*FOUND* Diamond from Engagement Ring in/around Home

Ulysses31 on 01/01/2023 - 23:27
Last edited 02/01/2023 - 18:35 by 1 other user

Wife and I are completely beside ourselves. She’s really not doing well.

Very busy day around the house, cleaning & packing from xmas & camping. She walked 1 dog, then the other dog. Out front of our house afterwards, she noticed her ring kinda caught on her clothes. Then again. Looked & noticed diamond was gone. My money is on it being there in the thick turf grass. But I could be dreaming.

Ring & diamond cost me 1 month’s wage, married 15years. I don’t see how we could replace it these days. Pretty sure it’s not mentioned on home/contents insurance. This move was fast & hectic, and never thought about specifying anything. Last minute thing.

Searched google for all advice. Spent 3 hours tonight with a small AAA UV torch we just happened to have.

Main Question: How long would you search for? I’m extremely stubborn with these things. And an OzBargainer. But in my heart, I know it’s a needle in a haystack.

EDIT: It’s her engagement ring. I mix them up. She also has a wedding band, approx 6-8 tiny diamonds. That’s fine

Home & Garden

Comments

  • cookie2 on 01/01/2023 - 23:33
    +14

    My partner lost their ring over a high rise hotel balcony. We were both stressed and upset thinking lost forever. Searched the evening and then the hotel staff member kept searching in the morning and found it slightly further away than first expected. We went and bought her a card and a giftcard coz we were so grateful and she was amazing. So don't give up. Go slowly and take your time. If at the end you don't find it, you'll still know that you did everything that you could.

    • Ulysses31 on 02/01/2023 - 10:34

      Thanks. I was sending myself blind with hyper focus, methodically checking every mm expecting it to be anywhere there.

      I’ve always had excellent success with my focus & refusal to give-up. But I also know it’s foolish. And maybe I need to try again tonight with a much bigger UV light? I saw more guides showing some diamonds light-up insane, others not at all.

      • Scrooge McDuck on 03/01/2023 - 01:09
        +48

        To save everyone from scrolling through; OP found the ring:

        https://www.ozbargain.com.au/comment/13190421/redir

        FOUND!!! FOUND!!! FOUND!!!

        Horrible day of silent emotions, just couldn't let it go. But my wife just ran-in to me, diamond in hand!

        She spent around 3 hours retracing every single box/item she packed (I kept doing other new year chores).

        Then the guest bedroom, where she put a cover on yesterday. She reckons the way she lifts the mattress to put the cover on, she must've caught the ring on the mattress or edge of bed frame, and it dropped the diamond into the under-bed storage.

        I checked our insurance policy this morning, and the policy mentions $50k of contents, but possibly no personal effects. Also noticed other details that need improving. First job tomorrow! Along with enquiries to repair the ring.

        Thanks for ALL replies, kind strangers. Sometime tough-love & differing opinions are just as important. But of course, the kind & focused replies really helped keep our chins up.

        • Rako on 03/01/2023 - 05:58

          Well Done!!

        • grr1701 on 03/01/2023 - 10:21

          Thanks Scrooge!👌

        • annyfication on 03/01/2023 - 11:42
          +2

          get your jeweller to tighten the clamps when you get a chance and the funds to do it. i do it every couple of years for my engagement ring because they just loosen with time.

        • Ulysses31 on 07/01/2023 - 12:43

          I thought of doing something like that. But figured the thread was as important as the ending.

  • Muzeeb on 01/01/2023 - 23:44
    +13

    I lost car keys out of my pocket while using a ride on mower. It was somewhere in the backyard of about 3 acres.

    After 4 hours of searching in the dark with a torch I found them. It was like winning Powerball. I looked in the dark so the light reflecting off the keys would stand out.

    MORAL OF THE STORY - Hang in there and keep looking in the dark.

