Woman loses her $400,000 diamond ring...

[daisy]

abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/missouri-couple-shocked-trash-company-finds-lost-400000/story?id=37690676

Thought this was fitting given the engagement ring discussions lately!

This resonated with me (not because I have a $400k ring or anything  ) but I DID throw my $6k engagement ring out many, many years ago.  I was wrapping Christmas presents on the dining room table and the ring kept getting in my way (too loose) so i set it on the table next to me and forgot it was there.  Finished wrapping, swept all the bits and pieces right off the table into the garbage.

A day or two later I was hunting through the house looking for it, retracing my steps and realized what I had done.  Garbage was long gone. THANKFULLY it was insured and I ended up with a technically 'better' diamond, but THAT one I had inherited from my dad so I'm still brokenhearted to remember what an idiot I was. Right now the ring hasn't been appraised since 2001 so it's locked up in a safe deposit box until I have a chance to get a current appraisal.

I read on another site that she has 'lost' this ring three times now.....probably time to get a cheapie stand-in and keep that one in the safe deposit box!

[zibazinski]

Yup, you can get a copy made and a lot of women do. Very prevalent in the Palm Beach area. We went into a store that specialized in making beautiful copies of rich women's jewelry. That's where I fell in love with a yellow diamond. Fake but looked amazing. I still kick myself for not buying it.

[Deleted]

I saw the article and frankly, I thought that was one ugly ring. I love jewelry but it would be very hard for me to find a piece I liked at that price level because I don't like really gaudy, flashy pieces. I'm retired now, but I still joke that I buy only things suitable to wear to the office.

[daisy]

Mar 18, 2016 8:19:53 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

I saw the article and frankly, I thought that was one ugly ring. I love jewelry but it would be very hard for me to find a piece I liked at that price level because I don't like really gaudy, flashy pieces. I'm retired now, but I still joke that I buy only things suitable to wear to the office.

Agreed - UGLY!  To me it looks like a huge hunk of ice, which means she went for quantity over quality.  My diamond is a round, G, IF and it looks twice the size it is because there is so much sparkle.  There are so many gorgeous rings out there...not sure why she thought that was a good way to spend $400k!  Makes me wonder if their house is full of gold foil wallpaper, gold faucets and the like. 

[daisy]

Mar 18, 2016 6:59:58 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

Yup, you can get a copy made and a lot of women do. Very prevalent in the Palm Beach area. We went into a store that specialized in making beautiful copies of rich women's jewelry. That's where I fell in love with a yellow diamond. Fake but looked amazing. I still kick myself for not buying it.

Oooh - yellow diamond - see, this is how I would spend $400k!  A fancy colored diamond would be amazing, and as you said, get a good copy made and you could wear it every day.  Save the real one for big events instead of every-day activities where it might get thrown away again!

[Deleted]

My step dad found a a nice ring years ago. My mother wore it until she died. For some reason she left it to me. My oldest daughter really wanted it and my younger daughter did not care so she is getting it.

[Tiny]

I read on another site that she has 'lost' this ring three times now.....probably time to get a cheapie stand-in and keep that one in the safe deposit box!

Maybe she's trying to collect the insurance money... since if the ring appraised for 400K - she would probably get less then 100K for it if she sold it... maybe only 50K.      Getting 400K in insurance money  because she 'lost' it would be a better deal. 

[zibazinski]

Mar 18, 2016 10:47:23 GMT -5 Tiny said:

I read on another site that she has 'lost' this ring three times now.....probably time to get a cheapie stand-in and keep that one in the safe deposit box!

Maybe she's trying to collect the insurance money... since if the ring appraised for 400K - she would probably get less then 100K for it if she sold it... maybe only 50K.      Getting 400K in insurance money  because she 'lost' it would be a better deal. 

Ooh, never thought of that.

[lexxy703]

I love pear shaped diamonds but that one looked dull.  Maybe it was just the way it was photographed.

