Lost my engagement ring

[MissMichelle]

Ok this may or may not be OT for this forum, but I am thinking budget here. I have had my engagement ring for 2.5 years. It was a little loose from losing some weight and I kept saying I was getting it resized but just never did it as it seemed fine to wear. I took showers and washed my hair fine, worked daily (and I work in a wholesale club so I do heavy lifting, lots of physical work some days) and it has never budged.

So 2 weeks ago I had cleaned the house, ran out to pay bills took stepdaughter to an appt, etc...while driving I looked at my hand and my ring was GONE. I freaked. I don't have insurance on it and now I feel just awful as DFiance keeps telling me the $$ he was saving to put into his dream car is going to buy me a new ring. I can't let him DO that! Here I am paying for a trip to WDW (which for my kids to go is WAY more important) and he is feeling crappy because we have had people question if we are still together since I don't have my ring on anymore. I have $$ put aside that I could dip into but I am trying to get us debt free in 2007 (love that thread!) so we can start building a house next year. I have paid OFF all CC bills so far and am just working on the car payments.

We aren't planning on marrying until late 2009-early 2010 (we will have been together 15 years by then) so my question is...would it be that important to you? At times I have to tell myself "it's just a ring" and other times I cry and think "that was OUR ring, shows we are us, and together even when he isn't with me".

Sigh...make me feel better!

 

[Melissa]

Sorry you lost your ring. I lost the stone out of mine and for awhile I just wore my wedding band. DH and I kept meaning to get a new stone but I just couldn't justify the $ ( I wanted something kind of big or nothing.) I just couldn't spend 6 or 7 thousand on a diamond when I knew I could use that for a wonderful trip with DH and DD so I got a 1.5 ct with channel diamonds on the sides in a 14ct gold setting, from QVC, yeah it's fake, but only Dh and I know. I have a pretty fun ring and it was 200 dollars. I have never had any fake jewelry and always swore I never would. But you know, it is only a ring and there is just so much more imporant stuff in life. Eventually I will probably get the stone replaced in my original ring but for now this is fine with me. If you don't go overly big no one will know unless you want them to.

 

[msmayor]

Even if you didn't have a specific insurance policy on the ring, there still may be some coverage available to you.

Most homeowners/rental policies will cover a certain dollar-value of jewelry. It may not be enough to cover the entire ring, but it may give you something.

 

[englishteacha]

Oh, Michelle! I'm so sorry! I smashed my ring to bits a year ago-I shut my hand in a door. I was a wreck. It's not an expensive ring but DH chose it for me, and I love it. Luckily we found the diamond and a local jeweler was able to put it back together good as new. I know how horrible it feels to lose something so precious.

Why don't you get an inexpensive replacement? Then you can save up for a new ring, maybe even a bridal set. The rule about 2 months salary on an engagement ring is ridiculous. Get something that is pretty that you like and is affordable. It doesn't even have to be a diamond. Before we got married, I had to have my ring sized and didn't have it for 2 weeks. Everyone I saw asked if we had broken up. I ended up wearing another ring on that finger just to fend off questions. It didn't matter what it was, as long as something shiny was there people didn't notice it wasn't my engagement ring.

 

[MissMichelle]

Sorry you lost your ring. I lost the stone out of mine and for awhile I just wore my wedding band. DH and I kept meaning to get a new stone but I just couldn't justify the $ ( I wanted something kind of big or nothing.) I just couldn't spend 6 or 7 thousand on a diamond when I knew I could use that for a wonderful trip with DH and DD so I got a 1.5 ct with channel diamonds on the sides in a 14ct gold setting, from QVC, yeah it's fake, but only Dh and I know. I have a pretty fun ring and it was 200 dollars. I have never had any fake jewelry and always swore I never would. But you know, it is only a ring and there is just so much more imporant stuff in life. Eventually I will probably get the stone replaced in my original ring but for now this is fine with me. If you don't go overly big no one will know unless you want them to.

I was actually thinking that! I was on limoges jewelry site and they had fake sets there that on the site and in the catalog looked real...I said "who will know?" LOL. I know it is just a ring..and I keep thinking there are MUCH more important things in life to purchase. I guess it was just because a few years ago we didn't have much $$, and he went and bought me my engagement ring (didn't spend thousands since he got it @ the wholesale club i now work at but it appraised 150% more then what he paid for it) and while he joked that someday I could "upgrade" I never felt the need...It was beautiful---and mine. So after your post it really hit me that it doesn't matter...I am usually a "the thought that counts" kind of girl, I just feel sad over the loss of $$ and wish I could replace it easier.

 

[NotUrsula]

I never wanted an engagement ring, but it meant a lot to DH to give me one. I compromised and let him get me one that was a semiprecious stone that did NOT cost an arm and a leg. About 4 years ago (when we had been married 10 years) I lost it in a public place and was unable to get it back. I was just going to let it go, but the following Christmas he replaced it, again because it meant more to him than to me.

