The old saying “You don’t know what you got, until you lose it,” is pretty apt when talking about relationships, but in the case of engagement rings, you DO know what you’ve got: an extremely expensive piece of jewelry that cost you a lot of effort to find, and a lot of cash to buy.
Unfortunately, engagement rings do get lost–either dropped by accident or stolen by design. There’s no point in dwelling on all the different ways you or your wife-to-be might lose the ring. Suffice to say that the circumstances of the loss will dictate what you do next. Whatever the scenario, there’s a lot to do, and you need to move fast.
Panic. Puke. Proceed.
So there’s already been some tears, possibly some yelling, probably a mounting sense of disbelief and dismay. Your fight-or-flight response has been activated. Perhaps you’ve turned your apartment upside down, disassembled the kitchen sink, or started to review every single person you’ve encountered in the last 72 hours (Was it that guy with the crazy eyebrows in the freezer section of the supermarket? Or that mean barista who gave you the stink-eye at Starbucks yesterday morning?)
Go through whatever you gotta go through. Throw up if you must. Then get down to the nitty gritty.
Spread The Word
First, find all the paperwork or records you have regarding the ring. Anything from photos to the original receipt purchase paperwork will be helpful in locating or replacing a lost ring. Then spread the word, from checking the lost and found box at the gym to inquiring at the coffee shop you both stop at every morning. Call the local water company and let them know. Post on Facebook and Craigslist. Sometimes when people find a valuable item, they don’t know how to return it because the rightful owner doesn’t know how to ask.
Cover All Your Bases
If you think it may have been stolen but don’t have any proof, contact your local police precinct and see what they recommend. They’ll probably tell you to keep your eyes peeled at local pawn shops and craigslist to see if it surfaces. If it does, and you have your proof of ownership, they can help you reclaim it and possibly even locate the perpetrator.
Call Your Insurance Company
You might think that if you can’t prove theft you are SOL when it comes to your insurance. Not necessarily the case. Contact your insurance agent and let them know what happened. Even if you didn’t have an individual policy for the rings, your homeowner or renter’s personal property loss might still offer you at least a little bit of a relief to soften the blow of replacing the thing.
Of course, we recommend you get separate jewelry insurance for the ring, to be prepared in advance just in case something like this ever happens. Someone like Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company (our favorite) will not only cover loss and damage to the ring, but has your back if the ring is stolen, or just disappears. And because they’ve been insuring jewelry–and only jewelry–since 1913, they’ll help you along the path of replacing that irreplaceable ring. Another advantage is you won’t have to add a rider to your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance, and you won’t have to worry about a potential rate hike when you make a claim.
Don’t Take It Too Hard
While the engagement ring might loom large in you and your bride’s marriage, physically it’s still a small object–and small objects get lost. So try not to get too upset if you lose the ring. Think of it as an opportunity: an opportunity to go ring shopping all over again. Yay?
