A golden ring which once belonged to Irish playwright Oscar Wilde has been recovered nearly 20 years after it was stolen.

The ring was taken from Britain's Oxford University during a burglary in 2002.

It was originally thought to have been melted down - but Dutch art detective Arthur Brand says it was actually stolen twice.

It was a present from Wilde and a fellow Oxford student to their friend William Ward in 1876.

The ring, thought to be worth around €40,000, bears an inscription in Greek.

Mr Brand told AFP how the discovery came about.

After years of searching for it, here it is: Oscar Wilde's stolen ring. Thought to be melted down but in fact it was stolen twice...

"Ordinary riches can be stolen; real riches cannot." Oscar Wildehttps://t.co/WRqpl3CHTv

— Arthur Brand (@brand_arthur) November 16, 2019

"Rumours started in 2015 in the art underworld that a Victorian ring has surfaced 'with some Russian writing on it'," he said.

"I knew that Oscar Wilde's ring was stolen from Magdalen College at Oxford and that it had a Greek inscription on it. It could have only been the same ring".

He, along with two other experts, managed to track down and negotiate the safe return of the stolen ring.

But it is thought the ring also has another history tied to it: the 2015 Hatton Garden heist in London.

Holes drilled to gain access to the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit in London | Image: David Parry/PA Archive/PA Images

The raid carried out over the Easter weekend that year was the biggest burglary in English history.

The thieves used an industrial drill to break into the vault at Hatton Garden Safety Deposit and stole cash, gold and precious gems worth €18m.

Mr Brand says there are "very strong indications" the ring's appearance is linked to the burglary.

He also says he was given the ring right in front of the Hatton Garden Safety Deposit.