It was a custom ring, and he had the same jeweler make it again. It's a very pretty ring with lots of sentimental value, and I get admiring comments on it constantly, but it is NOT a bank-breaker. The original was $275, and the replacement 10 yrs. later was about $400. I know that wasn't nothing, but it wasn't the kind of money that meant that he had to make a huge sacrifice.

See what your homeowner's insurance will cover, and then consider getting a much less expensive replacement. You don't really NEED a diamond; what counts is the sentimental value.

 

[MissMichelle]

Oh, Michelle! I'm so sorry! I smashed my ring to bits a year ago-I shut my hand in a door. I was a wreck. It's not an expensive ring but DH chose it for me, and I love it. Luckily we found the diamond and a local jeweler was able to put it back together good as new. I know how horrible it feels to lose something so precious.

Why don't you get an inexpensive replacement? Then you can save up for a new ring, maybe even a bridal set. The rule about 2 months salary on an engagement ring is ridiculous. Get something that is pretty that you like and is affordable. It doesn't even have to be a diamond. Before we got married, I had to have my ring sized and didn't have it for 2 weeks. Everyone I saw asked if we had broken up. I ended up wearing another ring on that finger just to fend off questions. It didn't matter what it was, as long as something shiny was there people didn't notice it wasn't my engagement ring.

HAHA I hear yah! Just as I replied to the other poster, it may suit me for awhile to get a fake and deal with it. I am happy that you got your diamond back and it all worked out. My mother keeps praying to Saint Anthony (Saint of lost items?? I don't know) that it'll appear because she knows it means a lot to me.

2 months salary is nuts...DH doesn't make a TON but that would be a $10,000 ring! I wouldn't want a half a car on my finger unless we had disposable income. I am too cheap for that--and as we have all seen...I lose things! HAHA

 

[MissMichelle]

I never wanted an engagement ring, but it meant a lot to DH to give me one. I compromised and let him get me one that was a semiprecious stone that did NOT cost an arm and a leg. About 4 years ago (when we had been married 10 years) I lost it in a public place and was unable to get it back. I was just going to let it go, but the following Christmas he replaced it, again because it meant more to him than to me.

It was a custom ring, and he had the same jeweler make it again. It's a very pretty ring with lots of sentimental value, and I get admiring comments on it constantly, but it is NOT a bank-breaker. The original was $275, and the replacement 10 yrs. later was about $400. I know that wasn't nothing, but it wasn't the kind of money that meant that he had to make a huge sacrifice.

See what your homeowner's insurance will cover, and then consider getting a much less expensive replacement. You don't really NEED a diamond; what counts is the sentimental value.

THIS is why I came to the forum to whine about it..I knew you would all make me feel better...I mostly got "Wow, that really Stinks, you must feel like crap" at work and from friends/family...Um yah, I can't get my ring back!

My ring was about $1000 and that was WAY too much to me because we didn't have the $$ to spend at the time. The one I had originally looked at was a $400 ring. That would have suited me well. I was like you, didn't care about the ring--HE did and it made him feel better that I had one, now my hand is empty and while he doesn't blame me for losing it (I would! LOL) he keeps saying " I want to replace it"....men, gotta love em

 

[englishteacha]

Michelle, take a look over at Overstock.com. They have some gorgeous CZ jewelry! No one will know how much your ring cost, or where you got it. Some friends have ordered jewelry from there and I honestly couldn't tell it wasn't real. I have my eye on a 3 stone "past, present, future" ring that's a whopping $16.

 

[MissMichelle]

Michelle, take a look over at Overstock.com. They have some gorgeous CZ jewelry! No one will know how much your ring cost, or where you got it. Some friends have ordered jewelry from there and I honestly couldn't tell it wasn't real. I have my eye on a 3 stone "past, present, future" ring that's a whopping $16.

OOO, never thought to look there! Thanks for that...Headed over there now...

 

[jennifer293]

Try posting a thing in the newspaper or have them read it on the community portion of the news as a lost ring and your number..there may be some honest soul out there that has found it and waiting for it to be claimed..JUST MAYBE!!!! There are a still few honest people left in this world..

 

[MissMichelle]

Try posting a thing in the newspaper or have them read it on the community portion of the news as a lost ring and your number..there may be some honest soul out there that has found it and waiting for it to be claimed..JUST MAYBE!!!! There are a still few honest people left in this world..

I never even thought of that...I guess I had it stuck in my head that maybe it went down the drain while I was scrubbing the tub, or fell into the sewer when I stepped over the manhole in McDonald's parking lot...and possibly somewhere some lucky rat was wearing a diamond....sigh I can think the craziest things to make myself feel better lol

Thanks for the advice!

