A bride-to-be was re-united with her lost £2,000 engagement ring after an eagle-eyed jeweller spotted it – on a customer’s FINGER.
Nickie Bose, 22, was devastated after she lost the ring – a family heirloom passed down by her mother Tracey – on a night out with friends.
So determined Tracey, 48, turned detective and visited every jewellers and pawn shop in her home town with photographs of the 14-carat marquise diamond.
And amazingly a worker at Hinds Jewellers recognised the ring when a woman walked into the store in Swindon, Wilts., and asked for it to be valued.
The member of staff secretly called the police and the ring was recovered.
Engaged Nickie was so relieved to get it back she simply accepted an apology from the woman and did not press charges.
Shop worker Tracey said: “I went on a mission. It is unique so if someone tried to sell it people would recognise it.
“It was made in the States so I could not have replaced it here. The jeweller my husband bought it from was in Los Angeles, and only did one-of-a-kind rings.”
Tracey, from Swindon, Wilts., added: “The staff in Hinds played a big part in it.
“A girl there had the pictures we gave out, and when the couple came in the lady was wearing it.
“She recognised it and agreed to value it, saying she just needed to take it away to look at the hallmark. At the same time she called the police.
“I wasn’t expecting to get it back. I had prepared myself for the worst. I can’t describe the feeling when they found it. I actually hugged a policeman.”
PC Paul Bezzant said the couple may not have realised the law of the land is not “finders keepers” and the issue has been resolved privately between the parties
He added: “The offence is theft by finding. If you find something, you have to take reasonable action to try to return it to the owner.
“It seems greed has taken over when they realised how much it might be worth.”
