Mystery surrounds vintage ring found in antique dresser

ARVADA, Colo. - A Colorado woman hopes someone can help her find the owner of a unique ring.

Joyce Persson found the old ring hidden inside a piece of antique furniture she purchased in the early 2000s. She bought the dresser from Upscale Resale, a now-closed store in Arvada, Colorado.

She found the ring inside one of the drawers.

"When I took the drawer out to clean and as I was wiping it down, the ring fell out. I immediately began to wonder, 'How old is this ring? Where did it come from? Who wore it? What is their life story?'" she told KDVR.

The ring included an inscription with the letters "F. A. P." and the numbers "12-30."

"Every person has a story, and I suppose every piece of jewelry worn by that person has a story too," Persson said.

She rushed back to the furniture store, but it had closed without warning, so she shoved the ring in a drawer and forgot about it. She rediscovered the ring this week.

This time, Persson drove the ring to a jewelry store.

Dave Purdy is co-owner of D&K Jewelers in Wheat Ridge. He believes the ring dates back to the 1930s. He says the stone is man-made, likely not worth a whole lot in terms of money, but likely priceless in terms of sentimental value.

"The thing that bothers me is it has a date that says "12-30" and that could be Dec. 30 or December of 1930, so who knows?" Purdy said.

Persson hopes the time stamp is a clue that will unlock the story behind the ring.

"It's more than a piece of jewelry to somebody, it's a symbol - a symbol of enduring love or of a lifetime achievement," Persson said.

Anyone who knows the ring's rightful owner should contact problemsolvers@kdvr.com