at Karachi, a fisherman made an unexpected find: a collection of 29 valuable gemstones, wrapped up in a little leather book!
And guess what, the origin of the collection was soon determined: My hometown Idar-Oberstein, also known as the most important gemstone centre worldwide. Or to be more precise, the stones belonged to my grandfather, the late Wilhelm Constantin Wild, founder of our family company!
I was a bit sceptical at first, but photographic evidence and a few more mails confirmed the story. The fisherman found a bag containing various raw gemstones and our collection. What an adventurous surprise! How did these treasures get there? Who was their former owner? So adventurous! We will probably never get to the very bottom of it.
My family has been trading and processing gemstones since the 16th century – worldwide. So on the one hand this was a surprising place for the gemstones to be found, but on the other it’s typical of my grandfather, who learned about the opportunities a global market offers from his own forefathers!
Another mystery: The collection originally had 30 stones. But the fisherman’s photos show that one is now missing. We’ll probably never find out where the missing stone went. My family and I are delighted that a piece of our history will be finding its way back to us! And we will definitely thank that fisherman for restoring this treasure to us. We will keep you posted!
