Emeralds from sunken galleon of Florida Keys set for auction

KEY WEST, Fla. – Emeralds from a Spanish galleon that sank off the Florida Keys in 1622 are going up for auction in New York City.

Manuel Marcial de Gomar of Emeralds International in Key West owns the jewels. According to a report by The Citizen (http://bit.ly/2nXVRAw ), de Gomar was paid in emeralds by treasure hunter Mel Fisher, who discovered the wreck of the Nuestra Senora de Atocha in the 1980s.

The shipwreck gems are among 20 loose emeralds and 13 pieces of emerald jewelry from de Gomar’s collection that will be auctioned April 25 at Guernsey’s auction house. Bids also will be accepted online .

De Gomar also is selling an 887-carat emerald called La Gloria, believed to be the largest rough gem quality Colombian emerald in the United States. The auction house said it could bring as much as $5 million.

___

Information from: The Key West (Fla.) Citizen, http://www.keysnews.com