The story of the Cheapside Hoard has the twists and turns of the finest detective novels.

Between 1640 and 1666, nearly 500 items – including jewelry and loose gems – were placed in a wooden box and hidden in the cellar of a building near London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral. A large Colombian emerald pocket watch; a rose-cut sapphire and diamond cross pendant; an enameled gold ring set with a large table-cut diamond; a 2,000-year-old Egyptian agate cameo – these were just a few of the spectacular pieces secreted away.