    • Heaps for Cheaps on 02/01/2023 - 13:40
      +10

      I'd rather win powerball. I'd just leave there and then and start life again with 100 million.

    • nobro25 on 03/01/2023 - 10:40
      +4

      The odds of finding keys in a patch of 3 acres of grass is much better odds than winning power ball. Confirmed!

    • Matteo27 on 04/01/2023 - 21:20
      +1

      Well done that reminds me of the time I lost my keys for a few days and thought to empty the green bin and check the day before collection. My 4 y.o son was helping me with the lawns that weekend and had chucked them in there lol

    • trapper on 05/01/2023 - 12:18

      I got a tritium key fob on mine, so as soon as it's dark you can see it glowing.

  • Suzique on 02/01/2023 - 00:00
    +21

    Never say never…..
    My ex husband came home from swimming at the beach and realised his wedding ring was gone…..drove 50kms back there the next day and found it in the sand. He lost it another time working in the backyard ….thought it had ended up in the wet concrete, but found it a week later sitting on a post. He then lost it swimming in a public olympic sized pool and someone spotted it on the bottom of the pool the next day. The 4th time he lost it, we never found it again. …we're now divorced!

    • sidesw1pe on 02/01/2023 - 11:00
      +4

      Damn! He was really lucky until he wasn't.

    • tsk2 on 03/01/2023 - 08:27
      +1

      weird. why did he even take it off.

    • E4xtream on 04/01/2023 - 09:58
      +1

      To be fair… "my ex husband" was some powerful foreshadowing.

  • AustriaBargain on 02/01/2023 - 00:04
    +5

    Just get a fake diamond put in it. No one else will ever know the difference.

    • Ulysses31 on 02/01/2023 - 10:40
      +4

      I really appreciate the unorthodox response. We honestly won’t buy a legit one again. And no success yet. So we’re stuck for ideas.

      We still have the beautiful & meaningful ring. All connection isn’t lost.

      • spc12go on 02/01/2023 - 12:24
        +2

        Just get a lab grown diamond. Bigger brighter and clearer. Win win

      • kmwa on 02/01/2023 - 13:35

        I feel your pain. Hope it turns up.
        My wife and I were considering a new engagement ring and were looking at diamond rings at about $10k.
        She eventually settled for a moissanite ring from Aliexpress - like this https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003375121966.html
        $43 and it looks absolutely stunning. She's gone in to jewelers with it to compare with real diamonds and we can't tell the difference, in fact the ladies in the shop were admiring it.
        I did a lot of research on the stones. These days, you can't actually tell the difference between real diamonds and lab-grown, you can only go by the certificate. Lab-grown can be half the price of mined stones, so they are still expensive. But in my opinion, you never really know what you are getting in high street shops, even if it's a more expensive stone and they provide a certificate.
        Cubic zirconia are not quite as brilliant as diamonds, whereas moissanites are actually brighter, some detractors describe them as disco balls, but in our opinion they look fantastic.
        You can pay hefty prices in high street jewelers for cubic zirconia and moissanites, but check out Aliexpress. Fantastic jewellery at incredibly low prices. I actually got my wife 5 or 6 to try, in different styles and sizes (half a carat up to four carat). She thought the 4 carat was a bit ostentatious, and wore a few of the others until she settled on one that she was happy with.
        But they are all so cheap, that if you drop one down the sink, it would be cheaper to buy a new one than call out a plumber.
        The main thing is whether your wife is on board with a cheap replacement. It's the thought that counts.

        • watwatwat on 02/01/2023 - 15:22

          Aliexpress and complete cheapo price like that, the moissanite is probably fake. Did it pass diamond tester?

      • greater mimic on 03/01/2023 - 18:13

        You should look into moissanite they're great and much cheaper

  • Benoffie on 02/01/2023 - 00:07
    +5

    Rings generally don't have to be specified unless they are stupidly priced. Given the age and ball park price, I think youll be fine to claim it. Speak to your insurer.

