# Jewelry store lost my wife's ring. Advice needed. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 29, 2010, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewelry-store-lost-my-wifes-ring-advice-needed/544906 "2010-06-29T06:30:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewelry-store-lost-my-wifes-ring-advice-needed/544906/21 "2010-06-29T14:47:21Z")
I’d wait if they offer anything beyond the replacement. If they do, that’s nice. Did you get anything engraved on the first ring? You might want to ask for the store to do that now. Anyway, “initiating the new ring with new fond memories” is a perfect excuse for you and your wife to go out and have a very nice romantic weekend. Romantic weekends are a good thing for wives, even new wives. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewelry-store-lost-my-wifes-ring-advice-needed/544906/22 "2010-06-29T14:54:56Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Sure, the store made an honest mistake. However, **the OP and his wife can never be made whole** , unless the store suddenly finds that ring again. Jewelers count on sentiment to sell their goods, and in the case of the OP, they also used sentiment to sell a warranty as well. (bolding mine) Wow. Sucks to be them. Shouldn’t have put their life-force into a piece of jewelry, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewelry-store-lost-my-wifes-ring-advice-needed/544906/23 "2010-06-29T14:58:00Z")
Dude, you’ve had the ring for a few months. They could have replaced it with the same thing and you wouldn’t have even noticed. It’s hardly an heirloom. Just take the replacement. If this was a ring that had been in the family or something I could see your beef, but seriously, you just married her. Edit: And I completely agree with **Eonwe** ’s response to **Lynn** ’s post. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewelry-store-lost-my-wifes-ring-advice-needed/544906/24 "2010-06-29T14:59:35Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > This seems reasonable. But I wanted to ask about the idea of a “semi-annual checkup.” I understand that was part of the warranty purchased with the ring, but is that sort of thing really necessary? I don’t own any jewelry, but my mother has a lot and I don’t think she does this with her stuff. It can be very important. Any wear on the prongs holding in the gems can be noted and the prongs can be built up if the wear is significant enough. I recently lost a side diamond ‘chip’ (larger than most chips, though) in my engagement ring; I got married over a decade ago and hadn’t been taking it in for “checkups” at all. The prongs were very small to start with, and the ring is around 90 years old. TLDR hijack: I’m not emotionally attached to this ring. His family is, because it’s his paternal grandmother’s, and my getting it (willed to my husband via his grandmother) caused some turmoil in the family. His father tried to force us into getting a pre-nup just for it, and later I overheard him telling one of my sisters-in-law that he’d “rip it off her fucking finger” if my husband and I ever got divorced. So, yeah, not really my own enduring symbol of love or anything. We’re going to get the chip replaced at some point and give it to our only nephew when he starts thinking about marriage, so that it stays in the family. ---
**Author:** ![Razrak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/razrak/32/5888_2.png) [@Razrak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Razrak)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewelry-store-lost-my-wifes-ring-advice-needed/544906/25 "2010-06-29T15:02:18Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > This seems reasonable. But I wanted to ask about the idea of a “semi-annual checkup.” I understand that was part of the warranty purchased with the ring, but is that sort of thing really necessary? I don’t own any jewelry, but my mother has a lot and I don’t think she does this with her stuff. My mother had the same type of warranty on her wedding ring. The diamond fell out of the prongs and the store replaced the diamond since she had been diligently taking the ring in for check ups. The first time my wife took her ring in, they poked and prodded it with a tool. Then gave it back to her the same day. The second checkup, they prodded it with the tool, and said a diamond was loose so they’d have to send it in. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewelry-store-lost-my-wifes-ring-advice-needed/544906/26 "2010-06-29T15:02:48Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Dude, you’ve had the ring for a few months. They could have replaced it with the same thing and you wouldn’t have even noticed. It’s hardly an heirloom. Just take the replacement. > > If this was a ring that had been in the family or something I could see your beef, but seriously, you just married her. > > Edit: And I completely agree with **Eonwe** ’s response to **Lynn** ’s post. Wow. Me too. Between this and the similar reactions in the penis ensuing thread, I have to ask–are you borrowing my brain? Or is this an every other day time share type thing? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewelry-store-lost-my-wifes-ring-advice-needed/544906/27 "2010-06-29T15:03:22Z")
**Wheelz** , that’s what my husband said when I told him about the lost diamond chip in the engagement ring. I was worried that he’d be torn up about it since I’d “broken” his family’s heirloom, but he was very down-to-earth about it, saying it was just wear-and-tear, it was just a thing, we’d get it fixed eventually and pass it on. To the OP: I wouldn’t blame you if you did ask for a little bit of “consideration” in this respect. Explain the emotional connection and see if that helps. But it’s not something, obviously, that everyone automatically assumes is due. