Massive Brazilian emerald's mysterious journey leads to decades of legal fights
A huge 836-pound emerald taken from Brazil about 24 years ago sparked endless ownership battles worth billions. The gemʼs troubled past made people think its cursed
Back in early 2000s‚ an extraordinary discovery happened in Brazils mineral-rich soil - a mis-shapen emerald weighing 836-pounds (which some experts think is worlds biggest)
The second paragraph talks about how the mega-sized stone made its way to US shores: The green-colored giant got moved across borders without proper papers‚ starting a wild chain of events that nobody couldve predicted. Tony Thomas and Ken Conetto - two gem dealers became first to say they owned it: their claims started a non-stop fight thats still going today
The stone became center of an ownership mess involving lots of people and even the whole country of Brazil itself. Its estimated worth reached shocking numbers; experts put its value around $1-billion (though some think thats too high). The legal back-and-forth got so complex that rumors started spreading about the emerald being jinxed - people say bad luck follows anyone who tries claiming it
The gem sits now in a special vault while courts try figuring out who really owns it. Over two dozen different people came forward saying its theirs; each new claim makes the whole thing more confusing. Even after 20+ years nobody knows for sure where this green trouble-maker will end up
