Lost Engagement Ring

Knottie1436102627

About a month ago when I got home from work I took off my engagement ring, placed it inside the box, and went for a run. I normally don't wear my engagement ring when I exercise because my fingers swell and it becomes uncomfortable. This is a routine I've been doing since I got engaged almost a year ago. 

When I returned home from my run, I noticed the ring box was not where I placed it last and began to panic. I got down on the floor and found the ring box on its side under the bed, empty. I began to panic some more. I do have a cat who likes to play with things and knock them over from time to time but he has never bothered my ring box before. I figured if he was playing with it, I would find it since there aren't many places he would be able to hide it.

That was a month ago! I have turned the house upside down looking for the ring, I even had my cat X-rayed the very next day to see if he swallowed it and the results came back with with nothing. I used a webcam to see down the floor vents and there was nothing, and I'm really at a loss. My fiancé and I are doing long distance until the wedding and he knows the ring is missing and can't afford to get another one (he didn't get insurance on the first one). 

Should I buy a new engagement ring? What are the odds of it turning up when I move to where my fiancé is? Have you ever lost your engagement ring and it just suddenly turned up somewhere? 

charlotte989875

I have so many questions; does anyone have access to your house (roommates, neighbors)? Did you leave your house unlocked? I'd be concerned someone took it. If it's possible it was stolen can you should file a police report. 

Its been a month and you haven't found it; is it insured? Do you have home or renters insurance that covers jewelry? 

jacques27

Well, I've never lost an engagement ring.  I have lost other jewelry (and actually lots of other things).  It usually turns up, but it's also usually my own doing, not that of a pet.  It usually gets knocked off a table or dresser and I can't see it hidden in the carpet (or I forgot where I took it off).  When my great-uncle passed away we found a diamond earring that belonged to his wife who passed away 7 years earlier buried into the carpet underneath the bed that somehow managed to evade the vacuum all those years.  If it's a pet, I would venture to say you'd find it in the litter box or under appliances or large pieces of furniture (my friend's cats love to bat their toys under the refrigerator, stove, dresser, couch, etc.).

If you have homeowner's insurance or renter's insurance, there's a chance it could be covered under that (but usually that would only be if you added a rider to your policy to cover it). 

As for whether you should buy a ring, that's really a personal choice.  Personally, I most likely wouldn't.  A ring doesn't define the engagement - I would be no more or no less engaged with/out the ring.  If I really wanted a replacement, I would have no qualms buying it myself though, provided my finances allowed for it just like every other thing that is a want rather than a need.  I wouldn't put myself in a tight situation financially just to OMG HAVE THE RING RIGHT NOW!  I would save up for it with my discretionary fun money until I could purchase it outright (i.e. not put it on credit or dip into my emergency savings fund), even if that meant I don't get it until after the wedding. 

If you do have the discretionary fun money to do it right now and that's what you want to do, then if I were you I would
a) hold off doing it until after you move and can do a thorough inspection of the entire house without furniture in it and move the appliances,
b) make sure you get insurance on it immediately and add a rider to your homeowner or renter policy, and
c) make sure you not only put it in the box when you decide to take it off, but put the box in a drawer if you don't want your cat to play with it. 

ernursej

That sucks OP. I'm sorry that you are dealing with this.

If you don't have an insurance rider on it, I would check with your insurance about the deductible and limit on general jewelry and see what you might be able to get. We have a rider and I would replace instantly, but without that, might be expensive. It may still turn up. Have you asked a friend to look for you? I personally find that someone removed from the situation might look in different areas and may find it.

A ring doesn't technically define an engagement, but I appreciate the sentiment behind it and the value to you.

Although this doesn't help OP, I would always recommend a rider on jewelry worth more than the deductible/general jewelry limit.

kvruns

You could check and see if your rental or homeowners will cover any of it but I wouldnt hold my breath. I'd definitely keep turning the house upside down but probably wouldn't buy another if you can't afford it. 

SP29

You may have some coverage under contents through your home/renters insurance.

I do not have my ring specifically insured either. DH said it would be covered under our content insurance, and we have enough savings to cover the cost should it need to be replaced. I also take my e-ring off for sports, work, cleaning the house- it sits in it's original box on my dresser too.

As for losing jewelry- not often. I lost a valuable ring once, as a kid- never found it. No idea where it went.

Interestingly, my grandpa was selling one of his cars and my mom told him to make sure he checked under all the seats. Sure enough, pulled the back seat out and found a diamond ring- didn't belong to anyone in my family!

