I lost my diamond, can I find it?

[cectra79]

I have to say that I already got the money from the insurance, and I have a replacement being set as we speak. I still hope that it might surface...

My stone was inscribed with the AGS number. What are the chances that it might be found if taken to a jeweler for resetting, appraisal or cleaning?

Is there a database of lost/stolen stones? Is it a standard procedure to check the inscription against such a database?

Thanks!

 

[purrfectpear]

Date: 5/21/2008 2:49:45 PM
Author:cectra79
I have to say that I already got the money from the insurance, and I have a replacement being set as we speak. I still hope that it might surface...

My stone was inscribed with the AGS number. What are the chances that it might be found if taken to a jeweler for resetting, appraisal or cleaning?

Is there a database of lost/stolen stones? Is it a standard procedure to check the inscription against such a database?

Thanks!

I think the answer is no to all of the above. In addition, if someone who found or stole such a stone was concerned about detection, it''s fairly simple to have the inscription polished out.

 

[cectra79]

Thank you, Perfectpear! When we got the stone, our jeweler told us that inscription was sort of an additional protection policy for a case like this... I guess we should have known better...

 

[purrfectpear]

Interesting that they would say that?

If it were found in a pawn shop for instance, the numbers could prove it was your stone so the police would return it. Otherwise it''s pretty hard to prove a diamond is yours.

I was basically saying that I don''t think there''s a registry where people actually look or compare for lost or stolen stones.

Another advantage that some people find comforting about numbered stones, is that it makes it easier for you to feel confident that your stone wasn''t switched during work at a jewelers. Personally I think it''s a fairly unlikely occurrence but some people spend a lot of time worrying about it.

 

[Skippy123]

gosh, I am sorry about your lost stone; makes one happy to have insurance. I had the same thing happen and it never turned up.

 

[Diamond*Dana]

Aw, I am sorry that your stone is lost. I am sure that your new one will be just as beautiful.

 

[erica k]

i''m sorry this happened to you.

the inscription is only helpful in confirming that it''s still your stone when it returns from repair work, etc. otherwise, mmm, not so much! yay for insurance!

 

[marcy]

I am sorry to hear you lost your stone. I am glad you had insurance on it.

 

[chirp]

sorry you lost your ring but happy you had insurance and have a new one set. any chance it is at home, garden, a nearby restaurant? sometimes people are just honest and it may be waiting for you somewhere?

 

[Imdanny]

I turned something I found into the police once, and was told to call after two weeks to see if it had been claimed. I called and they told me that it had never been there. The next time, assuming, of course, there is no other logical course of action, like I find something on the street again, and there is no one else to talk to about it, I'm going to keep. Why let the police steal it?

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 5/22/2008 2:30:54 AM
Author: Imdanny
I turned something I found into the police once, and was told to call after two weeks to see if it had been claimed. I called and they told me that it had never been there. The next time, assuming, of course, there is no other logical course of action, like I find something on the street again, and there is no one else to talk to about it, I'm going to keep. Why let the police steal it?

hmm..not sure if I would be confident in that course of action - this is actually called "Stealing by Finding" and in they eyes of the law is pretty much the same as stealing..

cectra I am sorry to hear of your stone being lost - as others have said, the inscription is handy for identification but no database as far as i'm aware - you could be onto something though. maybe too hard to coordinate?

 

[kcgunesq]

Date: 5/22/2008 2:52:48 AM
Author: arjunajane

Date: 5/22/2008 2:30:54 AM

Author: Imdanny

I turned something I found into the police once, and was told to call after two . .

hmm..not sure if I would be confident in that course of action - this is actually called ''Stealing by Finding'' and in they eyes of the law is pretty much the same as stealing..


cectra I am sorry to hear of your stone being lost - as others have said, the inscription is handy for identification but no database as far as i''m aware - you could be onto something though. maybe too hard to coordinate?

I''m not sure about "stealing by finding". I don''t recall that being discussed in either semester of property law or in criminal law. I do recall that there are distinctions between lost property and abandoned property. If I recall correctly, in the case of lost property, the general American rule is that the finder may keep the property unless claimed by the rightful owner. If the property is abandoned, I believe the finder gets to keep it period.

