old man
Bronze Member
154 lbs. of uncut emeralds for sale online
Estimates of gems' worth vary greatly
BY ADAM LINHARDT Citizen Staff
[email protected]
A cache of controversial emeralds puportedly discovered off Key West more than three years ago can be yours for $10 million to $40 million.
Former Pennsylvania real estate investor and volunteer firefighter turned amateur treasure salvor Jay Miscovich is working with a website builder in an effort to sell the roughly 154 pounds of green emeralds and stones he claims to have found scattered across the Gulf of Mexico seafloor some 30 miles off Key West in January 2010.
"The emeralds are for sale," Miscovich said Monday during a phone interview from Latrobe, Pa. "We have several interested parties who are possibly making offers."
Micovich added several different groups of potential buyers from as far away as Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Japan and Canada have expressed interest in the emeralds with a price tag of as much as $40 million.
A web site headlined "Treasure Reef Collection" shows a necklace with a $500,000 price tag as well as various gem lots ranging in price from $2,495 to $9,999.
"There's going to be pieces worth $1 million on there," Miscovich said, referring to the website, a tentative version of which can be viewed at www.store.orrvweb.com.
"It's (the website) still in development, but there's still a whole lot of changes that need to be made," Miscovich said, adding that the synopsis that tells the story of the discovery needs to be removed.
He went on to say, "There's facts that are wrong on the site that need to be taken down and changed. We don't want people to think these are treasure emeralds."
The website states the emeralds are from the "world famous" Muzo mines in Colombia, which contain what many consider to be the finest such gems in the world.
One page on the website about their discovery dated Jan. 24, 2011 states that Miscovich found the stones "at an undisclosed location in international waters off the coast of the United States."
"The vast array of precious stones is comprised exclusively of raw, uncut emeralds," the website states. "The green, hexagonal shaped crystals range in all sizes from less than a carat to hundreds of carats in size. One unique specimen is almost as wide as a baseball bat and estimated to weigh over 3,000 carats."
The gems have not come without their headaches as Miscovich is currently at legal loggerheads with Kim Fisher, son of storied Key West salvor Kim Fisher, with whom Miscovich was once an investor.
Fisher accused Miscovich of fraud and took him to court. In January, U.S. District Judge James Lawrence King ruled that Jay Miscovich and his company, JTR Enterprises -- as well as his business partner, Steve Elchlepp -- failed to prove that they found the gemstones scattered across seafloor 30 miles off Key West as he testified in court.
Although JTR can keep the gemstones, King's ruling means neither Miscovich nor Elchlepp can legally claim the gemstones are "court-validated" sunken treasure, and that significantly hurts their value, said lawyer Gene Lewis, who was then representing Fisher.
What that means to Miscovich's attempts to sell the emeralds is not clear. Hugh Morgan, Fisher's current attorney, declined to comment Monday for this story.
Duval Street-based Emeralds International owner Manuel Marcial, who is also Fisher's gem expert, testified at trial earlier this year that the lot was worth only $50,000 and not the millions Miscovich claims.
Miscovich testified in court that he bought a treasure map from a man named Mike Cunningham at the Bull & Whistle Bar, 224 Duval St., and later bought Cunningham off for $50,000 when he discovered emeralds at the site.
King wrote that the emeralds appeared "seemingly out of thin air," and that Miscovich failed to prove their origin or that they were ever abandoned.
A tentative trial date has been set for July 29 in Key West as Fisher wants Miscovich to pay his legal fees from the previous trial, called sanctions in legal parlance.
Miscovich vowed on Monday a continued legal fight against Fisher and an appeal of King's January ruling.
"Absolutely," Miscovich said.
Estimates of gems' worth vary greatly
BY ADAM LINHARDT Citizen Staff
[email protected]
A cache of controversial emeralds puportedly discovered off Key West more than three years ago can be yours for $10 million to $40 million.
Former Pennsylvania real estate investor and volunteer firefighter turned amateur treasure salvor Jay Miscovich is working with a website builder in an effort to sell the roughly 154 pounds of green emeralds and stones he claims to have found scattered across the Gulf of Mexico seafloor some 30 miles off Key West in January 2010.
"The emeralds are for sale," Miscovich said Monday during a phone interview from Latrobe, Pa. "We have several interested parties who are possibly making offers."
Micovich added several different groups of potential buyers from as far away as Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Japan and Canada have expressed interest in the emeralds with a price tag of as much as $40 million.
A web site headlined "Treasure Reef Collection" shows a necklace with a $500,000 price tag as well as various gem lots ranging in price from $2,495 to $9,999.
"There's going to be pieces worth $1 million on there," Miscovich said, referring to the website, a tentative version of which can be viewed at www.store.orrvweb.com.
"It's (the website) still in development, but there's still a whole lot of changes that need to be made," Miscovich said, adding that the synopsis that tells the story of the discovery needs to be removed.
He went on to say, "There's facts that are wrong on the site that need to be taken down and changed. We don't want people to think these are treasure emeralds."
The website states the emeralds are from the "world famous" Muzo mines in Colombia, which contain what many consider to be the finest such gems in the world.
One page on the website about their discovery dated Jan. 24, 2011 states that Miscovich found the stones "at an undisclosed location in international waters off the coast of the United States."
"The vast array of precious stones is comprised exclusively of raw, uncut emeralds," the website states. "The green, hexagonal shaped crystals range in all sizes from less than a carat to hundreds of carats in size. One unique specimen is almost as wide as a baseball bat and estimated to weigh over 3,000 carats."
The gems have not come without their headaches as Miscovich is currently at legal loggerheads with Kim Fisher, son of storied Key West salvor Kim Fisher, with whom Miscovich was once an investor.
Fisher accused Miscovich of fraud and took him to court. In January, U.S. District Judge James Lawrence King ruled that Jay Miscovich and his company, JTR Enterprises -- as well as his business partner, Steve Elchlepp -- failed to prove that they found the gemstones scattered across seafloor 30 miles off Key West as he testified in court.
Although JTR can keep the gemstones, King's ruling means neither Miscovich nor Elchlepp can legally claim the gemstones are "court-validated" sunken treasure, and that significantly hurts their value, said lawyer Gene Lewis, who was then representing Fisher.
What that means to Miscovich's attempts to sell the emeralds is not clear. Hugh Morgan, Fisher's current attorney, declined to comment Monday for this story.
Duval Street-based Emeralds International owner Manuel Marcial, who is also Fisher's gem expert, testified at trial earlier this year that the lot was worth only $50,000 and not the millions Miscovich claims.
Miscovich testified in court that he bought a treasure map from a man named Mike Cunningham at the Bull & Whistle Bar, 224 Duval St., and later bought Cunningham off for $50,000 when he discovered emeralds at the site.
King wrote that the emeralds appeared "seemingly out of thin air," and that Miscovich failed to prove their origin or that they were ever abandoned.
A tentative trial date has been set for July 29 in Key West as Fisher wants Miscovich to pay his legal fees from the previous trial, called sanctions in legal parlance.
Miscovich vowed on Monday a continued legal fight against Fisher and an appeal of King's January ruling.
"Absolutely," Miscovich said.
