A ring swallowed by an alleged jewel thief has fetched $16,000 at auction.
A mother of four from Perth got the ring for a steal, paying far less than its original $27,000 value.
The ring features a 1.53-carat yellow diamond pave-set among 28 white diamonds.
It was one of two rings swallowed by accused thief David Watts.
"It's actually quite a large ring itself, so to swallow two at once he's done well," Gray's Auction House spokesman Mark Keogh told ABC Radio.
The ring was retrieved via colonoscopy from Watts who allegedly swallowed two rings after stealing them from a Brisbane jewellery store last month.
Police have admitted the second ring was inadvertently disposed of after Watts went to the toilet in custody.
The recovered ring was sold via online auction with proceeds going to the Leukaemia Foundation.
Mr Keogh says bidding was frantic, with thousands looking and 14 people bidding for the ring.
The Perth mother thought the ring was good value and she was delighted for the charity to have benefited because her child was in remission from cancer, he said.
Watts is facing fraud and stealing charges.