 

[BoulderBound]

That's always terrible news to hear when someone loses their engagement/wedding ring(s). We get more reports of lost rings during the months leading into winter, as your fingers shrink during the fall/winter and expands during the spring/summer. Next time you think your ring's getting a little loose for your own comfort, just go to your jeweler and ask him for a temporary ring sizer. It's a thin copper strip that is secured very discreetly on the underside of the ring that will keep your investment secure until you have time to get it resized.

For those of you who have lost stones out of your rings, I would definitely suggest that you look over your warranty, or go speak to your jeweler to see if there is a guarantee on their diamonds. After all, that stone, regardless of the size or the wear and tear you put on it, should NOT by any means fall out. If it does fall out tampering, then it's their master jewelers fault and they should have to replace it. If you are operating out of a jeweler without a diamond guarantee, you might consider purchasing from one who does offer it.

For a cheap replacement diamond that's in technical terms a REAL diamond. Try Moissanite. They're grown. They're beautiful. They're SI quality & colorless. And it's substantially cheaper! It even registers on any diamond tester as the real deal.

 

[snowbunny]

I got a 1.5 ct with channel diamonds on the sides in a 14ct gold setting, from QVC, yeah it's fake, but only Dh and I know. I have a pretty fun ring and it was 200 dollars.

ITA I got my DH to get me a moissanite three-stone anniversary ring (center moissanite plus side real sapphires) in 14k white gold for our 10-year anniversary, and it is beautiful. I receive far more compliments on that ring - $500 - than I do on my $3k emerald-cut engagement diamond ring. A jeweler friend took a close look at it and said the cut is exactly how a diamond should look.

Not to mention, after learning about blood diamonds, I'm not buying any more real diamonds. Plus - the cost of diamonds is kept artificially high by the DeBeers cartel. Diamonds are not actually rare at all...the prices are carefully controlled by how and when they are brought to market.

Save your money and buy Diamonique or moissanite!

 

[NotUrsula]

One note about really bargain-basement rings. If you're going to wear it every day, do get precious metal, not something filled or plated. That would be going too far -- it won't fool anyone if it turns your hand green or shows a different color in worn spots.

 

[janets]

It's awful to lose something like this, especially for the sentimental value, let alone the money value.

I would also recommend you look into QVC. They have some fabulous rings, and they have many set in something they call Epiphany...which is platinum over silver. I have several pieces from this collection and really, no one can tell the difference. The price is right and you will get so many compliments on it, while saving a ton of money for things that are more important at this point.

As awful as it is, the ring is just a "thing". Your relationship is still the most important. And frankly, how weird that people would question you on whether you are still together because you don't have your ring on. I often don't wear my wedding ring because I might have my Diamonique one on one day and I take that off at night. And don't remember to put my standard band back on. Do people think your relationship is so tenuous that you might break up?

 

[mouseketeer_mom]

I have a question for those of you that have one or know a little something about diamond simulant stones. After doing some reading, it seems everyone claims that what they sell is the only one that "really looks like a real diamond". For those of you with moissanite, are you pretty confident that it looks like a diamond? If I wanted say, .75 ct. princess cut, do you think it would pass okay?

The reason I ask is this, I lost the stone in my engagement ring about 6 years ago. I figured there was nothing that could be done as the store where DH bought had since closed. ( I found out a little too late that my home owners would have covered some of the cost ) I'd love to replace the stone and be able to wear it again but I just can't justify the $$$ real diamonds cost. Heck, our whole family could go to Disney for a week for what it would cost.

 

[lchadwick]

Consider looking at russian lab diamonds dot com (I think). I had told my dh I didn't want an engagement ring, but after a rough 1st year of marriage, I thought differently. It was beautiful and only cost $160. It was stolen last year when my house was broken into.

I keep meaning to look at them again, but I want to lose a little more weight.

 

[snowbunny]

For those of you with moissanite, are you pretty confident that it looks like a diamond? If I wanted say, .75 ct. princess cut, do you think it would pass okay?

Yes, definitely. Moissanite is chemically and structurally a diamond. The difference is that it is lab grown. My understanding is that moissanite is the only "fake" that can be cut exactly as a diamond. Diamonique (and I'm a fan, I have several Epiphany pieces) can't be faceted exactly like a diamond.

That said, most Diamonque will pass to the casual viewer - the problem with it IMO is that QVC makes the stones so large that in that way, they're more easily identifiable as fakes; who walks around with a 2-3 carat real diamond?

Moissanite is more expensive than CZ but again, it's indistinguishable from a natural diamond.

 

[scouthawkk]

Total bummer. I am always so afraid I will lose mine. It's custom, and the artist said she'd never make another ingagement ring again (mine was the first and last). Guess it was just too much work above the normal rings she was making. So my biggest fear is losing it knowing it truely is not replaceable!

You can take a look at bidz.com. I love that site. I have gotten jewerly from there before. It is an online auction (live). If the bidding price gets too high for your budget, just pick something else. They have all sorts of rings, diamonds, cz, and all other kinds of stones...good luck!!!!!