I noticed that when I searched the term "stealing by finding", the only 100% relevant web result I found within the first page referenced an Australian case. So maybe this is an offense (or perhaps "offence" in GB, Australia, etc) in less reliant on the common law (i.e., civil law countries, although I''d assume that Australia uses quite a bit of common law).

 

[tevyk]

Date: 5/21/2008 2:49:45 PM
Author:cectra79
I have to say that I already got the money from the insurance, and I have a replacement being set as we speak. I still hope that it might surface...

Just a thought: if you *did* find your original again, would you be obligated to return one or the other (presumably the new one) to the insurance company? Seems like the answer "should" be ''yes''.

(Though I''m sure your concern is more for the sentimental value of the original)

Either way, thank goodness for insurance and I hope you can still find your original!

 

[purrfectpear]

Yes, you would have to return one of the stones back to the insurance company. This happened to my mom. A ring was lost, replaced and subsequently found.

 

[diamondfan]

Danny, did you not get a property receipt? I would think you would have gotten something in writing showing you found this item and were dropping it off. Pity we cannot even trust the cops, but not a surprise.

 

[Rhea]

Oh no! I''m sorry that you lost your ring. Good thing you have insurance and can replace it. I know it''s not the same though.

 

[kcgunesq]

Date: 5/22/2008 2:08:45 PM
Author: diamondfan
Danny, did you not get a property receipt? I would think you would have gotten something in writing showing you found this item and were dropping it off. Pity we cannot even trust the cops, but not a surprise.

About 25 years ago (doesn''t seem that long ago) my father''s restaurant was robbed at gun point. It was early into lunch and they only stole maybe $700 or so. The robbers were stupid enough to hit a a couple more locations on the same street and were caught. If I remember correctly, they knew exactly which money came from my dad as the amount reported stolen was found in a bag from his store. The police told them they needed to keep the money for "evidence". After the crooks were sentenced, he went to the police state to retrieve it. They didn''t have any record of it and didn''t know where it could have gone.

Another time, about 11 years ago, I found a cell phone while making a delivery for my employer. I turned it in to the police and they said if it wasn''t claimed in something like 30 days (I can''t recall the exact time frame), it was mine. When I called them back a few days after the time frame, they didn''t have any idea what I was talking about and didn''t have any record of it.

Each incident happened in two completely different cities.

So I have to agree that even though turning it in is often the right thing to do, its probably more likely that neither you or the rightful owner will ever get it back.

There are exceptions, however. A few months ago, a cargo worker at KCI found a parcel of cut and polished diamonds in the middle of the road after leaving his shift in the middle of the night. He turned in $260,000 worth of stones and received a $10,000 reward. One news account is here.

The question I wonder is given that there were diamonds, how many people here would return them, or return all of them. Ok, its Helzberg, but there probably were at least a couple nice stones. Nice enough for some earrings at least. And even if they were all fair make, for a few hundred dollars, I''m sure some could be re-cut to ideal standards.

 

[clicker]

Interesting post.

Firstly - sorry to hear about you losing your diamond.

kcgunesq - That story about your father''s restaurant is scary, firstly the robbery and secondly the fact the police in all of these situations seem so corrupt.

Maybe the future is diamond tracking - a digital chip inside ?

The idea of a registry might have legs but it is easy to remove inscriptions.

 

[diamondfan]

Again, if you get a property receipt signed by whoever accepts the item in the police department, at least you have proof that you brought something in. I would like to think it is not necessary to have it, but I would not be surprised.

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 5/22/2008 1:14:26 PM
Author: kcgunesq

Date: 5/22/2008 2:52:48 AM
Author: arjunajane

Date: 5/22/2008 2:30:54 AM

Author: Imdanny

I turned something I found into the police once, and was told to call after two . .

hmm..not sure if I would be confident in that course of action - this is actually called ''Stealing by Finding'' and in they eyes of the law is pretty much the same as stealing..


cectra I am sorry to hear of your stone being lost - as others have said, the inscription is handy for identification but no database as far as i''m aware - you could be onto something though. maybe too hard to coordinate?

