In a spectacular marketing stunt, London-based retailer 77 Diamonds sent a diamond into space and now invites the public to try to find where it fell back to Earth.
The 1.14 ct. cushion-cut stone is worth approximately $20,000 and was launched into space with a helium balloon. The balloon was in the air for 150 minutes and reached an altitude of 100,000 feet before it popped, releasing the diamond back to Earth.
The company outfitted the balloon with a GPS tracker and has shared that it fell to earth within five miles of the English village of Lea in Lincolnshire. Whoever finds the package may keep it—and the stone inside it.
“We are very excited about the launch,” Tobias Kormind, cofounder of 77 Diamonds, said in a statement. “What better way to raise awareness of our virtual universe than by actually making it a reality and putting a diamond in the sky for the first time ever. “