    On that, best get a quote and opt to go to a manufacturing jeweller that is not theirs. They will very often do you a much better deal. Alternatively, take the payout and buy something at auction. Even if you dont like it, value wise, the diamonds are much better priced and can easily be reworked.

    • Pete10001 on 02/01/2023 - 00:19
      +6

      This is very good advice. Contents insurance should cover you to some degree, even if the item has not been specified in the policy. Also often you can buy estate jewellery at auction a decent discount to the prices usually charged in a retail store.

      If you've done a thorough visual check and before you take any other steps, you could also try hoovering the area where you think you lost the diamond and then check the contents of the vacuum cleaner bag. Just make sure it is empty first.

      • Ulysses31 on 02/01/2023 - 11:10
        +1

        Great advice, thanks. We have a decent vacuum, and new bags. I just need my wife to hold a sign saying we’re not crazy, while I also vacuum the thick grass where it also-possibly dropped.

        The constantly threatening rain is stressing me out, if it dropped on footpath/crossover. But I checked thoroughly, repeatedly.

    • Ulysses31 on 02/01/2023 - 10:44
      +1

      Thanks so much.

      Random rusty memory suggests it was 1/2 karat Class D VE2. Assuming that was the one we finally bought, and they were telling the truth(?). Somewhere in a mountain of emails & papers, I have copies of the original receipt & details.
      Platinum band, white gold classic style 4 clasps. bought in Dublin in the area for these things.

      • Benoffie on 02/01/2023 - 10:48
        +2

        Assuming VS2 and D colour, youll need that paperwork. Also, replacement might exceed insurance but definitely call.

        Good luck with your hoovering!

  • jolee3 on 02/01/2023 - 00:24
    +5

    Contents insurance will have coverage for unspecified jewellery, but there is a limit so it depends on the value of the ring. Definitely get in touch with your insurer. As for your main question, it's worth looking a bit more especially if you think you know where it was lost. At least you know you've done all you could.

    A reminder to anyone who has rings they regularly wear - take it in to a jeweller to get a clean/check every now and then. A lot of jewellery shops will do it for free. Where I used to work, we would have people give us a ring for cleaning and it was not uncommon to find broken or worn out prongs; they were lucky the stones hadn't fallen out yet.

    • Ulysses31 on 02/01/2023 - 11:03

      Thanks.
      It’s part of the negativity wrecking my wife’s head at the moment. “Never should’ve happened”

      She stopped wearing it for a few years. Which upset me a bit (no arguments/fights of course). Because the shape changed, and it was rotating constantly. But she never got it sorted. 10 years since it had a check/clean.

      Just started wearing it again 6mths ago.

      • jolee3 on 02/01/2023 - 12:56
        +1

        I wasn't having a go about you not having it checked btw, most people don't think of it. I'm a bit of a negative person when it comes to mistakes so I understand how your wife feels, my husband always tells me to let things go. Best of luck for your search, but as you say you still have a beautiful and meaningful ring!

        • Ulysses31 on 02/01/2023 - 14:19

          Thanks. All good, I didn’t read it that way.

          We’re both hard on ourselves. Everything that’s gone wrong over the last few years in particular was simply “life got in the way”. Busiest time of our lives & careers, then covid. We need to keep these things in perspective.

  • Matt P on 02/01/2023 - 01:00

    I had my wifes engagement ring listed on our insurance policy. Read the fine print one day. It required annual inspections of the diamond claw (sorry don't know the proper term) to ensure it was secure/safe etc.. Without the annual inspections, they wouldn't pay on claims. Decided we'd never do it so pulled it off the policy. Ended up saving us hundreds a year. That said, i just looked up a similar rock .. would cost me 10k more than i paid to replace it.. jesus haha.

    • Jono05 on 02/01/2023 - 14:23

      Saving you hundreds a year? What were you going to insure for $200,000?

