Tom_in_CA
Elite Member
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2013
- Messages
- 20,748
I haven't seen this story in a few years. So I'll post it here again. It has bearing on the legal ramifications of the rings we find. Especially beach hunters where, jewelry hunting is par for their course
There was a young blue collar couple in ..... I think it was either Oregon or Washington. In some small podunk town on the back side of the state . There was a singular shopping center in that town, and the couple had gone there to buy their groceries one day.
As they were walking across the parking lot, the gal saw something shiny on the ground. And picked up a ring with a very big stone in it. So gaudy, that they thought it was just costume jewelry. She put it in her purse, and they proceeded to do their shopping. When she got home, she just put it on the table, not giving it much thought.
A day or two later, she took another look at it. This time with a magnifier . And she could see that it was stamped 18k or something. It felt heavy, so... she began to wonder if this was actually gold. But when looking at the stone, it was so big, they figured it had to be cubic zirconia . Neither one of them was too bright on jewelry I guess. But their curiosity began to get the better of them.
They took it to the only jewelry store in town, which was the same shopping center. Asked the jeweler: "Is this real ? And if so, what's it worth ? " The jeweler confirmed that it was gold.
But after studying the stone for a minute with his scope, the jeweler says: "Well, I'm not a gemologist. So I can't say for certain about the stone. However: The traveling gemologist comes through this part of the state, making his rounds, a time or two per month. He'll be here in a few days. So why don't you leave it here, with your name & #. And I'll have him take a look at it".
The couple agreed, and left the ring with the jeweler. He jotted their name & ph. # down on an index card.
A few days later the gemologist was paying his route stop visit to the jeweler.
The jeweler brought out the ring, showed it to the gemologist. And says: " A couple brought this in. Wants to know if this is a real diamond". The guy studies it, and determines it to be the real mCcoy. Some enormous 2 or 3 carat stone !
But something looks familiar/fishy about this ring. It triggers a memory. He goes to his briefcase, looks through various papers. And retrieves a fax he had received a week or two earlier. It had been sent out by the FBI, to various pawn shops, smelters, jewelers, etc.. Over a several state area, to "B.O.L. for this stolen ring". And it had a grainy black & white pix of it. And instructed anyone who sees this, to call such & such ph. #" And this gemologist had somehow been on that fax list.
The 2 men called the ph. #, as instructed, on the B.O.L. Within an hour, there were 2 detectives there. They had the sharp color picture. The match was definite. This was the ring. They ask the jeweler : "Where'd you get this ?". The jeweler retrieved the index card for them.
The detectives made the decision to set up a sting. They told the jeweler to call the couple, and tell them to come in for their ring. The jeweler did so. Telling them: "The gemologist is here. You want to come in and ... he can tell you in person, about your stone" .
Continued in the next panel :
There was a young blue collar couple in ..... I think it was either Oregon or Washington. In some small podunk town on the back side of the state . There was a singular shopping center in that town, and the couple had gone there to buy their groceries one day.
As they were walking across the parking lot, the gal saw something shiny on the ground. And picked up a ring with a very big stone in it. So gaudy, that they thought it was just costume jewelry. She put it in her purse, and they proceeded to do their shopping. When she got home, she just put it on the table, not giving it much thought.
A day or two later, she took another look at it. This time with a magnifier . And she could see that it was stamped 18k or something. It felt heavy, so... she began to wonder if this was actually gold. But when looking at the stone, it was so big, they figured it had to be cubic zirconia . Neither one of them was too bright on jewelry I guess. But their curiosity began to get the better of them.
They took it to the only jewelry store in town, which was the same shopping center. Asked the jeweler: "Is this real ? And if so, what's it worth ? " The jeweler confirmed that it was gold.
But after studying the stone for a minute with his scope, the jeweler says: "Well, I'm not a gemologist. So I can't say for certain about the stone. However: The traveling gemologist comes through this part of the state, making his rounds, a time or two per month. He'll be here in a few days. So why don't you leave it here, with your name & #. And I'll have him take a look at it".
The couple agreed, and left the ring with the jeweler. He jotted their name & ph. # down on an index card.
A few days later the gemologist was paying his route stop visit to the jeweler.
The jeweler brought out the ring, showed it to the gemologist. And says: " A couple brought this in. Wants to know if this is a real diamond". The guy studies it, and determines it to be the real mCcoy. Some enormous 2 or 3 carat stone !
But something looks familiar/fishy about this ring. It triggers a memory. He goes to his briefcase, looks through various papers. And retrieves a fax he had received a week or two earlier. It had been sent out by the FBI, to various pawn shops, smelters, jewelers, etc.. Over a several state area, to "B.O.L. for this stolen ring". And it had a grainy black & white pix of it. And instructed anyone who sees this, to call such & such ph. #" And this gemologist had somehow been on that fax list.
The 2 men called the ph. #, as instructed, on the B.O.L. Within an hour, there were 2 detectives there. They had the sharp color picture. The match was definite. This was the ring. They ask the jeweler : "Where'd you get this ?". The jeweler retrieved the index card for them.
The detectives made the decision to set up a sting. They told the jeweler to call the couple, and tell them to come in for their ring. The jeweler did so. Telling them: "The gemologist is here. You want to come in and ... he can tell you in person, about your stone" .
Continued in the next panel :