Notorious fraudster Melissa Caddick’s custom-made diamond engagement ring has surfaced at a small antiques store with a staggering $70,000 price tag.
The solitaire diamond ring, custom made by Sydney-based jeweller Stefano Canturi for her engagement to hairdresser and DJ Anthony Koletti, is among stock held by Jewellery Library in the village of Blackheath in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney.
Caddick, 49, vanished on November 12, 2020 after she fleeced $30million from investors, including family and friends, while working as a financial advisor.
Caddick’s extensive collection of designer jewellery, artworks and dresses were auctioned in 2022 as part of efforts to repay her victims, with the items raking in more than $800,000.
The engagement ring, worth $39,200 new, was expected to fetch between $7,000 to $10,000 at the auction but was sold at the lowest end of that estimate, fetching a modest $7,000.
The piece features a large rare 1.83 carat white diamond surrounded by side diamonds weighing a combined 1.2 carats and two brilliant cut black sapphires weighing 0.04 carats.
The ring featuring a 1.83 carat rare white diamond has surfaced at an antiques shop in the Blue Mountains village of Blackheath with a jaw-dropping price tag
Conwoman Melissa Caddick wearing an iconic Oscar De La Renta ball gown and Canturi necklace at a social event with her husband Anthony Koletti
Jewellery Library has listed the item with an eye-watering $70,200 valuation but has said they would be willing to negotiate down to as much as half of that price with an interested buyer.
The business, located in the Victory Theatre building, is undergoing a rebranding to Investment Jewellery after it was recently bought out, though it is understood any unsold stock, including the ring, will remain in the store for sale.
Johnathon James who runs Jewellery Library told Daily Mail on Saturday the ring ‘certainly draws the attention of everyone who visits’.
‘It was bought by a Sydney barrister who is good friends with the Packer family and who bought a lot of her items that went up for auction.
‘His wife didn’t want it and he gave the ring to us to help him sell.
‘The price is expensive but with her notoriety and the provenance we wanted to capitalise on that, though we would be willing to negotiate and significantly lower the price if there was a genuine buyer.’
The ring was given to the Jewellery Library antiques store in Blackheath (pictured) by a Sydney barrister who wanted help selling it after his wife said she didn’t want it
Caddick’s case captured the attention of the n public, fascinated by the mystery around what happened to her. She has not been seen since her November 2020 disappearance.
Police believe she took her own life by jumping from cliffs near her Dover Heights mansion in Sydney shortly after n Securities and Investments Commission agents raided her home.
After a foot belonging to Caddick washed up on the NSW South Coast, police declared the case shut.
But other theories persist including that she had her foot amputated and had money stashed away to run off to rural NSW or overseas.
When ASIC investigators raided Caddick’s property they found an astonishing collection of diamond and sapphire rings (above). The engagement ring is not pictured
Caddick’s Dover Heights home (pictured) sold at auction for an unknown price, but was expected to fetch more than $10million
An LV Flame Twist MM Bag owned by Caddick that sold for $4,909 at auction
‘A lot of people who visit the store make comments about why she wasn’t wearing the ring when she vanished,’ Mr James said.
‘The whole saga is controversial but, in my opinion, if she did indeed run off and disappear and did not met her demise, then wouldn’t she have taken the ring?
‘It’s very valuable and has sentimental value on top of that. I would assume it would be one of the few things she would take with her.’
READ MORE: STUNNING COST OF MELISSA CADDICK’S JEWELLERY AND DRESSES REVEALED
Melissa Caddick’s Stefano Canturi 18ct Black Sapphire and Diamond necklace went for $130k at auction but is worth more than double that