Michelle and Jennifer DeLucia, a Long Island couple, were walking into Tony's Di Napoli before a Broadway show when Michelle spotted something sparkling near the entrance. It turned out to be a diamond — not costume jewelry, but a real, engraved stone with a certification number tracing back to one of the world's largest diamond grading organizations. Now the couple are trying to find whoever lost it.
The restaurant is in Times Square, according to Tony's Di Napoli. The DeLucias' find, first reported by NBC New York, comes during a crowded stretch for the neighborhood. Tony's Di Napoli had just participated as a featured restaurant in the 2026 Taste of Times Square festival earlier in September, an event organizers timed to capture theatergoer traffic, as Hoodline reported in its coverage of the festival's return.
Once Michelle realized the stone was an engraved diamond, she and Jennifer contacted the International Gemological Institute using the report number etched into it. The lab confirmed the diamond's cut, carat weight, color, clarity, and original purchase date — details the station's report deliberately withheld from publication so that only the true owner could verify the stone by describing those specifics first.
How the Engraving Works
IGI provides an online tool for verifying report numbers, according to the International Gemological Institute. IGI, one of the largest independent diamond grading organizations in the world, was acquired by alternative investment firm Blackstone in May 2023, expanding its reach across global wholesale and retail markets.
Report-linked tracking systems like IGI's have helped reunite owners with lost stones before. In March 2026, a similar registry alert from a different gemological lab let Oregon police track down and return a missing $22,000 engagement ring, per a case detailed by industry outlet JCK.
A Pattern of Returning What Isn't Theirs
This isn't the DeLucias' first act of finders-keepers-not: the couple have returned lost items before, and Jennifer previously helped reunite a New Zealand visitor with a passport she found in Times Square. Michelle told the station that returning the diamond mattered more to her than keeping it.
The Broadway Theater District's annual Flea Market and Grand Auction is scheduled for Sept. 27, according to Times Square Chronicles. The event added another attraction near Times Square, where the diamond was found.
What New York Law Requires
New York law puts a clock on situations like this. Under Personal Property Law Section 252, anyone who finds property worth $20 or more is required to return it to its owner or turn it in to a local police station within 10 days, according to Justia Law. Failing to make that attempt can expose a finder to misdemeanor criminal charges, and under Penal Law Section 155.05(2)(b), acquiring lost property without taking reasonable steps to return it is classified as larceny, according to the New York Theft and Larceny Lawyers Blog.
It remains unclear whether the DeLucias plan to formally voucher the diamond with police while their media outreach continues, or whether the original owner has already filed a lost report with the NYPD or IGI's registry.
How to Reach the Sisters
NBC New York consumer reporter Lynda Baquero, who leads the station's Better Get Baquero consumer unit, has pledged to respond to every phone call and email from someone with information about the ring. Anyone who believes the diamond might be theirs can message Baquero on Instagram or through the NBC New York website, where the station is fielding tips as the search for the owner continues.
