he finds a wedding ring lost for 111 years and returns it to the granddaughter of its owner

Michel Saelen, a Belgian from Wallonia, found a wedding ring in a field that had been lost since 1913. He managed to trace it back to the person to whom it had belonged and returned it to his descendant.

An unbelievable discovery. In Belgium, a man found by chance in a field a wedding ring dated 1913, reports La Voix du Nord on Thursday January 2. Rather than keep his find, he managed to find out who the ring had belonged to and returned it to his descendants.

French-speaking Belgian, living in Wallonia, Michel Saelen is a fan of walks in the fresh air, always equipped with his trusty metal detector. Last September, he asked a farmer from Mouscron, a Belgian commune neighboring Tourcoing, for authorization to carry out research in his field.

As he travels across the land, the machine suddenly sounds, signaling the presence of a metal object beneath his feet. The man leans over and spots a wedding ring. Intrigued, Michel Saelen examines the almost intact jewel in detail.

Lost by a young farmer

Quickly, something catches his eye: he notices initials engraved inside the ring. Those of the owner of the ring and her spouse? Curious by nature, Michel Saeten decides to go looking for the holder of the ring.

He manages to trace the trace of Angèle Deconninck, a farmer born in 1894 and who married a certain René Vandehereen in 1913. For the budding investigator, there is no doubt, it is to her that the ring, wedding rings being only worn by women at the time.

“She worked on the farm, but not in the fields, she already had too much to do,” a member of her family, Gilbert Moulin, told the local newspaper.

For the latter, it is very likely that the farmer lost her ring while handling manure, as women were often responsible for at the time. The alliance then found itself in a field, once the manure had been dumped, and remained there for over a century.

“We never thought we would find this alliance”

Thanks to his little investigation, Michel Saeten was finally able to find a descendant of Angèle Deconninck, his granddaughter Francine Vandehereen.

“We never thought we would find this alliance. I’m really happy,” she says enthusiastically.

After 111 years underground, the wedding ring is back in its owner’s family. And she will stay there, Francine wishes. “I will keep (the ring) preciously and, one day, pass it on to my daughter,” she assures.