Story Time...
When I was working at my first engagement ring design job, I was maybe 24, in Brooklyn, and intimidated as all hell. I'd been an archaeologist in San Diego before moving to NYC and felt totally out of my element... but I was so committed to catching on fast. Science and art collided here, and I was in love.
WELL. Then I threw away a $70k diamond.
Okay, okay... I found it. But I can still feel the floor beneath me after realizing what I'd done and literally falling out of my chair. My boss looked over and asked if I was okay. I said yes. (Narrator's voice: she was, in fact, not okay.)
I rummaged through my trash and found it at the bottom in a tiny parcel paper. Did I cry happy tears? Yes. Barf? Almost.
So now I'm fully psychotic and refuse to throw anything away before checking every nook and cranny a hundred times.
I'm not the only one: famous diamond disasters
In my defense, history is full of people who misplaced diamonds worth a lot more than mine.
The Koh-i-Noor in a waistcoat pocket
In 1849 the Koh-i-Noor, one of the most famous diamonds in the world, was handed to a British official named John Lawrence for safekeeping. He tucked the little box into his waistcoat pocket and completely forgot about it. Six weeks later he was asked to send it to Queen Victoria and realized he had no idea where it was. His servant had found the box and put it away in a tin. When asked to open it, he reportedly said there was nothing inside but "a bit of glass." Same, John. Same.
The Hope Diamond in the mail
In November 1958, jeweler Harry Winston donated the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian and sent it from New York to Washington, D.C. by registered mail. The postage was $2.44, the insurance was $1 million, and a regular letter carrier named James Todd delivered it to the museum. It arrived safe and sound, and the wrapper is now in the Smithsonian's collection.
How to never lose your diamond
Learn from my trauma.
- Check every parcel paper twice. Loose diamonds come folded in tiny paper envelopes, and they love to hide.
- Give your ring a home. Keep a ring dish by every sink. Never set it down on a napkin or a paper towel.
- Get your prongs checked. Have a jeweler look at your setting once a year so a loose prong never becomes a lost stone.
- Insure it. Get your ring appraised and insured the day you get it.
- Take it off for the gym and the beach. Cold water shrinks fingers and rings slip right off.
Anyone else have a wild work story? TELL ME.
