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Woman wins, accidentally swallows $5k diamond at charity event

The potential for disaster was staggering. Event organizers must have known this.

But the Tampa Women’s Club Charity went ahead full steam with their idea to put 399 cubic zirconia stones in an equal number of champagne flutes. In the 400th flute they placed a $5,000 diamond donated by a local diamond wholesaler.

The lucky individual who received the one-carat rock in her glass would get to keep it.

Miriam Tucker, one of the evening’s attendees, has graced the planet for 80 years. It’s fair to say that in all that time she’s seen many things. But one thing she didn’t see was just how close the diamond in her glass actually sat in relation to her mouth and soon enough the pricy gem was hurtling toward her digestive tract.

[ Related: Diamond breaks world record for price per carat ]

"I thought I'd drink a bit of champagne so I didn't have to stick my finger so far into the glass," Tucker told the Tampa Bay Times (via USA Today). "We were laughing and talking when I realized I swallowed it."

In what can only be described as proof the universe has some sort of master plan, Tucker happened to be scheduled for a colonoscopy the following Monday.

Just as it was once retrieved from the bowels of the earth, so the diamond was retrieved from a second set of bowels. That may have been the worst thing I’ve ever written, although that’s entirely debatable.

Tucker survived the ordeal with a wonderful sense of humour and the diamond survived its journey through Tucker’s intestines, whereupon her gastroenterologist placed the jewel in a biohazard bag and sent it back to the diamond wholesaler to have it cleaned.

No doubt the person who had to clean that diamond was also part of the universe’s master plan, although this particular purpose was less clear.

The Tampa resident joins the ranks of other expensive object swallowers, like Honey Bun the dog, a Pomeranian who snacked on $10,000-worth of diamonds back in 2011.

[ Related: Rare pink diamond sells for $39.3 million at New York auction ]

And special mention must go to Richard Mackenzie Matthews, a man who allegedly swallowed a $20,000 diamond at a Windsor, Ont. jewelry shop last year. Precision Jewellers eventually retrieved their merchandise after nature took its inevitable course.

The article does not mention whether Precision Jewellers actually wanted it back.