      • cookie2 on 02/01/2023 - 15:32
        +1

        Actually hundreds is easy. If you're paying $20 per month to insure a single piece both inside and outside a principal place of residence, thats $240 per year. Insuring individual special pieces on top of the standard coverage (which is generally piss poor for high value items), it can add up very quickly.

        • Jono05 on 03/01/2023 - 08:27

          My contents insurance is about $350 a year and includes an itemised diamond engagement ring. You must be getting ripped off by your insurance.

        • Matt P on 04/01/2023 - 14:06

          Yeah from memory it was a bit over $250, removed both engagement and wedding rings.

          Sadly it was during a period where we had to make a number of claims in a short space of time so we were paying over odds for insurance at the time due to those claims.

          Also it was building and contents too

      • djsweet on 03/01/2023 - 10:20

        It costs about $400/yr to insure 20k worth of jewellery on a dedicated policy. On contents insurance it is cheaper, but last I checked, not significantly so. Also if you don't have a large amount of contents insured it seems more expensive to add things like jewelery.

    • watwatwat on 02/01/2023 - 15:25
      +2

      It required annual inspections of the diamond

      Haha wow. Insurance has always been a scam.

  • dcep on 02/01/2023 - 01:37
    +2

    Sift through your vacuum dust canister before empty them to the bin.

  • djones145 on 02/01/2023 - 07:19

    are u saying the diamond on the ring is gone or the diamond and ring

    try vacuuming then shifting the dustbin or listening to the ring in the vacuum bin

    try using a light and you might be able to get some reflection off the ring if outside

    metal detector maybe

    • DashCam AKA Rolts on 02/01/2023 - 09:41
      +4

      Lost Diamond from Wedding Ring

      Out front of our house afterwards, she noticed her ring kinda caught on her clothes. Then again. Looked & noticed diamond was gone.

      Just the stone, not the entire ring. Perhaps, you need to read the post before posting.

  • Hydralyte on 02/01/2023 - 09:39
    -2

    Just buy a cheap ring and be done with it.

  • blitz on 02/01/2023 - 11:00
    +4

    You can try putting some stockings over a vacuum cleaner head - that will pick up small things without letting them pass through to the bag. Otherwise magnifying glass in the grass?

    Keep looking OP!

  • Tee Rex Arms on 02/01/2023 - 11:00
    -3

    Not on home and contents insurance. Wow.

  • dwillia on 02/01/2023 - 11:11
    +2

    my insurance policy covers non disclosed items up to the value of $2500. When my watch collection was stolen I found this news heartbreaking. now I wear a timex :)

  • 7ekn00 on 02/01/2023 - 12:03

    Rings and settings need "servicing" every 5-10 years!

    Gold is very malleable, meaning higher grade gold is worse at holding a setting and increasing risk of stone loss :/

    • Ulysses31 on 02/01/2023 - 18:21

      Absolutely lesson learnt. She's 15 years older, multiple kids, houses…. everything since. Both rings need resizing, at the least.

      My white-gold wedding band is kinda oval-shape. But her platinum engagement ring is absolutely odd-shaped, no way to describe well.

  • boomramada on 02/01/2023 - 12:16
    +2

    First I lost my spare car keys, did search for few days then re appear from under the car seat few years later.

    Lost my gold pendent, look for weeks, and bought a replacement however re appeared few years later during the house move lol.

  • pharkurnell on 02/01/2023 - 12:25
    -1

    Shit happens.

    Claim insurance and get on with life.

    /thread

  • watwatwat on 02/01/2023 - 15:18
    -1

    Ring & diamond cost me 1 month’s wage,

    And that, my ozbargain friends, is why we buy moissanite.

    We honestly won’t buy a legit one again. And no success yet. So we’re stuck for ideas.

    If your search fails, I recommend buying a replacement from Tianyu Gems.