I''m not sure about ''stealing by finding''. I don''t recall that being discussed in either semester of property law or in criminal law. I do recall that there are distinctions between lost property and abandoned property. If I recall correctly, in the case of lost property, the general American rule is that the finder may keep the property unless claimed by the rightful owner. If the property is abandoned, I believe the finder gets to keep it period.

I noticed that when I searched the term ''stealing by finding'', the only 100% relevant web result I found within the first page referenced an Australian case. So maybe this is an offense (or perhaps ''offence'' in GB, Australia, etc) in less reliant on the common law (i.e., civil law countries, although I''d assume that Australia uses quite a bit of common law).

Yes I am in Australia and yes it is an offence here - my apologies I didn''t realize it doesn''t apply to the US.

 

[chiquitapet]

So sorry to hear about your lost ring, cectra. So lucky you have insurance. Hope you`ll love the new ring as much as the old one.

 

[Imdanny]

No, he said he was going to fill it out and mail it to me. Silly me, I believed him.

And to the previous poster, thank you. Yes, I''m in the US.

 

[Imdanny]

Date: 5/22/2008 6:16:30 PM
Author: kcgunesq

Date: 5/22/2008 2:08:45 PM

Author: diamondfan

Danny, did you not get a property receipt? I would think you would have gotten something in writing showing you found this item and were dropping it off. Pity we cannot even trust the cops, but not a surprise.

About 25 years ago (doesn't seem that long ago) my father's restaurant was robbed at gun point. It was early into lunch and they only stole maybe $700 or so. The robbers were stupid enough to hit a a couple more locations on the same street and were caught. If I remember correctly, they knew exactly which money came from my dad as the amount reported stolen was found in a bag from his store. The police told them they needed to keep the money for 'evidence'. After the crooks were sentenced, he went to the police state to retrieve it. They didn't have any record of it and didn't know where it could have gone.


Another time, about 11 years ago, I found a cell phone while making a delivery for my employer. I turned it in to the police and they said if it wasn't claimed in something like 30 days (I can't recall the exact time frame), it was mine. When I called them back a few days after the time frame, they didn't have any idea what I was talking about and didn't have any record of it.


Each incident happened in two completely different cities.


So I have to agree that even though turning it in is often the right thing to do, its probably more likely that neither you or the rightful owner will ever get it back.


There are exceptions, however. A few months ago, a cargo worker at KCI found a parcel of cut and polished diamonds in the middle of the road after leaving his shift in the middle of the night. He turned in $260,000 worth of stones and received a $10,000 reward. One news account is here.


The question I wonder is given that there were diamonds, how many people here would return them, or return all of them. Ok, its Helzberg, but there probably were at least a couple nice stones. Nice enough for some earrings at least. And even if they were all fair make, for a few hundred dollars, I'm sure some could be re-cut to ideal standards.

Wow, it didn't just happen to me.

I'm sorry to hear about those experiences. Yes, it upset me a lot because I did the right thing, and they didn't, and they're the police.

 

[kcgunesq]

Date: 5/23/2008 2:11:09 AM
Author: arjunajane

Date: 5/22/2008 1:14:26 PM

Author: kcgunesq

Date: 5/22/2008 2:52:48 AM

Author: arjunajane

Date: 5/22/2008 2:30:54 AM


Author: Imdanny


I turned something I found into the police once, and was told to call after two . .

hmm..not sure if I would be confident in that course of action - this is actually called ''Stealing by Finding'' and in they eyes of the law is pretty much the same as stealing..



cectra I am sorry to hear of your stone being lost - as others have said, the inscription is handy for identification but no database as far as i''m aware - you could be onto something though. maybe too hard to coordinate?

I''m not sure about ''stealing by finding''. I don''t recall that being discussed in either semester of property law or in criminal law. I do recall that there are distinctions between lost property and abandoned property. If I recall correctly, in the case of lost property, the general American rule is that the finder may keep the property unless claimed by the rightful owner. If the property is abandoned, I believe the finder gets to keep it period.


