hunting for your stolen jewelry

[GemFever]

Dear PSers,

I'd like some advice regarding the plausibility of recovering stolen jewelry. My parents' house was robbed about a week ago, and all the expensive jewelry was taken. My parents live in a very large city (Atlanta), and I wonder if it would be totally unrealistic to try to find this jewelry... on ebay? In pawn shops? Since this is a big city, there are probably thousands of pawn shops here, so I can't begin to imagine how to start looking, and whether it's worth our time. None of my mom's pieces were very unique or custom made, they were mostly standard Soviet pieces (but of course with sentimental value -- from grandparents, etc.) Has anyone had any experience with this, or any luck finding stuff?

Thanks,

- Anya

 

[distracts]

Shortly after my aunt's mother, who was a jeweler, passed away, the house was robbed and all of her jewelry was stolen. We know who robbed it but were never able to recover the jewelry despite efforts. I also had a purse with a very nice fountain pen that had been given to me by my grandfather before he died get stolen, and I knew exactly who stole it, but it was a little girl and her parents denied it, and wouldn't even talk to her about it so I could get my pen back (which was all I wanted - she could have kept the purse and money and everything). These aren't very encouraging stories - they make me sick just thinking about them. I hope you have better luck.

 

[GemFever]

Wow, I'm sorry to hear that. It sounds worse than our case. It must be so frustrating knowing who did it, but being helpless to do anything about it

 

[minousbijoux]

First of all, I am sorry to hear of the theft. I so believe in kharma and I can't imagine how people can just take things that don't belong to them. Don't they ever stop and think about it? That there are forces greater than themselves and that they may be setting themselves up for something equally bad or worse to happen to them? I could not live like that. I'm sure they'll get theirs somehow some time.

So you say they're not unique, but would jewelry like that come up often for sale in your area? That is, if you were able to find it and somehow properly identify it would you be able to get it back? Could you prove ownership somehow? Did the police have any suggestions on where to watch for it? If they think it will likely turn up on ebay, say, or local thrift shops, is there a way you can approach them? I guess I'm just trying to think it through and see if there really is anything concrete you can do in this situation. When there was a big theft of Sunstone, I believe, at Tucson, the word went out in forums, journals and other places and the thieves would have a very hard time disposing of it with all the exposure. I know this is not at that level, but still it can't hurt to ask some questions and watch out for it.

Good luck to you - you have kharma on your side

 

[Rhea]

I had jewelery stolen a few years back. Nothing special, but a couple of pieces were taken when our house was broken into. I looked a bit, mostly on ebay, and called a couple of pawn shops. I was unable to the items and replaced them with my insurance.

 

[Amys Bling]

Wow sorry to hear thT!

 

[Meezermom]

My house was robbed several years ago. Some of my jewelry ended up at a Pawn Broker. One of my items was a Rolex and the Pawn Broker put it up on a site that the police and detectives peruse just for this purpose. My Rolex showed up on that site. I had my Serial Number so it was fairly easy to identify that it was mine. They went to the Pawn Broker's store and he had several more of my items, but not everything. I actually had to buy back my jewelry but at the amount the Pawn Broker purchased my stuff, which was incredibly $400.00 which included my Rolox. So, check Pawn Shops in the area (or well known areas for Pawn Shops), definitely check Ebay because my understanding is that a lot of stolen stuff shows up there, and check Craig's List (stolen stuff shows up there too). BTW, not sure how it works now, but the Pawn Broker cannot sell certain things for I believe 30 days.

Very sorry this happened to you.

 

[allycat0303]

I'm sorry to hear about the theft!

My husband's home was robbed when he was a young boy, and everything was recovered (Including jewellery) at a local pawn shop. They didn't even go far. They sold it to one in the same TOWN. And the pawnshop owner was wearing my late-father-in-laws leather coat.

My engagement ring was stolen and it was recovered as well.

So there are pretty good chances!

 

[Enerchi]

Oh NO! Gemfever, I hope they are able to recover your good for you. Are you planning on searching pawn shops yourself? What if you find your stuff... then what? Is that safe? I'd put your safety over recovering jewellry.

I know on TV (which is where all my police knowledge is gleaned from, so take this w a grain of salt...) they say leave it to the police but then you read stories about how understaffed the city departments are and you wonder --- will they work hard enough on MY case?

Sending you good vibes that your items are returned to you in a timely fashion. (but be safe about what ever you decide to investigate on your own!)

 

[Amys Bling]

Have you reported them stolen? I know our local police department does check pawn shops for big ticket items..

 

[yennyfire]

I'm so sorry. I live in Atlanta too and if you have photos of any of the pieces, I can keep my eyes open in my area, as I do check out pawn shops on a weekly basis. I hope that you are able to recover some of these sentimental pieces.

 

[ame]

I had no luck recovering my rings despite my best efforts. I went on ebay, craigslists, to many jewelers and every pawn shop I could get to. NO one either knew about it or would admit to it, and I tagged all the info about it for the police. They had copies of everything. I knew they wouldn't bother looking for it, but I tried til I knew it would just never come back to me.

