Solihull woman scoops one-carat diamond thanks to a shopping trip at the Bullring

Susan Evans from Solihull is certainly sparkling with happiness having scooped a huge one-carat diamond worth £1,500 thanks to a shopping trip at the Bullring.

For 11 days during August, shoppers queued up in their hundreds to try and find the one real gem hidden amongst hundreds of ‘faux’ diamonds in the centre’s Great Diamond Search.

Susan, from Olton, popped into Birmingham to buy a new school coat for her granddaughter and tried her luck as she was leaving.

The 65-year-old was then astounded to find she had won.

She said: “I was absolutely shocked. I’ve never won anything before and other than being lucky to have met my husband I don’t count myself lucky at all.”

Now after 43 years of marriage, Susan is determined to turn the precious stone into a dream engagement ring after hers was seriously damaged 30 years ago.

The grandma said she met her husband while working part time in a fish and chip shop as a schoolgirl and he proposed in 1970.

Susan wore her mother’s engagement ring up until it was flawed and since then has just worn her wedding band.

She added: “ When we got married we simply didn’t have the money to spend a fortune on a big engagement ring.

“Our little wedding with just a few family and friends at Solihull Registry Office was the happiest day of my life but I must admit finally having a big rock to show off has made me pretty happy too.”

Tim Walley, general manager at the Bullring, added, “We have seen hundreds of people queuing up during The Great Diamond Search to try their luck with the hope of finding the one-carat gem.

“It’s fantastic the search has come to an end with a well deserving winner.”

Read more: http://www.solihullnews.net/news/local-news/olton-woman-scoops-one-carat-diamond-7774561