I noticed that when I searched the term ''stealing by finding'', the only 100% relevant web result I found within the first page referenced an Australian case. So maybe this is an offense (or perhaps ''offence'' in GB, Australia, etc) in less reliant on the common law (i.e., civil law countries, although I''d assume that Australia uses quite a bit of common law).

Yes I am in Australia and yes it is an offence here - my apologies I didn''t realize it doesn''t apply to the US.

No offense taken at all. And I''m not certain that it wouldn''t be an offense in some locations here in the US. I just don''t recall it in either the common law or modern penal code discussions in class. But crim law was not my favorite either and I''ve never done a lick of it beyond a few speeding tickets.

I hope I did not cause any offense. None was intended, and any caused is deeply regretted.

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 5/24/2008 1:17:13 AM
Author: kcgunesq

Date: 5/23/2008 2:11:09 AM
Author: arjunajane

Date: 5/22/2008 1:14:26 PM

Author: kcgunesq

Date: 5/22/2008 2:52:48 AM

Author: arjunajane

Date: 5/22/2008 2:30:54 AM


Author: Imdanny


I turned something I found into the police once, and was told to call after two . .

hmm..not sure if I would be confident in that course of action - this is actually called 'Stealing by Finding' and in they eyes of the law is pretty much the same as stealing..



cectra I am sorry to hear of your stone being lost - as others have said, the inscription is handy for identification but no database as far as i'm aware - you could be onto something though. maybe too hard to coordinate?

I'm not sure about 'stealing by finding'. I don't recall that being discussed in either semester of property law or in criminal law. I do recall that there are distinctions between lost property and abandoned property. If I recall correctly, in the case of lost property, the general American rule is that the finder may keep the property unless claimed by the rightful owner. If the property is abandoned, I believe the finder gets to keep it period.


I noticed that when I searched the term 'stealing by finding', the only 100% relevant web result I found within the first page referenced an Australian case. So maybe this is an offense (or perhaps 'offence' in GB, Australia, etc) in less reliant on the common law (i.e., civil law countries, although I'd assume that Australia uses quite a bit of common law).

Yes I am in Australia and yes it is an offence here - my apologies I didn't realize it doesn't apply to the US.

No offense taken at all. And I'm not certain that it wouldn't be an offense in some locations here in the US. I just don't recall it in either the common law or modern penal code discussions in class. But crim law was not my favorite either and I've never done a lick of it beyond a few speeding tickets.

I hope I did not cause any offense. None was intended, and any caused is deeply regretted.

no no! ha ha you've got me all wrong - Please re read my post -I was just clarifying it Is a criminal offence here. I wasn't saying I took offense to what you're saying! lol - I think it could be the different spelling causing confusion!
no probs at all!

cectra - my sincere apologies for the threadjack..

 

[Imdanny]

So if you find something in the street in Australia, you''re required to turn it into the police or you''ve stole it? Is that what you''re saying?

We''ve pretty well determined that the police can''t necessarily be trusted in the US. My point was that- therefore, I might not HAVE an option. I''m not giving something to the police again so that they can steal it.

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 5/24/2008 2:53:33 AM
Author: Imdanny
So if you find something in the street in Australia, you''re required to turn it into the police or you''ve stole it? Is that what you''re saying?

We''ve pretty well determined that the police can''t necessarily be trusted in the US. My point was that- therefore, I might not HAVE an option. I''m not giving something to the police again so that they can steal it.

Apparently, yes - that is the letter of the law, but how much people are actually charged with it I couldn''t tell you.
And I agree with you that, unfortunately, there are many instances where police cannot be trusted..I am happy to continue this discussion with you in hangout or something if you like danny...

Cectra79, I hope you find your diamond but if not than really glad you had insurance.

 

[Imdanny]

Thanks. I just wanted to be clear about what you were saying.

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 5/24/2008 4:43:29 AM
Author: Imdanny
Thanks. I just wanted to be clear about what you were saying.

 

[krisvrn]

Sorry to hear you lost your diamond. I hope you enjoy your new diamond. cheers!