A beautiful jade ring rumoured to be worth one million yuan (US$140,000) and intended for a bride-to-be in China has been accidentally dropped out of a window into a drainage ditch nine floors below.
The incident had residents of Guangdong, southeastern China collectively holding their breath for three days during a salvage operation.
The ring slipped through the fingers of a jeweller’s customer as he was trying to film it in natural light by a window, according to his son who posted the information on Douyin.
He said it was a custom-made gift his father was intending to present to his future daughter-in-law on their imminent wedding day.
The anxious man quickly hired a salvage team to search for the ring, which fell into the drainage ditch below.
A member of the team, surnamed Fan, said he and his colleagues were each paid 500 yuan (US$70) a day to search for it.
The hunt took more than 72 hours and attracted hundreds of onlookers.
When the ring was finally retrieved on the fourth day, there were cheers all round as the ecstatic owner set off fireworks to celebrate.
The neighbourhood committee said the ditch was undergoing desilting work which made the salvage process easier.
A committee member, surnamed Luo, who saw the ring after it was found, told Guangdong Television that its dazzling design incorporates green jadeite and diamonds and it is worth hundreds of thousands of yuan.
The ring’s owner said it meant to him more than its monetary value, and he was very happy the retrieved jewel was still in perfect condition.
Jade has been used in jewellery since the Neolithic period in China.
The stone was seen by ancient people as a holy symbol representing the deity – the supreme ruler of heaven, known as the Jade Emperor – and was later used by royal families as an emblem of their noble status.
It is as prized today as it has always been, and is often used in societal events to mark their importance.
In 2008, the Beijing Olympics mounted jade in the medals to symbolise nobility and virtue, and as a visual representation of Chinese culture.
While the type of jade used in the Olympic medals was called nephrite, the jadeite embedded in the lost ring is the harder and rarer type, known as Fei Cui in Chinese.
Colour, transparency, texture and size are all factors that influence the quality of jadeite. Only the best jadeite is used in rings.