Tracking down a ring stolen many years ago

[fuschia]

Has anyone ever managed to recover a ring that was stolen, many years after the theft? If so, how were you able to do it? My grandmother had an engagement ring (purchased in the 1940''s) stolen in the late ''50s/early ''60''s. She never got it back and never replaced it, as it wasn''t insured. As my boyfriend and I have talked about marriage, I keep thinking about how much I would love to have her ring and am stuck on not just replicating it, but trying to find the stone itself (I understand it has probably been reset or may not even exist anymore). I do have engagement pictures that show it pretty well and I do not think it would have been a common ring at the time (very large and an unusual cut). I know the year it was purchased, the city, the exact size of the stone, and the city where it was stolen - but that''s pretty much it! How would you go about this?

Any help would be much appreciated! My boyfriend wants to do whatever he can, and I''m hoping I can point him in the right direction.

 

[JulieN]

statute of limitations?

 

[purrfectpear]

That''s sooooo not going to happen unfortunately.

You could see it one someone''s finger and it still wouldn''t do you any good at this point.

 

[fuschia]

Just to clarify, we want to purchase the ring - not have someone just hand it over. I understand that it''s probably changed hands many times by now and people will not know it was stolen. But, if there''s any way of locating it or anyone who specializes in this kind of thing, we would love to know.

 

[neatfreak]

Unless it is so large that it would be a piece in the 10 ct. plus range and would be a collectors item, there is virtually no way of tracking it down. I''m sorry.

 

[Skippy123]

I am sorry, I think it would be hard to find.

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 6/18/2008 9:16:29 PM
Author: Skippy123
I am sorry, I think it would be hard to find.

Ditto. It''s like finding a needle in a haystack. My grandmother''s ring was stolen while she was in the nursing home, what I would give to have found that ring. I tried pawn shops, it was futile.

 

[Diamond*Dana]

That is so unfortunate that her ring was stolen, and as much as I would love to say otherwise, I have to agree with the others...I think that it would be near impossible at this point. I am so sorry!

 

[Circe]

Sorry, but I''m afraid I have to agree with everybody above who says it''ll be worse than trying to find a needle in a haystack to track down the original ring ... but, since you do have pictures of it, would you consider trying to recreate it? I know you said you wouldn''t want a replica, but it might be your best solution to try to create a kind of an homage to it ....

 

[reader]

Even knowing the exact size and color, there would be no way to know if it was the exact stone without knowing where the flaws were.

 

[2Artists]

I like the idea of getting it recreated too. You could do a great inscription saying something like "what was lost now is found" or something else meaningful.

 

[jewelerman]

I did recover a mans turquiose bracelet that was a gift from my brother to me on my 16th birthday.It took me 16 months and found it in a pawn shop in the same town it was stolen,but to find a ring that was stolen years ago would be very difficult.I would consider having a copy made.

 

[reader]

...and if you could get some scrap or broken family jewelry to use as the metal for the ring, it would have family meaning then as well...

 

[fuschia]

Date: 6/19/2008 3:19:49 AM
Author: reader
...and if you could get some scrap or broken family jewelry to use as the metal for the ring, it would have family meaning then as well...

We''ve talked about re-creating it but never would have thought to do that. Thanks for the excellent suggestion, I love this idea! Maybe we could get jewelry from both my side and his and combine them.

 

[reader]

Oh, that would be so neat! Keep us posted on the progress if you don''t mind...