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewelry-store-lost-my-wifes-ring-advice-needed/544906/28 "2010-06-29T15:09:45Z")
I get it. A replacement is not the actual item. It’s like losing a child, then having someone tell you to just have another child, because it’ll be the exact same thing. OK, it’s not QUITE like that, but I get the sentimental value thing. Having said that, though, what do you expect them to do? Finding the original ring is no longer an option. > [@Eonwe](#): > > Wow. Sucks to be them. Shouldn’t have put their life-force into a piece of jewelry, I guess. I can just picture Sauron at the jewelry store. “What do you mean you lost it?” “I’m sorry sir, but we’d be happy to replace it with one just like it.” “Um, yeah. That’s not really going to work for me.” “Sir, I understand that it has sentimental value.” “Well, it’s a little more than that.” “Well, sir, there’s nothing I can do but replace it. I could put a nice inscription on it if you’d like.” “I’m getting a bit of a headache here. Could you look in the back just one more time? I’d really appreciate it.” ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewelry-store-lost-my-wifes-ring-advice-needed/544906/29 "2010-06-29T15:17:22Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Having said that, though, what do you expect them to do? Finding the original ring is no longer an option. Are you kidding? He’s looking to get paid! He just found a hair in his soup and he’d like a free dessert. Jackpot, baby. > [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Wow. Me too. Between this and the similar reactions in the penis ensuing thread, I have to ask–are you borrowing my brain? Or is this an every other day time share type thing? Great minds think alike. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewelry-store-lost-my-wifes-ring-advice-needed/544906/30 "2010-06-29T15:26:30Z")
Rings are just a thing. Had this happened to me, I would be sad about it (if it happened now that my husband has died, it would be more traumatic, but still manageable), but it’s not something dastardly. If I were the store, I’d offer to replace the ring plus a gift cert. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewelry-store-lost-my-wifes-ring-advice-needed/544906/31 "2010-06-29T15:29:45Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Hello? What part of WEDDING RING do you not understand? Most people are slightly sentimental about things like WEDDINGS, something about that whole LOVE thang, hopefully ONCE IN A LIFETIME thang, forming lifelong MEMORIES thang. The ring does not hold the memory hostage. It’s not the ring that counts, it’s what it represents. It hurts when we lose something sentimental. I’ve suffered so many of those losses in my life, but we can’t let the material good hold our memories captive. In the end it really is just a replaceable material good. In my opinion the ring should be replaced with a ring of equal value, in the same style. Or another if it’s preferred. If they want to make it a sentimental thing, take the new ring and christen it in a way they see fit. Give it a new happy memory. ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewelry-store-lost-my-wifes-ring-advice-needed/544906/32 "2010-06-29T15:42:16Z")
**Jewelry store lost my wives ring. Advice needed.** How many wives do you have ? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Razrak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/razrak/32/5888_2.png) [@Razrak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Razrak)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewelry-store-lost-my-wifes-ring-advice-needed/544906/33 "2010-06-29T15:46:38Z")
> [@Gymnopithys](#): > > **Jewelry store lost my wives ring. Advice needed.** > > How many wives do you have ? 😉 Good point. :eek: Could a mod help me with my grammar please? I think it should read “wife’s”. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewelry-store-lost-my-wifes-ring-advice-needed/544906/34 "2010-06-29T15:47:31Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Are you kidding? He’s looking to get paid! He just found a hair in his soup and he’d like a free dessert. Jackpot, baby. If you reread the OP, he was not originally looking to cash in. He was fine with a straight replacement. What he’s trying to do is appease his wife. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewelry-store-lost-my-wifes-ring-advice-needed/544906/35 "2010-06-29T15:49:27Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > And it’s entirely replaceable, with a ring that looks and feels exactly the same. The same ring they picked out. It’s not greatgranny’s-made-in-1902-nevertobereplaced ring. > > I had a wedding ring which proved faulty - the stones kept dropping out of it. In the end, after round three of repairs, the store replaced it with the exact same thing. Some Big Deal. Greatgranny’s ring started out new sometime. I guess it would be OK to lose that one. > [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I think if it were something like a ring that they’d had for years, I might be more pissed at the store. But this is the same store you bought it from and that same store is replacing it? I don’t really see the big deal. Then again, I don’t really like rings all that much and if I get ever get married, probably won’t wear mine. And I’m not really too big on sentiment for objects either. Not everybody is sentimental I guess, must be great for moving time, just burn the old house, move into the new and replace everything. Nothing