[Chocolate Lover]

Mar 18, 2016 10:48:58 GMT -5 lexxy703 said:

I love pear shaped diamonds but that one looked dull.  Maybe it was just the way it was photographed.

I hope so, I've seen Cracker Jack rings that looked better. 

[tloonya]

That IS the ugliest thing, maybe she wanted to lose it!

But the size of the main diamond is WOW!

[milee]

From the other pictures she looks like a pretty lady. Wonder if the picture of the ring was taken when she was wearing it or someone else? The hand wearing the ring looks older than the other picture of the woman. Could be they were taken in different decades or could be that her hands just aren't as pretty as the rest of her.  I think my hands are not my most attractive feature. I'm pretty small and although my hands are short, they're not delicate. More squarish and strong. The only thing IMHO that saves them from being classified as the dreaded "man hands" is that they are small and smooth. Anyway, knowing my hands aren't my best feature, I don't tend to wear flashy stuff on them since they're not what I want to draw attention to***.

If I looked like the lady in the picture but my hands looked like the hands in the other picture of the ring, I wouldn't want that type of big ring that would draw attention to my hands.

*** OK, I realized I'm lying a little bit here.  I do have a big, gorgeous ring that I wear sometimes.  It's got a 4+ carat deep pink sapphire mounted over a band of diamonds that run underneath the sapphire and send sparkles up through the sapphire.  It's just too pretty to keep in the safe forever.  But when I wear it I hope people are looking only at the ring and not my funny, square little hands.   

[zibazinski]

Mar 19, 2016 9:24:26 GMT -5 milee said:

From the other pictures she looks like a pretty lady. Wonder if the picture of the ring was taken when she was wearing it or someone else? The hand wearing the ring looks older than the other picture of the woman. Could be they were taken in different decades or could be that her hands just aren't as pretty as the rest of her.  I think my hands are not my most attractive feature. I'm pretty small and although my hands are short, they're not delicate. More squarish and strong. The only thing IMHO that saves them from being classified as the dreaded "man hands" is that they are small and smooth. Anyway, knowing my hands aren't my best feature, I don't tend to wear flashy stuff on them since they're not what I want to draw attention to***.

If I looked like the lady in the picture but my hands looked like the hands in the other picture of the ring, I wouldn't want that type of big ring that would draw attention to my hands.

*** OK, I realized I'm lying a little bit here.  I do have a big, gorgeous ring that I wear sometimes.  It's got a 4+ carat deep pink sapphire mounted over a band of diamonds that run underneath the sapphire and send sparkles up through the sapphire.  It's just too pretty to keep in the safe forever.  But when I wear it I hope people are looking only at the ring and not my funny, square little hands.   

Ooh pretty. Picture sometime?

[milee]

They're not great pictures and don't do the ring justice, but here are a few.

[zibazinski]

Pretty. Very pretty. 

[milee]

Yes, those are yoga pants as a background.

[zibazinski]

Lovely

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

I'm scared of losing my $5K wedding set; I cannot fathom trying to keep track of a $400k one.

[daisy]

Mar 19, 2016 11:00:32 GMT -5 milee said:

Yes, those are yoga pants as a background.

Gorgeous ring! Thanks for sharing pics - much nicer than that expensive diamond.  I am partial to colored stones myself.  

[daisy]

Mar 18, 2016 10:17:24 GMT -5 @hickle said:

My step dad found a a nice ring years ago. My mother wore it until she died. For some reason she left it to me. My oldest daughter really wanted it and my younger daughter did not care so she is getting it.

My older daughter (25) will get the replacement ring (diamond) and my younger (18) will get another ring (not equal value but close).   My younger is very much "Eh" about jewelry - yours sounds similar.  I think younger daughter's interest in the diamond would be more "How much is it worth?" whereas her sister is more, "Oh that's the replacement ring from the diamond you inherited from grandpa".  

I'm big on handing things down in families so it's really cool that your oldest got her grandma's ring.