About This Artifact
A small brooch set with a deep red hand-cut rhodolite garnet, recovered by Gary Drayton and Rick Lagina on Lot 8 during Season 5. A certified gemologist in Halifax initially examined the stone, confirming it as rhodolite garnet rather than ruby, and dating the hand-cut faceting to 400 to 500 years old based on a pre-modern technique that predates calculated refraction cuts. The silver setting contains up to 73 percent copper, consistent with centuries-old metallurgy, and green patina from copper oxidation confirms its age.
Professional gemologist and master goldsmith Charles Lewton-Brain at the Alberta College of Art and Design later examined the brooch under a digital video microscope at 220x magnification. He confirmed the garnet as genuine with a refractive index above 1.7. The setting's wire displays a spiral pattern known as block twisting, a technique dating to the Bronze Age in which metal is hammered into a thin rod and twisted to form a braid-like wire. Because drawplates replaced this method around 1340, the brooch could predate the 14th century. Lewton-Brain described the work as European, crude, and consistent with countryside craftsmanship.
Researcher Scott Clarke connected the brooch to the ceremonial breastplate worn by a Masonic Royal Arch High Priest, which is set with twelve precious and semiprecious stones representing the twelve tribes of Israel, one of which is a carbuncle associated with garnets. Clarke noted that M.R. Chappell, who held the deed to Lot 8, was himself a High Priest who would have owned such a breastplate. The brooch ranked eighth on the show's official top ten finds list and remains the only verified pre-modern gemstone recovered from Oak Island.
Historical Context
Gary Drayton & Rick Lagina; gemologist analysis
Where It Was Found
Found at Lot 8 / near Lot 21 — Oak Island, Nova Scotia, Canada.
