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The shopkeeper never wanted to sell the ring. “It’s cursed,” he said. It’s called The Destiny Ring.

But for Hollywood actor Rudolph Valentino, who saw the ring in a San Francisco shop, it didn’t matter. The simple silver ring with the semi-precious stone was perfect; he had to have it, so he bought it. Then again, perhaps he should’ve listened and stayed away from it.

It was the 1920s, and Valentino was a movie star. Born in Italy in 1895 he left for America and became a sensation in the silent film era, but after purchasing the ring something went wrong. It all started with the miserable flop of “The Young Rajah,” and by the time he made “The Son of the Sheik” in 1926, he died wearing the ring. At 31, he’d developed an infection after having surgery for bleeding ulcers. An estimated 100,000 people mourned outside his funeral home after his death.

The ring was then passed on to his lover, actress Pola Negri, a well-known Hollywood vamp, who immediately fell ill. While she recovered, her Hollywood career came to an abrupt end. She decided to pass the ring to young singer Russ Colombo, who reminded her of Valentino. Not long after, he died in a shooting accident.

Joe Casino, who was a friend of Ross received the ring, and got hit by a truck a week later. It was passed on to Joe’s brother Del who locked it up for safe keeping. James Willis attempted to steal the ring, but was shot by police who arrived at the scene—and in his pocket was the ring.

Edward Small had possession of the ring, because he was interested in making a movie dedicated to Valentino. Jack Dunn was to play Valentino in Small’s film and wore the ring. He died of a blood disease two weeks later.

To this day, the ring remains in a bank vault in Los Angeles. Some say that Valentino’s ghost searches for the ring hoping to destroy it. ome say it has survived numerous robbery attempts, a strike, and a fire. Others say it has again been stolen.