UPDATE: At the close of auction Wednesday, the 5-carat emerald ring sold for just under $1.2 million, according to Sotheby's.
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SALISBURY, Md. -- Mitzi Perdue's 5-carat emerald engagement ring is remarkable for more than its size. It also has a history having been found in a 1622 shipwreck off the Florida coast. Her late husband Frank Perdue was given a share of the bounty, including the emerald, for his investment in the expedition.
"Frank got a whole lot of, goodies from the shipwreck", Perdue said. "Enough to have an exhibit at the Smithsonian and also he played a major role in the treasures of the sea museum in Delaware."
There were a few items he held on to and even gifted to Mitzi.
"But he did keep an emerald for himself and a gold coin, and as an engagement present 'oh' he gave me the emerald", Mitzi said.
And the ring's story continues. On Wednesday, she will sell the ring at auction with all the proceeds going towards Ukrainian humanitarian efforts. Something she has seen the need for firsthand when she was invited to witness the devastation by the chief of police of the Kyiv region.
"Okay, so here I am on a zoom call with Ukraine", Perdue said. "And this man tells me 'you don't you come for yourself and see how difficult it is. About a week later I'm on a plane going to Ukraine."
She says she fell in love with the Ukrainian people and hopes that the process will help Ukraine get back on its feet. The ring is expected to auction off between 50 to 70 thousand dollars but could go for more. Sotheby's will stream the auction on their Youtube Channel.