It’s a strange world out there.
As we have in the past, JCK has collected the strangest jewelry-related stories we could find from the year gone by.
Below, you can read of unusual diamond finds, a bizarre crime, a unique engagement ring, and more. These stories are funny, perplexing, sometimes disturbing, and on occasion gross. (You’ve been warned.)
Man Steals Jewelry by Posing as Mannequin in Store Window
In October, a 22-year-old man in Warsaw, Poland, wanted to rob a local clothing store. So he stood motionless in the store window long enough that he evaded the store security cameras. After the mall closed, he robbed the shop’s “jewelry island.” He may have gotten away with this crackpot plan if he hadn’t come back to the mall a few days later and tried to steal some more things. Whether you think this idea was smart or stupid, the man’s subsequent actions definitely fall on the stupid side. And, we should note, this ruse has been done before.
Doctor Finds Diamond Inside Woman’s Ear
Reports appeared in October that a woman from Xi’an, China, had gone to her doctor after several weeks of ear pain. Eventually the doctor discovered the problem: She had a diamond in her ear. The woman had lost the gem, which was originally part of an earring, a month earlier. If you’re not squeamish, there’s video.
Bride Learns Engagement Ring Contains Piece of Her Tooth
A man made a surprising confession during his wedding in May: The engagement ring he gave his bride contained a piece of her tooth. The woman had chipped two teeth during a hiking trip they took together, and he wanted to commemorate the moment. “That little stone in your ring is made of dentin and enamel,” said the groom. “Your dentin and enamel.” The clip has since gotten over 3 million views.
@thewinedoctorr It’s the long awaited follow-up video! Including a look at her wedding ring AND footage of her famous “leap of faith”! @GetRippedWithRaven @Smitha Lee #fyp #foryoupage #viral #funny #wedding
Man Fakes Arrest for Proposal
We have seen many creative proposals over the years, but some may find this one a little too creative. In June, Shane Archie appeared at his girlfriend’s backyard birthday with his hands cuffed behind his back, accompanied by a man with a badge and a gun. He apologized for ruining her birthday, then dropped down to his knee and asked for her hand. The bride later wrote on Facebook, “I went from 0 to 1000 and had about 20 different Cancer emotions all in one.”
Jewelry-Maker Blocked From Importing Giraffe Feces for Her Work
In late September, Customs officials stopped a woman at the Minneapolis–St. Paul airport after she returned from Kenya with what was described as a “small box of poop.” Unfortunately (for her), it is illegal to import feces into the United States. When agents questioned her, they were unswayed by her explanation that “she planned to use the waste to make a necklace, as she had done in the past with moose poop.” So her precious cargo was confiscated and destroyed, meaning giraffe-poop jewelry sadly remains an unrealized dream. We’ll spare you the picture of the, um, contraband, though those who are interested can check it out here. Imagine that in a store window.
Thrift-Shop Jewel Bought for Child Is Worth Thousands
Thea Jourdan says she found the brooch, “covered in a layer of dust,” in a box at a London thrift shop. She bought it for $24 and gave it to her daughter, who likes to pay dress-up. When Jourdan was getting her engagement ring appraised, the jeweler spotted the brooch. “To my shock, she said the 27 clear stones were diamonds,” Jourdan told The Sun. Even more shocking: The pink stone in the middle turned out to a near-flawless 20 ct. topaz worth about $2,000. “You never know when you might stumble across a valuable gem,” Jourdan remarked. We’d like the name of that thrift shop.
British Woman Weds Herself
Tired of looking for love, Sarah Wilkinson, a 42-year-old credit controller, decided to buy the engagement ring she’d long wanted and pop the question to herself. That was followed by a self-wedding, an elaborate affair that set her back 10,000 pounds, and included 14 vows she pledged to honor, as well as a cake topped with a bride kissing a frog. “It was such a lovely day to have everybody there,” she said later. “And why not?”
(Top photo: Getty Images)
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