The case has been solved! We found the original owner. Susan and Mark B. came to us with an exactly matching certificate for the diamond.
It lists all the same mathematical dimensions and angles of the found diamond. Additionally, and this is the kicker, the certificate identifies the diamond
as one of limited edition Millenium Diamonds that we produced in 2000. The diamond is laser inscribed "Mervis 2000" and the certificate
that Susan and Mark has describes the same marking. Every part of this story is truly amazing. Out of all the diamond rings we've sold over the last
70+ years in business, only a very, very small fraction have been laser inscribed like this.
Congratulations to both couples and to everyone who has called or emailed in with clues.
UPDATE: Thursday, July 10th, 2008
I think we may have found the real owner. It's too early to tell, but we have a man with a certificate that claims to match up to the diamond found. I'm meeting him today and will keep you in the know.
UPDATE: Wednesday, July 9th, 2008
With the help of our IT man Andrew and Zed, we've gone through our records of the last 20 years and compiled a list of anyone who's purchased a diamond 3.01, 3.02, or 3.03 carats in a similar color and clarity range to the one found.
I've personally called on many of them to see if they've lost their rings and
we've narrowed down the list signfiicantly. The results aren't clear yet, but we're on our way
UPDATE July 7, 6:19 PM We had several callers today all with a story of their own lost ring. From the details they were able
to remember, the numbers don't add up and it so far seems that none of them is the rightful owner. But don't be fooled and think these were just greedy
people with a mission. I think they're mostly honest people who actually did lose diamond rings, but unfortunately, it's just not the one that Keith found.
Since we are receiving so much exposure and people of all sorts are coming out of the wordwork with stories of lost and found rings, I've decided to create
a little forum where people can come together and share their "Lost" or "Found" details. Hopefully Keith's honestly will encourage others
to do the same and we can close some other missing ring cases. I'll work on it tonight and hopefully we'll have something basic by tomorrow.
Signing out, Jonathan The Diamond Sleuth
UPDATE July 5 - Over the July 4, weekend, I wondered how much the couple's honesty and integrity are
symbolic of American values today. We ran into a familiar friend at the National Mall and asked him...
The Story A few days ago a couple walked in with a diamond ring they found in the parking garage at Tysons Corner.
They came to us, looking to return the ring
to its rightful owner. Zed graded the center round diamond as 3.02 carats and estimates the ring and the diamond together are worth around $40,000.
We are trying to track the original customer down through our records, but it's harder than you'd think. If you have any information
on anyone who recently lost a 3 carat ring, please let us know. We'll try to put the clues together and help put the ring back on the
proper finger.
To claim the ring, you must submit your name and date of purchase. With a name to work with, we can verify your purchasing history with us
and go through the proper checks to ensure you're the honest owner. You must provide for us the original certificate you received
with the diamond, which details the microscopic fingerprint of the specific stone.
