A jewelry store based in London has shared security camera footage that appears to show a man swallowing an expensive ring while pretending to shop for it. The store, called Elegance Jewellers (@elegancejewellers), posted the clip on TikTok. As said in the video, the ring was valued at $46,353, or about £35,000. In the video, the man is seen wearing a blue button-up shirt and a blazer while seated at a table, where he appears to be inspecting the ring. The footage shows him making a motion with his right hand, as if he were placing the ring back down. However, the camera footage shows that the ring was still in the man’s left hand, which he then brought up to his mouth. The ring appeared to disappear into his mouth within a second. A text overlay on the clip references what happened as it was unfolding. It reads, “You’re showing a customer a £35,000 ring and the trumpets start getting louder…” The caption on the video also seemingly addresses the act directly, asking, “Why did he swallow it?” Staff caught the man on CCTV after he denied taking the ring After the moment in question, the man leaned forward to listen to the person seated across from him. He then appeared to pick up another ring, hold it up to his ring finger, and the clip ended there. The store later shared more details in a separate video posted to its Instagram account. In that clip, a store employee described how staff noticed the ring was gone. “When my colleague noticed that there was a ring missing, we confronted him, but he denied it,” the worker said. “After he denied it, we had a look on CCTV, and caught him in the act.” @elegancejewellers Why did he swallow it #elegancejewellers #hattongarden #engagementrings ♬ original sound – Tyra The employee also explained how the situation ended. “After we told him that we’d called the police, he managed to gag the ring back out,” she said. The store appeared to use the moment to promote its business, with the employee adding, “He was clearly after the best rings in London. So if you’d like to get yourself an engagement ring, come down to Elegance. Just please don’t swallow our rings.” This is not the only time someone has tried this method to take expensive jewelry. Other high-value thefts have raised questions about how authorities handle suspects, including a case in which a suspect in a major jewelry heist left the country. NBC News reported on March 5, 2025, that a man in Florida allegedly took about $770,000 worth of Tiffany’s diamond earrings. He reportedly told workers that he was shopping on behalf of an Orlando Magic basketball player, which apparently led staff to bring him to a VIP section of the store. In that area, employees showed him diamond earrings carrying very high price tags. According to the report, one 4.86 carat set was priced at $160,000, while two 8.19 carat diamond studs were listed at $609,000, along with a 5.61 carat diamond ring. The man allegedly grabbed the earrings and left in a blue Mitsubishi Outlander, driving back toward Texas. Florida State Highway Patrol officers stopped and reportedly detained the man. According to the report, he then allegedly put the earrings into his mouth and swallowed jewelry worth close to a million dollars. He was X-rayed afterward, and “foreign objects [were seen] in his stomach.” High-profile jewelry thefts have also drawn attention to weak spots in store and museum protection, such as when thieves exposed gaps in Louvre security.