worth saving there… > [@Rushgeekgirl](#): > > The ring does not hold the memory hostage. It’s not the ring that counts, it’s what it represents. It hurts when we lose something sentimental. I’ve suffered so many of those losses in my life, but we can’t let the material good hold our memories captive. In the end it really is just a replaceable material good. > > In my opinion the ring should be replaced with a ring of equal value, in the same style. Or another if it’s preferred. If they want to make it a sentimental thing, take the new ring and christen it in a way they see fit. Give it a new happy memory. Anything including great grannys ring is ultimately replaceable. What makes an heirloom but memories. Now they will never have their wedding ring ever again. A new lump of metal may look like it, but it is NOT it. Same principal as a pet, that new golden retriever may look just like Phluphi, but it is heartbreaking to many people when a beloved pet dies. Hell, greatgranny is ultimately replacable, just og to the nearest retirement home and ‘adopt’ a senior and start visiting them. You will soon have new memories.:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewelry-store-lost-my-wifes-ring-advice-needed/544906/36 "2010-06-29T16:03:34Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Not everybody is sentimental I guess, must be great for moving time, just burn the old house, move into the new and replace everything. Nothing worth saving there… Well, I wouldn’t want that either. Some of that stuff IS expensive. Hypothetically, if someone could come and replace everything in my apartment, transporter/replica style and it’s so good, I wouldn’t know the difference, then I really wouldn’t care. Even if you told me. I do have a few things I really like, mainly because they were autographed, but if hypothetically I could get them again with the same autographs, I wouldn’t be upset at losing the originals. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewelry-store-lost-my-wifes-ring-advice-needed/544906/37 "2010-06-29T16:21:15Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Greatgranny’s ring started out new sometime. I guess it would be OK to lose that one. > > Not everybody is sentimental I guess, must be great for moving time, just burn the old house, move into the new and replace everything. Nothing worth saving there… > Anything including great grannys ring is ultimately replaceable. What makes an heirloom but memories. Now they will never have their wedding ring ever again. A new lump of metal may look like it, but it is NOT it. Same principal as a pet, that new golden retriever may look just like Phluphi, but it is heartbreaking to many people when a beloved pet dies. Hell, greatgranny is ultimately replacable, just og to the nearest retirement home and ‘adopt’ a senior and start visiting them. You will soon have new memories.:rolleyes: I had a girlfriend like you once. Everything was SUCH a drama, thank god she didn’t have anything really important to worry about. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewelry-store-lost-my-wifes-ring-advice-needed/544906/38 "2010-06-29T16:33:09Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Hypothetically, if someone could come and replace everything in my apartment, transporter/replica style and it’s so good, I wouldn’t know the difference, then I really wouldn’t care. Even if you told me. That’s great for you, but not everyone is like that. If you have no sentiment for things, then I understand that it probably seems pretty irrational. But to those of us that have setiment, the attachment to an actual object is as real as the object itself. ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewelry-store-lost-my-wifes-ring-advice-needed/544906/39 "2010-06-29T16:49:23Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Not everybody is sentimental I guess, must be great for moving time, just burn the old house, move into the new and replace everything. Nothing worth saving there… Nice fallacy of the excluded middle. > [@aruvqan](#): > > Anything including great grannys ring is ultimately replaceable. What makes an heirloom but memories. Now they will never have their wedding ring ever again. A new lump of metal may look like it, but it is NOT it. Same principal as a pet, that new golden retriever may look just like Phluphi, but it is heartbreaking to many people when a beloved pet dies. Hell, greatgranny is ultimately replacable, just og to the nearest retirement home and ‘adopt’ a senior and start visiting them. You will soon have new memories.:rolleyes: Rings are not living things. The difference between two rings of the exact same type are minuscule compared to two people, or two dogs of the same breed. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewelry-store-lost-my-wifes-ring-advice-needed/544906/40 "2010-06-29T16:55:14Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > That’s great for you, but not everyone is like that. If you have no sentiment for things, then I understand that it probably seems pretty irrational. But to those of us that have setiment, the attachment to an actual object is as real as the object itself. I know. I’m just explaining how I’d react to my house being burned down and all the objects destroyed. If I could get replicas, I’d be okay. Otherwise, I’d be annoyed. I mean, as **pedescribe** just said, it’s not like everyone who’s not super sentimental has NO attachment to anything. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewelry-store-lost-my-wifes-ring-advice-needed/544906.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewelry-store-lost-my-wifes-ring-advice-needed/544906.md?page=3)