Elegano.com

This blue-and-silver box from Levy's Jewelry in Birmingham, Ala., signals a free gift for its finder and is part of a store promotion that created headlines for the store.

Birmingham, Ala.--The adage "finders keepers, losers weepers" evokes memories of grade school, when many a misplaced toy wound up repossessed after falling subject to this widely accepted--if unwritten--rule.

This childhood chant has taken on new meaning, however, for a handful of retailers who have taken to hiding pieces of jewelry all over town for finders to keep--with no strings and, fortunately, no weeping losers attached.

Store owners say these treasure hunts, in which pieces of jewelry are hidden everywhere from Catholic church confessional booths to hospital elevators to bus depots, can help put a smile on participants' faces in these troubling times. It also gives jewelers a way to remind area residents that jewelry--of the variety sold at their store, of course--is the type of gift that many would love to find hidden under a Christmas tree.

At Levy's Fine Jewelry in Birmingham, Ala., third-generation owner Jared Nadler launched such a promotion over the summer, employing both his staff and trusted longtime customers to place 87 gifts around the Southern city to mark each year that Levy's, which opened in 1922, has been in business.

The original idea behind the promotion was to give back to the community where the store has been a fixture for nearly nine decades, Nadler says. The store's generosity had unintended, but not unwelcome, consequences.

More at: http://tinyurl.com/yete74b