Costco is selling diamonds worth $400,000 'between bulk AA batteries and dustpans'

REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

Costco sells diamond rings worth as much as $420,000 in its warehouses.

• Costco sells 10-carat diamonds worth as much as $420,000. 
• Sky News reporter Jennifer Bechwati tweeted Sunday that she found a diamond ring costing 499,999.99 AUD (or roughly $388,900 USD) at a Costco store in Australia "between bulk AA batteries and dustpans." 

Costco sells 6.5-carat diamond rings worth nearly $400,000 amid the bulk groceries and home goods that lure bargain seekers to its warehouse stores. 

Sky News reporter Jennifer Bechwati tweeted Sunday that she found a diamond ring costing 499,999.99 AUD (or roughly $388,900 USD) at a Costco store in Australia "between bulk AA batteries and dustpans." 

She posted a photo of the round-cut ring that listed its weight as 6.55 carats with color and clarity of "G" and "VS1," respectively. The diamond was set in a platinum band.

It turns out that the warehouse chain sells a host of expensive diamonds in stores and online. Costco's US website lists 303 diamond rings with stones as big as 10 carats. Prices range from $159 to $420,000.

Shoppers might not expect to find such expensive rings in stores, but a Costco spokeswoman told the Daily Mail that every one of its warehouses has at least one "WOW" item in its jewelry department. 

Some people commented online that the color and clarity of the 6.55-carat stone could be better for the price. A search online at James Allen, another diamond retailer, shows a diamond with a similar cut, clarity, and color for $354,000, or about $34,000 cheaper than the Costco ring.

Costco was ordered to pay the jewelry company Tiffany more than $19 million last year for selling about 2,500 rings falsely identified on store signs as "Tiffany" rings. Costco argued that the description referred to the rings' settings, and wasn't meant to be confused with Tiffany's brand.