I would give it some time and search every nook and cranny; I would move your furniture piece by piece and check under. It is possible the cat played with it and ditched it somewhere. Since you found the box on the floor, it's clear it fell somehow. Then if you still can't find it, think about a replacement.

Sucks- the sentiment of losing the ring would upset me more than the money. But not the end of the world.

ernursej

SP29 said:

You may have some coverage under contents through your home/renters insurance.

I do not have my ring specifically insured either. DH said it would be covered under our content insurance, and we have enough savings to cover the cost should it need to be replaced. I also take my e-ring off for sports, work, cleaning the house- it sits in it's original box on my dresser too.

As for losing jewelry- not often. I lost a valuable ring once, as a kid- never found it. No idea where it went.

Interestingly, my grandpa was selling one of his cars and my mom told him to make sure he checked under all the seats. Sure enough, pulled the back seat out and found a diamond ring- didn't belong to anyone in my family!

I would give it some time and search every nook and cranny; I would move your furniture piece by piece and check under. It is possible the cat played with it and ditched it somewhere. Since you found the box on the floor, it's clear it fell somehow. Then if you still can't find it, think about a replacement.

Sucks- the sentiment of losing the ring would upset me more than the money. But not the end of the world.

Could just be our insurance plan (or perhaps something that is Canadian law), but our insurance plan actually caps the amount that can be claimed for a specific piece of jewelry without a rider despite the total amount for all contents that could be claimed for any one reason. For example, I could claim $1000 for jewelry with a $500 deductible despite having over a million in contents insurance. With a jewelry rider, I don't have to pay a deductible at all.

CMGragain

You wouldn't believe the stuff we found when we last moved.  Daughter's bedroom held cash, jewelry, all kinds of stuff!  Then there was my lost keys that turned up inside "Bucky - the Wonder Horse".
Hope you find it soon.

ScottishSarah

Really sorry for your situation.  I once got some really good advice from my school teacher.

 She said losing things is way easier than losing people.  Hope this helps in some way.  Xxx

scrunchythief

That really sucks, I do hope it turns up soon!

I'd definitely wait till you move, if I were you.  I tend to find things whenever I move.  

Another option to consider is, if you haven't bought your wedding band yet, if you have the fun money to do it, maybe upgrade your wedding ring into a more of a stand alone piece, rather than replacing the engagement ring?

thisismynickname2

scrunchythief said:

That really sucks, I do hope it turns up soon!

I'd definitely wait till you move, if I were you.  I tend to find things whenever I move.  

Another option to consider is, if you haven't bought your wedding band yet, if you have the fun money to do it, maybe upgrade your wedding ring into a more of a stand alone piece, rather than replacing the engagement ring?

This is a good idea here. I would not buy another engagement ring because what would you do with two engagement rings? I'd venture to say most of us on these forums don't drip in jewels all the time, and if you have two engagement-like rings, if you find the first, the other's probably going to sit in a box. The likelihood of reselling it for anything close to what you bought it for is slim. 

If your cat started batting it around, it could be anywhere. 

ETA: In regards to the moving comment, I just moved. Underneath a file cabinet we found a blank thank-you card with a single condom in it. Yes, you find random stuff when you move, lol! 

InLoveInQueens

CMGragain said:

You wouldn't believe the stuff we found when we last moved.  Daughter's bedroom held cash, jewelry, all kinds of stuff!  Then there was my lost keys that turned up inside "Bucky - the Wonder Horse".
Hope you find it soon.

My mom lost the diamond from her engagement ring like 20 years ago. She found is close to 10 years ago when flipping the mattress (something she'd done at least twice in between). There it was, dead center on the box spring, just staring up at her. Sometimes stuff turns up, sometimes it takes a while.

MandTFebruary62011

Not my engagement ring, but another ring that my sister gave me went missing about ten years ago.  I put it on the counter when I took a shower. I tore the entire apartment apart because I tend to lose most things my sister gives me (no idea why).  I actually DID go out and buy another one because I didn't have the hard to tell her.  My ex and I at the time had a mattress on the floor and when we moved it was all the way in the middle of the mattress underneath.  I don't have a CLUE how it got there and I'm pretty sure I lifted that thing three times looking for it.  All I know is now I have two of those rings - and I definitely told my sister about it drunk several years later!

Keep looking, I like the suggestion of having a friend help you.  It's your call if you buy a new one but if you do - and for your wedding rings - definitely get them insured. It's a small amount of money to protect such a valuable (financially and emotionally) piece of jewelry.

