Marj Gow is a woman on a mission to find a lost heirloom.
The Mooroopna resident dropped a pink travel jewellery box at the PALS Op Shop in Cobram in December 2022, thinking that it was empty.
Unknown to her, the box had one black marcasite ring, one eternity ring, three wedding rings, one pearl ring and one engagement ring.
For Ms Gow, it is the loss of the engagement ring, adorned with a yellow diamond, which has impacted her most.
“The engagement ring is the one I’m really after,” she said.
Her strong desire to get the engagement ring back is rooted in 100 years of family history.
“My grandfather was a prisoner of war in Germany in World War I,” Ms Gow said.
“He was captured in France, and he was imprisoned with a South African man who had part shares in a diamond mine back home in South Africa.”
The bond between Marj’s grandfather, Matthew O’Halloran, and the South African man became so strong that after the war, the South African gifted Ms Gow’s grandfather five diamonds dug up from a mine.
“The rings were made into an engagement ring for my grandmother,” Ms Gow said.
Ms Gow’s grandparents had five grandchildren, and each was given a diamond from the engagement ring.
As each diamond was removed, a sapphire replaced the empty cavity.
Ms Gow is devastated at losing her ring, which she hoped to hand to her granddaughter.
When she realised that the missing rings were in the donated pink travel jewellery box, she contacted the Cobram PALS Op Shop; however, despite their best efforts, they could not assist.
Ms Gow doesn’t blame the op shop for what has happened.
“It was my mistake, and PALS have been wonderful,” she said.
Recently Ms Gow and her family have put out a post on Facebook asking for assistance while offering a $1000 reward for returning all the rings.
Anyone who has possession of the ring can phone 0428 943 524.