 

[iheartscience]

I would check the pawn shops closest to your house first-I bet the robbers aren't smart enough to take it elsewhere. If that doesn't turn anything up, you could make your search wider.

 

[GemFever]

Deal All,

Thanks for your advice and kind words. I'm not sure that we are actually going to go looking in the pawn shops, as neither my parents nor I have ever been to one and don't know quite how to approach it. I'm visiting them for a short amount of time, if I lived here I would probably figure out the process and do it. A question about the logistics: how soon after the items are brought into a pawn shop do they become available for purchase (and for viewing)? Though my parents did report the theft to the police, I don't think they will be able to recover anything that way (police didn't seem eager to work on it, and we have no good pics of the pieces), so buying back their jewelry may be more realistic.

Yennyfire -- I really appreciate you saying that you could keep a lookout, but regrettably we have no good pics (I might have some back home, on my comp). But thank you!

Thanks everyone!

- Anya

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Hi,

I had a pair of earrings go missing and never had any luck. I filed a police report and did regular checks on Craigslist to see if they showed up on there. One person did put up a pair that looked identical to mine, I called the deputy at one station who said he'd meet me, as "back-up," if I made arrangments with the person, but then the person listing the diamonds quickly took them down. (not sure if they were my earrings or not, but I did the stupid thing in that I sent requested info about the stones using my email account w/my husbands name so if it was an "inside job," the person obviously wouldn't have responded).

But, the most you can do is file a police report and check CL. I called a bunch of pawn shops and they all basically said that they have too much stuff coming in to keep track of it all and even though my stones were laser inscribed, they still wouldn't have that on record. They only track the serial numbers on electronics. Do file a police report and try and find someone who will available to call if you see something like what you're missing up on CL or eBay.

 

[GemFever]

MC -- Craigslist, that's a good idea! May I ask how soon the earrings turned up there? I just checked most of the possible jewelry listings going back to the day of the robbery (a little over a week ago), but nothing turned up.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

MC -- Craigslist, that's a good idea! May I ask how soon the earrings turned up there? I just checked most of the possible jewelry listings going back to the day of the robbery (a little over a week ago), but nothing turned up.

The earrings came up around three weeks, maybe...I'm not entirely sure. I kept checking on CL and you know, it was really a huge blur in my memory. The entire situation was extremely emotional for me b/c we had just moved and if the earrings had been stolen, it was by one of very few people, which really made me go back and forth on whether or not to file a police report. In the end, when I did file a report, the cop had me list every person who I thought could be a potential suspect and it just made it all the more upsetting. I also did check eBay and did an "advanced search," where I could do a search for stuff for sale within a certain distance of my house, which made it easier to wade through the numerous items up for sale...

Since CL has new postings every day, I guess you can just keep checking and see what happens. There is always the possibility the person may lay low for a while. Who knows... I just don't think the odds are on the side of one who's had jewelry stolen.

Sorry this happened to your parents!

 

[SidekickSteph]

I thought I would share my best friends horror story with jewelry and theft. Not to long ago she has someone break into her house and steal money, jewelry, gaming systems, and pretty much anything worth value. She was mainly concerned with the jewelry because like everyone else , most pieces had sentimental value. Anythings, long story short the police took a report and were to be on the look to be on the look out for her pieces at local pawn shops and things like that. In our sate I think the law is before something can be sold in a pawn store, it is held for 3 weeks to be ran through police reports ideally to prevent people from pawning stolen property. Well one day I happened her BF was browsing through the pawn shop and found one of her rings, that she personally bought and paid well over $5,000.00 for. She came there in horror to find out that it was in fact her exact ring, that was pawned the day her items were stolen. Now, one would like to think that the police as well as the pawn shop employees are doing their job and cross checking to make sure this does not happen, apparently they are not. SHE WAS LIVID and if you ask me, she has every right to be. What other pieces were pawned, that she did not catch. The police offered no logical answer for her as to how they "missed" it in their cross referencing with pawn shops.


So if you ask me, even though Atlanta is a large city, it does not hurt to check it out for your self sometimes!

 

[canuk-gal]

I would check the pawn shops closest to your house first-I bet the robbers aren't smart enough to take it elsewhere. If that doesn't turn anything up, you could make your search wider.

This--and with a short driving range. My ski's were stolen out of my car at the University--and the perps jumped on closest train and got off at the first pawn shop right outside the train's stop; my ski's were right there!

Sorry for your trouble--very upsetting. Good luck.

cheers--Sharon

 

[Gypsy]

We were robbed several years ago. We found a decent amount of stuff because we had pics of it (thank you PS) and when we went to the local pawn shops I was able to show the pawn shop owners (one of whom had both a conscience and a healthy amount of our stuff) the pics, and since the pieces were distinctive it proved ownership enough that once he confirmed he had the stuff (though he wouldn't give it to us) and we called the cops they were able to convinced him to turn it over to us.

I'd never been in one before in my life (or since) but if you want to find you stuff, that's the best advice. My husband handled the talking. I just showed him the pics. It's not rocket science, anyone can do it. Good luck.

 

[Amys Bling]

It's really terrible hearing about these robberies!