An interesting story appeared in the appeared in the May 17, 1987 edition of The Atlanta Journal Constitution. It was about a rock hound named Rob Cutshaw who owned a little roadside shop outside Andrews, North Carolina. Like many in the trade, he hunted for rocks, then sold them to collectors or jewelry makers. He knew enough about rocks to decide which to pick up and sell, but he was no expert. He left the appraising of his rocks to other people. As much as he enjoyed the work, it didn't always pay the bills. He occasionally moonlighted, cutting wood to help put bread on the table.

While on a dig twenty years ago, Rob found a rock he described as "purdy and big." He tried unsuccessfully to sell the specimen, and according to the Constitution, kept the rock under his bed or in his closet. He guessed the blue chunk could bring as much as $500 dollars, but he would have taken less if something urgent came up like paying his power bill. That's how close Rob came to hawking for a few hundred dollars what turned out to be the largest, most valuable sapphire ever found. The blue rock that Rob had abandoned to the darkness of a closet many decades ago, now known as "The Star of David" sapphire, weighed nearly a pound and could easily sell for $2.75 million.