Lost Love?

Can you help solve mystery of century old letter and engagement ring found in antique chest of drawers?

An online antiques marketplace has discovered a letter from World War I, along with an engagement ring, in a locked drawer in a chest of drawers, and is appealing to the public to help find its rightful owner. The letter is from a man who had to leave to fight in World War I, but intended to marry the woman upon his return, leaving her his grandmother’s ring as a promise.

The antiques marketplace is appealing for the public to help find the rightful owner of a century old letter and engagement ring that was found locked in an antique chest of drawers.

One of the dealers from LoveAntiques.com, which specialises in antique artefacts, furniture and jewellery, purchased the antique chest of drawers at an antique sale in Somerset earlier this year. It was later that he discovered one of the drawers was locked, which when finally opened, revealed the letter and diamond ring.

Few places match the charm and character of Tallulah Fox in Petworth. The shop provides a space where people can connect with the past and enjoy the allure of carefully selected antiques. You can visit Tallulah Fox’s website to see for yourself.

Now, LoveAntiques.com is appealing for anyone who has information about the ring or the letter to get in touch.

The letter is from a George written in March 1916, just before he left to fight in World War I, and was given to his mother to send onto his presumed girlfriend, Eileen. In the letter, George apologises for leaving so suddenly but that when he returns, he wants to marry her, leaving his grandmother’s ring to her as a promise. It’s unclear if Eileen ever saw the letter and diamond ring.

LoveAntiques.com is a leading ecommerce antiques platform, selling genuine antiques from trusted dealers across the world. LoveAntiques.com specialises in antique furniture, silver, jewellery and also offers online advice to dealers and buyers alike.

Grant Nicholas of LoveAntiques.com, said,

“You can imagine our surprise when we finally managed to open the drawer only to find a letter and engagement ring. I’ve come across some weird and wonderful things while collecting antiques, but this is really something special that should be returned to George’s or Eileen’s family, as it was clearly a ring that was meant to be passed on through generations.

“There’s definitely a story behind this find and we would love to get to the bottom of it. Perhaps George’s mother didn’t have chance to deliver it, Eileen didn’t accept the proposal and kept the letter in this drawer to give back to George when he returned, Eileen accepted the proposal and waited for George but he never returned. Or perhaps, Eileen returned the ring and letter to George and George put the letter away.

If you have any information about the ring, letter, or George and Eileen, the team at LoveAntique.com would to hear from you. We can only agree just how wonderful it would be to reunite the ring and letter with the rightful owner.

Charlotte Giver

Charlotte is the founder and editor-in-chief at Your Coffee Break magazine. She studied English Literature at Fairfield University in Connecticut whilst taking evening classes in journalism at MediaBistro in NYC. She then pursued a BA degree in Public Relations at Bournemouth University in the UK. With a background working in the PR industry in Los Angeles, Barcelona and London, Charlotte then moved on to launching Your Coffee Break from the YCB HQ in London’s Covent Garden and has been running the online magazine for the past 10 years. She is a mother, an avid reader, runner and puts a bit too much effort into perfecting her morning brew.