SP29

ernursej said:

SP29 said:

You may have some coverage under contents through your home/renters insurance.

I do not have my ring specifically insured either. DH said it would be covered under our content insurance, and we have enough savings to cover the cost should it need to be replaced. I also take my e-ring off for sports, work, cleaning the house- it sits in it's original box on my dresser too.

As for losing jewelry- not often. I lost a valuable ring once, as a kid- never found it. No idea where it went.

Interestingly, my grandpa was selling one of his cars and my mom told him to make sure he checked under all the seats. Sure enough, pulled the back seat out and found a diamond ring- didn't belong to anyone in my family!

I would give it some time and search every nook and cranny; I would move your furniture piece by piece and check under. It is possible the cat played with it and ditched it somewhere. Since you found the box on the floor, it's clear it fell somehow. Then if you still can't find it, think about a replacement.

Sucks- the sentiment of losing the ring would upset me more than the money. But not the end of the world.

Could just be our insurance plan (or perhaps something that is Canadian law), but our insurance plan actually caps the amount that can be claimed for a specific piece of jewelry without a rider despite the total amount for all contents that could be claimed for any one reason. For example, I could claim $1000 for jewelry with a $500 deductible despite having over a million in contents insurance. With a jewelry rider, I don't have to pay a deductible at all.

Good to know. I'll ask DH about that again.

madamerwin

SP29 said:

ernursej said:

SP29 said:

You may have some coverage under contents through your home/renters insurance.

I do not have my ring specifically insured either. DH said it would be covered under our content insurance, and we have enough savings to cover the cost should it need to be replaced. I also take my e-ring off for sports, work, cleaning the house- it sits in it's original box on my dresser too.

As for losing jewelry- not often. I lost a valuable ring once, as a kid- never found it. No idea where it went.

Interestingly, my grandpa was selling one of his cars and my mom told him to make sure he checked under all the seats. Sure enough, pulled the back seat out and found a diamond ring- didn't belong to anyone in my family!

I would give it some time and search every nook and cranny; I would move your furniture piece by piece and check under. It is possible the cat played with it and ditched it somewhere. Since you found the box on the floor, it's clear it fell somehow. Then if you still can't find it, think about a replacement.

Sucks- the sentiment of losing the ring would upset me more than the money. But not the end of the world.

Could just be our insurance plan (or perhaps something that is Canadian law), but our insurance plan actually caps the amount that can be claimed for a specific piece of jewelry without a rider despite the total amount for all contents that could be claimed for any one reason. For example, I could claim $1000 for jewelry with a $500 deductible despite having over a million in contents insurance. With a jewelry rider, I don't have to pay a deductible at all.

Good to know. I'll ask DH about that again.

My insurance (in the US) is like @ernursej - our renters insurance would cover jewelry up to $1,000 total, and only after a $500 deductible. It also only covers theft or fire damage. We got a rider specifically for the ring, so that there is a $100 deductible and it's insured for the entire appraised value. This plan also covers "mysterious disappearance" - which means I could misplace it, have no clue where it went, and insurance would cover it. Most homeowners/renters insurance does not cover mysterious disappearance for any objects. I think we pay about $108/year for it, so not bad at all. Definitely look in to your insurance plan!

lembaslover

thisismynickname said:

ETA: In regards to the moving comment, I just moved. Underneath a file cabinet we found a blank thank-you card with a single condom in it. Yes, you find random stuff when you move, lol! 

This reminded me of last summer when DH and I were cleaning out his desk from his parents house since they were moving. It was his desk from high school so he hasn't used it in like 10 years and we found some wicked old condoms. He couldn't remember where he got them and was pretty glad his parents let him clean out his desk so they didn't find them. 

OP personally I feel like an engagement ring I purchased couldn't replace the one DH had bought me and proposed with so I'd keep looking. Like PP said if a cat was playing with it, it could be anywhere. If you don't find it maybe get a more ornate wedding band that could be solo or if you have the money get a set at that time.

Knottie1436102627

I found my ring!!!!  

OurWildKingdom

Knottie1436102627 said:

I found my ring!!!!  

Yay! Where did you find it?

Knottie1436102627

My roommate moved out today and she was sweeping under our dryer and said it came out entangled in a ball of lint! I am just so relieved! 

debbeau

That is wonderful!

MesmrEwe

YAY!!!!  Happy Dance for you!!!!

ILoveBeachMusic

Yay!!!!

ScottishSarah

Great news, I'm very pleased for you!