BBC Homepage
  • Skip to content
  • Accessibility Help
  • Your account
  • Notifications
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • More menu
More menu
Search BBC
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
Close menu
BBC News
Menu
  • Home
  • InDepth
  • Israel-Gaza war
  • War in Ukraine
  • Climate
  • UK
  • World
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Culture
More
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Health
  • Family & Education
  • In Pictures
  • Newsbeat
  • BBC Verify
  • Disability
  • BBC Trending

Emma Watson's appeal to find her 'most special possession'

  • Published
    21 July 2017
Share page
About sharing
Emma Watson in June 2017Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Emma Watson spoke of what it meant to lose a ring gifted by her mother, prompting others to share their stories of missing valuables

By Lamia Estatie
BBC News

We may each possess something which simply cannot be replaced.

When actor Emma Watson lost one such item - a ring gifted by her mother - following a London spa visit, she launched an online appeal, external to help find it.

"She bought it the day after I was born and wore it for 18 years, never taking it off, and then gave it to me for my 18th birthday.

"I wear this ring everyday, it is my most meaningful and special possession," explained the star of Beauty and the Beast and the Harry Potter films.

The post, which has gathered 72,000 reactions, prompted some of Emma's followers to share their stories of having lost, and in some cases having been reunited, with jewellery holding special sentimental value to them.

Screen grab of Facebook post by Emma WatsonImage source, Facebook/Emma Watson
Image caption,

Emma's mum purchased the ring, pictured on her little finger, the day after she was born

Commenting on Emma's post, Ness Johnson, 42, from Australia, shared, external her story of being reunited with a ring her mother gave to her.

"When I was 16, my mum gave me a beautiful ring for my birthday. A year later in Art class, I took my rings off while painting and someone picked them up to keep.

"Two months later, I broke my ankle and was on crutches and used them when I went on a school trip to the Sydney Opera House... so many stairs!

"It took a long time to go up each stair outside, nearly at the top, looking carefully at each step so I wouldn't trip, I found my ring on one of the steps."

Ness, who still has the ring, told the BBC that she plans on giving it to her own daughter, Lila, when she turns 16.

"It's a simple silver ring with a stone but it's worth millions to me," she continued.

Commenting on the power of memory that jewellery holds, Victoria Diaz Bouza in Spain said, external: "My mum gave me a ring that belonged to my deceased grandfather and it's the only memory we both have of him. I know I would be heartbroken if someone would steal something as precious as a beloved one's memory."

Image of rings on Ness Johnson's fingersImage source, Ness Johnson
Image caption,

Ness Johnson lost - and found - a ring gifted by her mum which she still possesses 26 years later

You might also like:

  • Why a midwife shared a photo of blood-stained trousers

  • This is not a Facebook Live of a rotating thunderstorm

  • Dan Hannan: Ribbed with rambling tweets

Not everyone was lucky enough to have recovered the items they hold most dear.

"I lost something that belonged to my grandmother 13 years ago and I still think about it," Nathalie Carol Da Nobrega Ruiz, from Sao Paolo, Brazil said, external.

Carly Bourke, San Antonio, Texas added, external: "I lost the teeny tiny diamond out of my grandmothers engagement ring and had a total meltdown years ago."

But some Facebook users, including South African Rita Van Eck, shared other views: "I had a family heirloom ring from my godmother, as well as a ring that I got from my parents for my 21st birthday, stolen.

"I was completely broken. But then I was immediately thankful that no one in our family was hurt and I realised that all these things are material."

Paul Evans added, external: "Just remember that what you're missing is only a symbol of the real gift from your mother - the love that went into that ring, and into guiding you to become the person you are.

"That can't be taken from you. You yourself are the ultimate symbol and result of that love."

By the UGC and Social News Team

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending, external, and find us on Facebook, external. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending.

More on this story

  • Losing the most precious thing I own, 7,000km from home

    • Published
      1 January 2017
    Eloise Dicker's mother's bracelet
  • Do celebrity book clubs have a shelf life?

    • Published
      30 June 2017
    Emma Watson/Reese Witherspoon
  • Is Emma Watson anti-feminist for exposing her breasts?

    • Published
      6 March 2017
    Emma Watson photo

Top stories

  • Families demand answers as Southport inquiry opens

    • Published
      1 hour ago
  • Poisoned water and scarred hills: BBC visits world's rare earths capital in China

  • Why Texas floods were so devastating

More to explore

  • How King Charles is helping to 'reinvigorate' the shaken UK-France friendship

    Index pic
  • 'PM to press Macron' and 'mushroom murders' trial

    The front pages of the Daily Mail and the Times
  • Poisoned water and scarred hills: BBC visits world's rare earths capital in China

    Large plumes of white smoke billow out of a large canyon in China
  • The doctor fighting for women's health on Ukraine's front line

    A doctor smiles as he takes a selfie with a woman patient inside a mobile medical unit. His hair is dyed the blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag, and medical paraphernalia is in the background.
  • Did US government cuts contribute to the Texas tragedy?

    A boat on a river in Texas with four rescue workers on board
  • From India to Britain and back: The cartoonist who fought censors with a smile

    Abu cartoon
  • 'Everyone knows somebody affected': The small towns in shock after mushroom murders

    A sign for Korumburra General Cemetery, with headstones and hills in the background
  • 200 million year-old flying reptile species found

    The image is an artist's impression of the ancient winged reptile that scientists have discovered at a site that, 200 million years ago, was a riverbed. The image depicts a creature with a long, pointed jaw and wings folded in at its sides. It has its clawed feet submerged in the water of the river and appears to have caught a small amphibian in its mouth.
  • US Politics Unspun: Cut through the noise with North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher’s newsletter

    Anthony Zurcher with Washington landmarks and red white and blue stripes
loading elsewhere stories

Most read

  1. 1

    Emergency alert to be sent to smartphones in UK test

  2. 2

    'PM to press Macron' and 'mushroom murders' trial

  3. 3

    US delays higher tariffs but announces new rates for some nations

  4. 4

    Workplace misconduct and discrimination NDAs to be banned

  5. 5

    Texas floods death toll climbs to more than 100

  6. 6

    How King Charles is helping to 'reinvigorate' the shaken UK-France friendship

  7. 7

    Trump upbeat on Gaza ceasefire talks as he hosts Netanyahu

  8. 8

    Families demand answers as Southport inquiry opens

  9. 9

    The Salt Path author defends herself against claims she misled readers

  10. 10

    Manchester Airport brawl CCTV shown to jury

BBC News Services

  • On your mobile
  • On smart speakers
  • Get news alerts
  • Contact BBC News

Best of the BBC

  • Love and fatherhood in noughties Brixton

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Babyfather
  • Your new favourite offbeat, snappy US sitcom

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    St. Denis Medical
  • Step into the world of luxury holidays

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Billion Dollar Playground
  • The inside story of the Live Aid concert

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Live Aid at 40: When Rock 'n' Roll Took on the World
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • Terms of Use
  • About the BBC
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Accessibility Help
  • Parental Guidance
  • Contact the BBC
  • Make an editorial complaint
  • BBC emails for you

Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.