Jenkins was a jewler, a master craftsman (工匠) in the Silkstone Jewellery company. Ten years ago, he made a large diamond ring for the company. It was worth $2,000. The second ring looked exactly like the first one. Jenkins knew it would pass all the usual tests—except one possibility. Jenkins gave the much more valuable ring to his wife on her fortieth birthday, and the couple flew to Paris for a weekend. Later, the company sold the ring for $6,000.
Six months ago the buyer brought it back to Silkstone's head office. "It's a faulty diamond," he said. "It isn't worth the high price I paid."
He explained the facts. His wife's car had caught fire in an accident. She escaped, but the ring had come off her finger. It had fallen to the ground and been damaged in the great heat of the burning petrol.
The company had to agree. They knew that no fire on earth can ever damage a perfect diamond. Someone had taken the real diamond and put a faulty stone in its place. The question was: who?
A picture of the ring appeared in the newspaper. A professional photographer recognized the ring. The next day there was another picture in the paper: it showed a famous actress walking out to a plane for Paris. Behind the actress there was a woman wearing a large diamond ring. "Do you know the woman with the lovely diamond ring?" the papers asked the readers.
At his trial (审讯), Jenkins asked the judge to consider eighty-one similar crimes against the Silkstone Jewellery company.
The judge said, "You are a master craftsman who turned bad. I feel rather sorry. But I must send you to prison for seven years."