  • Loot N Plunder on 02/01/2023 - 17:12

    A diamond is just a shiny piece of dirt just replace the lost stone with a cubic zirconia no one will be the wiser. When was the last time anyone pulled out an eyeglass to examine it?
    As if a diamond is worth the cost how many jewelers are there world wide and how many diamonds do they all have let alone all the diamonds people are wearing and Industrial diamonds in use daily
    The sheeple will flock to a lie like diamonds and gold are rare.

    • Ulysses31 on 02/01/2023 - 18:18
      +1

      I understand your point. But like most symbols in society, it's the value we collectively place. By being sold at such crazy prices, its not something we buy/give willy-nilly.
      It was bought with genuine love.

    • iseeyou1312 on 03/01/2023 - 18:44

      There are some rare gemstones that are extremely valuable when pulled from the earth, although they can be made in a lab for a fraction of the cost, but diamonds are not a rare gemstone at all, they're absurdly common and the industrial grade diamonds people use in jewellery are worthless.

  • altomic on 02/01/2023 - 17:26
    +6

    my mum lost her wedding ring whilst gardening in the back yard in 1975 .
    found it in the garden in 1992

    • [Deactivated] on 03/01/2023 - 13:39
      +2

      proof or didn't happen

      • altomic on 04/01/2023 - 12:53
        +4

        just getting my mum to write a stat dec ATM

    • iseeyou1312 on 03/01/2023 - 18:42

      Surely you could've expedited the discovery with a metal detector?

  • Ulysses31 on 02/01/2023 - 18:33
    +68

    FOUND!!! FOUND!!! FOUND!!!

    Horrible day of silent emotions, just couldn't let it go. But my wife just ran-in to me, diamond in hand!

    She spent around 3 hours retracing every single box/item she packed (I kept doing other new year chores).

    Then the guest bedroom, where she put a cover on yesterday. She reckons the way she lifts the mattress to put the cover on, she must've caught the ring on the mattress or edge of bed frame, and it dropped the diamond into the under-bed storage.

    I checked our insurance policy this morning, and the policy mentions $50k of contents, but possibly no personal effects. Also noticed other details that need improving. First job tomorrow! Along with enquiries to repair the ring.

    Thanks for ALL replies, kind strangers. Sometime tough-love & differing opinions are just as important. But of course, the kind & focused replies really helped keep our chins up.

    • Ghost47 on 02/01/2023 - 18:49
      +1

      That’s awesome news!

      Make sure to superglue it into the ring this time.

      • [Deactivated] on 03/01/2023 - 13:41
        -1

        I'd rather sell it. Useless piece of junk!

    • Baysew on 02/01/2023 - 20:42
      +3

      Great news!

      Now it is just a matter of settling the OzBargain Finders Fee.

    • MeesusEff on 02/01/2023 - 22:02
      +1

      I would buy a similar /same style ring that is not real diamonds (Secrets is a good one) and wear that everyday instead of the real. I bought a Secrets one to wear on my honeymoon in Europe and I just wear that one now as I've kept my real one hidden away somewhere lol

      • Jono05 on 03/01/2023 - 08:32

        What’s the point of having the real diamond ring then?

        • [Deactivated] on 03/01/2023 - 13:41

          there is no point.

        • kiriakoz on 05/01/2023 - 00:49

          Glad you've finally caught on.

    • pogichinoy on 03/01/2023 - 03:28
      +1

      Wonderful news!!!!

    • Jono05 on 03/01/2023 - 08:31
      +1

      Awesome news. Very lucky.

    • Hunter14 on 03/01/2023 - 14:28
      +1

      Lovely stuff. Good start to 2023!!

    • jace88 on 03/01/2023 - 23:01
      +1

      Don't forget to get the setting done properly and attached firmly! And now's a good time to look into specific insurance for it if it's worth a lot.

  • Donaldhump on 02/01/2023 - 23:34

    Is it not insured?

