Nashville Man Does Right Thing, Returns Beyonce's Lost CMA Bling

NASHVILLE, TN — Queen B lost her bling after she was asked to sing and the man who found it did the right thing.

During her acclaimed performance with the Dixie Chicks at the 50th Annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena in November, Beyonce sported a 13.73-carat diamond loaned to her by jeweler-to-the-stars Lorraine Schwartz. After her performance, however, the diamond, which Beyonce wore on a ring, disappeared.

While a frantic search ensued, no one told Jesus Lopez, who was working backstage and told NewsChannel 5 he stumbled across what he thought was a large rhinestone sitting on a cart.

"I've been doing CMA for the last 12 years, and I have seen a lot of different jewelry, fake jewelry, rhinestones," he told the station. Figuring what he'd found was a worthless piece of prop jewelry, he pocketed and kept on working, going home with the jewel.

The next morning, he told the station, his son, who had also been working, gave him a call. He'd heard chatter at the arena about the diamond and put two and two together, telling his father he'd found the lost stone.

Lopez told Channel 5 he'd hoped to return the ring to Beyonce herself — his granddaughter, being a person of good taste, is a big fan — but when he found it was just a loaner that actually belonged to Lorraine Schwartz, he contacted her people, confirmed it was the right stone and returned it. Lopez told the station he was given a reward, though he didn't say what that reward was.

"I would have loved to give it to my wife as a present, but once I found out it belonged to somebody, the right thing to do was to return it to the person," he told the station.

Watch Beyonce and The Dixie Chicks sing "Daddy Lessons" and spot the big diamond:

Image via ABC/Image Group LA, used under Creative Commons 2.0 licensing