  • yamahamoto on 03/01/2023 - 00:55
    +2

    On the topic of content insurance can anyone recommend one that let you insure more personal stuff like this?

    • gromit on 03/01/2023 - 08:37
      +1

      pretty much all of them, never had one that didn't. You just specify them and there value on the policy.

    • jace88 on 03/01/2023 - 23:02

      I use Q Report for my wife's engagement ring.

  • ruthlesskid on 03/01/2023 - 08:57
    +2

    Luck and persistence has saved our ring from a similar situation.
    After a long day out at the local park wife noticed her wedding ring missing when we returned home.
    We back traced every location since her last sighting.
    We spend hours in the park searching, getting more desperate by the minute as the sun goes down.
    Wife had a hunch it could be a in the park carpark. Another car was parked at our old spot, so we search meticulously with a touch and couldn't find anything in the park.
    No luck
    Came back second day, back traced every step up with not luck. As we are about to leave the carpark, wife noticed a shiny glitter just two meters away from our old parking spot!
    Speculation the ring could have dug into a another car tires as it was being driven onto, and just by luck it popped out 2 meters away. (There are scratches don the ring).
    *What if we did not go back the second day?
    *What if the ring got stuck in the tire all the way?
    From that moment, wife decided to only wear the diamond ring on occasions, and takes extra precautions.
    I am glad that the OP and I both found out rings! :)

  • payless69 on 03/01/2023 - 09:54
    +1

    Get a dog instead?

    • Ulysses31 on 03/01/2023 - 09:57
      +1

      Got 2, one being a puppy. We honestly questioned if the dog could’ve eaten it. Like the movie Snatch. Chasing it around the yard, waiting for it to poo. We needed humour at the time.

      • payless69 on 03/01/2023 - 10:06

        Our dog has dug up an ancient teapot buried half a metre in the ground!

  • Hydralyte on 03/01/2023 - 10:28

    Time for a new wife.

  • ddr0001 on 03/01/2023 - 12:35
    +1

    Wife lost a CC earring one day, suspected it was lost at a hospital while we were visiting someone. Rang the hospital no one had seen it/handed it in. Assumed it was gone for good. About 4 days later went back to visit again and sure enough it was on the ground in the exact parking spot we had days earlier. Crazy to think how many cars must have parked in that spot and not seen it or driven over it. Sometimes you get lucky.

  • Camelface on 03/01/2023 - 13:11

    I lost my glasses in the backyard. It has been a week now, but there's no sign of it.

  • Save Medicare on 03/01/2023 - 15:29
    +2

    We have my partner's (manmade diamond) ring insured with Qreport. Gives us peace of mind as she needs to take it off frequently for work.

  • iseeyou1312 on 03/01/2023 - 18:41
    -1

    Diamonds are worthless, just highly monopolised. Don't fret.

    • 2pro4sho on 03/01/2023 - 22:52
      +2

      I'm happy for you to give me all your worthless diamonds.

  • LoserScott on 04/01/2023 - 06:20
    +1

    Materialistic things shouldn't last but if you believe they should last longer then a relationship then I guess you didn't learn.

  • darkmoss on 04/01/2023 - 13:54
    -2

    IDIOTS

  • MementoMori on 05/01/2023 - 06:46
    +1

    Hi, good for you for finding the ring.

    Now that you've been through this situation, is there anything you would have done differently? i.e. insurance, change of habit around taking ring off, tighter ring, cheaper ring?

    Just for others to learn in the future :)

    • Ulysses31 on 16/01/2023 - 19:53

      Insurance, just like any financial agreement (ie: mortgage) deserves a good read - And should be checked before just renewing. Make sure it's actually "ensuring" what you want.

      And definitely get the ring checked. Considering how often we pass a jeweller (any medium/large shopping centre!), at-least just as the question. Flip-side… of course most will suggest you spend money with them. But it takes less than 5min, so ask a few… to gauge the true answers.

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